1. Start simple and scale up

Too many marketers overcomplicate things from the outset. By starting with small, simple steps, and scaling up from there, it’s far easier to learn and progress.

I’d recommend kicking off with a few key questions such as:

• What am I trying to achieve?
• Which segments am I targeting?
• How can marketing automation make life simpler?

Then, get some core journeys moving. ‘Welcome’ and other transactional journeys may be ideal for new customers, but ‘reminders’, ‘repurchase’ and ‘win-back’ journeys could maintain or boost the engagement of existing or lapsed contacts.

Retargeting journeys must also be remembered. Someone who has expressed an interest in an action-packed skiing holiday is unlikely to be motivated by cruising content.

2. Segment carefully

Whilst it’s easy to get bogged down with segmentation, the careful creation of different lists is usually time and effort well spent. Look at contacts’ previous engagement with a brand, or their behavioural/purchasing dispositions.

This is the only way to send people truly meaningful email comms. Without this precision, the content is likely to be perceived merely as an impersonalised ‘batch and blast’ promo. My talk at TTE 2019 covers the topic of personalisation for further detail on this.

3. Commit to content

Momentum can take time to build, but once you get the ball rolling, the activity will reap dividends many times over! Create ongoing quality content that appeals to the different segments of your audience.

Think about dynamic content– this can be really powerful for both emails and websites. Instead of having a generic travel brochure on your homepage, why not have a highly personalised message that changes based on the prospect’s location or getaway preferences?

4. Remember to report

Understanding which metrics truly matter is not always easy, and the data that is important to one travel brand may not resonate with the next. But whether you love or loathe reports, it is important to run them.

A breakdown of who is using what device to view emails, could influence the mobile-first design of the next batch of comms, to give just one really simple example. But the more you delve into the detail, the greater the insight you will be able to glean.

5. Work with your sales team

A lack of coordination between sales and marketing leaves customers feeling overwhelmed by different emails and calls.

Decide the appropriate time to hand the nurturing over to the sales team depending on the typical prospect cycle of your brand and encourage reporting back as to when marketing may need to support. With CRM and marketing automation integration, this process should be hassle-free.

Want to know more about marketing automation and how it can benefit your business? Come see us at stand T22, listen in for my talk on ‘The Power of Effective Personalisation’ or drop by for my colleague Jake Sweeney’s tech huddle on ‘Personalisation, Customer Scoring and Attribution Modelling’.