• by Jess Nelson , September 21, 2015

A recent Email Marketing Benchmark Report from Silverpop, a marketing software provider, reveals that marketers may want to look at the travel industry for tips on how to boost their email-marketing campaigns.

While comparing 17 different industries, Silverpop discovered that the Lodging, Travel Agencies & Services industry has the highest email open rate at 56.7%. The travel industry also ranks second in click-through rate (15.2%), shortly behind the Computer Hardware & Telecommunications industry (16.3%).

What can marketers learn from the travel industry?

1. Offer customers an opportunity and the power of choice

Consumers want to have control over their own destiny, and subject lines containing the words "choice" or "choose" drove 22% higher revenue per email and a 46% increase in transaction rates per a recent Q2 Email Benchmark Report by Experian.

“When people get an email from the travel industry, they either open it for leisure or for business — but they’re going to open it.” said Daniel Farrar, CEO of Switchfly, a global technology company that powers travel commerce and loyalty point redemption solutions for brands such as United and Marriott.

2.  Targeted data and customer loyalty are key

The travel industry has embraced Big Data and uses extensive customer information for targeted email campaigns.

“The travel industry is the most targeted and personalized with their messaging,” says Ohad Hecht, COO of Emarsys, a B2C marketing cloud that works with Swiss Air and Lufthansa. “Travel companies are also among the best industries when it comes to usage of data, online behavior and historical purchase. The usage of the data helps them in creating automated programs, in the right time, with predictive content, and with the right treatment layer.”

“Travel companies have a strong focus on customer loyalty, and use their data to great effect in order to specify offers to their customer base, just at the right time, with the right offer,” agrees James Connelly, CEO of Fetch, a mobile marketing agency that has worked for brands including Hotels.com. By gathering ample data, companies “stay top of the pile in terms of open rates.”

3.  Give Customers What they Want

The travel industry offers something distinctive to its consumers: the promise of a vacation, adventure and a check off the bucket list.

“The travel industry is very discount-focused on items that are usually essential for a customers visit, such as hotels and car rentals,” adds Connelly. “They know what customers need and serve the right information to them, rather than sending too much hopeful or unwanted emails.”