Email marketing is becoming a bigger platform with each passing year. It will need to be part of your longer term strategy and built in to every element of your campaigns. Your customers' email addresses are some of your most valuable assets. They're connected to real people who have permitted you to contact them. There are so many opportunities for amazing results with email marketing and it is a platform available to everyone.
With occasions like Mother's Day and Father's Day, email is an ideal way to promote offers and gift vouchers.
How can you approach marketing these topics which may be sensitive for some guests?
Mother’s Day isn’t a happy occasion for everyone, and brands are increasingly acknowledging this in their communications. We have noted many hotels over recent years sending an email to their database ahead of time to ask if subscribers would prefer not to receive Mother’s Day emails.
Give your guests the opportunity to opt out of Mother’s Day emails. It shows consideration, feels personal, and will help to build brand loyalty by showing you care. You can do the same for Father's Day.
Giving guests this alternative option is good for you too. Try to make your message gentle and put your guests at the heart of it. This is a sensitive topic to touch on so it is crucial that you handle it with care. Make sure to also remind your subscribers that this doesn’t mean they won’t get any emails.
In 2021, online retailer very.co.uk emailed customers in February asking them if they would prefer not to receive Mother’s Day reminders.
Waitrose and Sainsbury’s also introduced opt-outs that same year. The Very Group said more than 1 in 10 people who opened the email opted out of receiving messages, while Waitrose said 8% of its email recipients had done so.
Clearly, many people would prefer not to receive this type of communication.