Time to pull instead of push

Another guest blogger: Caroline Worboys, chief executive of Broadsystem, on why travel is failing to get email marketing right.

In 2006 over 4 billion marketing emails were sent to consumers, requesting their attention and inviting their custom. That works out at about 70 marketing emails for every man, woman, and child in the UK!

Yet, with such large volumes of marketing emails being sent, a figure which is almost certain to continue to rise, I’m not exactly convinced that the medium is still being used to its full potential.

Messages promoting airliner deals, hotel offers, and holiday packages play an essential role in driving profits but why isn’t it commonplace to receive a post-holiday email thanking you for your business, perhaps asking for feedback, or inviting you to share your experiences, photos, even video clips with the supplier?

Thomson is one company that are beginning to appreciate the power of user generated content. [Thomson and CreatorMail won a Travolution Award in April for their efforts - Ed]

The news last month that sites such as TripAdvisor are trusted more by consumers than agents, brochures, and recommendations from friends just goes to so how important the consumer is in any business relationship.

When done well, email has such a unique ability to engage its recipients with a tailored and personal message, creating a two way dialogue. But this opportunity is being largely missed; instead ‘push’ messages continue to be the norm.

This is most certainly missing a trick. Whilst marketing email volumes grow, opening rates are starting to falter. To benefit fully from this medium, it is time to get personal.

Caroline Worboys, chief executive, Broadsystem

Technorati tags: CRM email marketing