Travel emails inspire loyalty, favorable opinion

In a nationwide survey of permission-based email recipients, 63 percent said they were more likely to buy from the sending companies, and 55 percent said they have a more favorable opinion of those companies as a direct result of the communications, according to the latest Epsilon research. Fifty percent also said they feel more loyal towards the sending companies and their brands.

“In the travel industry where so much activity has moved to the online arena, it’s crucial that companies communicate effectively and efficiently with their customers and cater to their personal needs,” said Kevin Mabley, senior vice president, Epsilon Strategic Services. “Our research demonstrates the many online and offline, measurable and immeasurable benefits of email marketing campaigns. Those benefits start with direct online airline ticket and hotel reservation transactions and extend to brand loyalty in multiple channels.”

Epsilon’s email branding study is based on a mid-October 2008 survey of 1517 consumers. The survey was conducted by ROI Research, of Lancaster, PA. It explored the general impact of permission-based email marketing as well as specific product categories that included, in addition to Travel, Financial Services, Retail, Consumer Packaged Goods, and Pharmaceuticals-Healthcare.

Other results:

• - 86 percent of respondents who opt to receive email from travel companies do so to learn about sales, discounts and special offers;
• - 51 percent subscribe to learn about existing packages and destinations;
• - 48 percent subscribe to receive coupons;
• - 46 percent subscribe to hear about new packages, routes and destinations;
• - 69 percent want to receive personalized content based on their website activity and past purchases, rather than generic content;
• - 48 percent of respondents who receive permission-based email from a travel company said the email has a direct impact on offline purchases.

The Epsilon research was intended to analyze activities that take place offline or cannot be measured by click-thru rates and email open rates. The findings showed that 71% of recipients of an email from a travel company visit an aggregator site as a direct result of receiving the email; 33% type or copy a URL directly into their browser and 14% contact a travel agent.

Source: HotelMarketing