Effective communication in the travel industry: use the potential of omnichannel marketing

We may consider the holiday season to have begun, but are you prepared for it? If you run a travel agency, a travel agency, an airline or a hotel chain, you have a huge customer base – but are you able to match your communication channel to each of them? We’ll give you tips on how to use marketing automation to effectively contact your audience.

Which communication channels are most effective?

It depends 🙂 

First of all, it depends on the type of campaign. Other forms of contact will work well for advertising a limited-time offer, and others when you want to win back a would-be customer who has interrupted filling out a registration form. Omnichannel campaigns have the advantage that the customer can choose the channels that best suit their needs and not worry about missing something important. See that 24 hours have passed and the email still hasn’t been opened? Send an SMS reminder that there is something waiting for him in the mailbox. On WhatsApp, someone clicked that they want to receive ads and personalized promotions? Set up a newsletter mailing with content on the user’s choice. A first-minute pre-sale is coming up? Use several communication channels to effectively inform loyal customers.

Wondering how to go beyond the pattern of banners and social media posts? How do you make your brand resonate with potential customers at every stage of their journey – from dreaming of the perfect vacation, to planning and booking, to sharing memories upon return? The answer lies in a well-thought-out omnichannel strategy that combines different forms of communication into a cohesive and engaging whole.

Why is omnichannel a must-have for your marketing strategy?

Your ideal customer is drinking his morning coffee and browsing inspiring photos from exotic travels on Instagram. On his way to work, he comes across an article on a travel blog that recommends hidden gems in the region. In the evening, relaxing on the couch, he gets a personalized newsletter with offers tailored to his previous searches. The next day, on his lunch break, he sees an attractive Facebook video ad showcasing unforgettable attractions.

This is no coincidence – it’s the power of an effective omnichannel campaign in Marketing Automation. With it:

• You reach the customer where they are: You don’t wait for the customer to hit your channel. You reach out to them, building a presence in their natural online and offline environments.

• You build a consistent brand image: Whether a customer sees your ad on FB, reads a blog article, or receives an email, they experience a unified message and visual identity. This builds trust and recognition.

• You increase engagement: Multiple forms of communication allow you to interact with your customers in a variety of ways, from liking posts to participating in contests to responding to surveys. This builds a stronger bond and loyalty.

• You optimize the conversion path: By analyzing data from different channels, you can better understand customer behavior and optimize the purchase path, guiding them seamlessly from interest to booking.

• You measure performance: Each channel provides valuable data to evaluate the effectiveness of individual actions and entire campaigns, allowing you to continuously improve your strategy.

What can you use omnichannel marketing automation for?

• Interrupted bookings – there are many reasons for not completing a hotel room or airplane flight reservation. With Marketing Automation, you can set up a message to be sent to everyone who, for example, after 2 hours of adding an offer to the shopping cart, did not complete the reservation or interrupted the payment. Perhaps something has distracted the user from completing the transaction, and he or she will immediately return to the site after being reminded. To such a person, you can send an email with a short message encouraging them to complete the reservation. We know that not everyone likes to read hundreds of emails, sometimes your message may hide in the clutter of others and not even be opened, so it is a good idea to send an additional reminder via SMS.

• Personalized hotel and camping suggestions – see a customer browsing for accommodations in Italy? Instead of opting for a template message with offers from all over the world, personalize the content and show the proposals that have recently caught his eye. Is there a promotion on them starting tomorrow? A properly written SMS will attract the recipient and persuade him to use your services. Include links that specifically redirect to the page of a particular offer.

• Local marketing for travel agency networks – Do you have travel agencies in several provinces? With iPresso Marketing Automation you will create a map of GeoPoints, i.e. stationary establishments where, for example, there are additional facilities for people with disabilities. Emails will be used for basic information, such as advertisements for offers, and SMS text messages will help, for example, with information about an establishment’s renovation, change of location or shortened opening hours on a given day.

• Trip ideas based on recent trips – no one likes to receive misguided advertisements. Customers are more likely to read and click on links if they feel highlighted. Personalized omnichannel communications can complement each other in advertising offers similar to those recently viewed or selected by a person. For example, for a person who flies to Asia you will send an ad for Thailand tours, but for a family that chooses only European vacations a message offering flights to Croatia would be a much better idea. SMS or WhatsApp messages in such a case can serve as a perfect complement to an email campaign.

• Discount coupons as a reward for participating in a loyalty program – with iPresso you can create a loyalty program in a few moments and award rewards for collecting a sufficient number of points. Most of the messages will be sent by email, but, for example, reminders for points that will expire in a few days can also be sent through another communication channel, such as SMS, as the recipient may read the email too late and lose the discount coupon or other rewards.

• Newsletters with travel tips – omnichannel campaigns are a great way to provide additional knowledge for both beginners and seasoned travelers. You can use WhatsApp to ask what topics interest a particular recipient and periodically send newsletters in the form of emails. Before a trip, you will send via SMS a link to an article about the most important rules of a particular carrier and ideas on how to prepare for a flight.

• Information about the entire trip and announcements at changes – omnichannel doesn’t have to be only about marketing. Marketing Automation is also useful for providing information related to the tour schedule. Basic information is usually sent by email, but for delays or flight-related changes, SMS is the best choice. Before your trip, you can also set up a web push notification to remind you of your trip.

• Notifications about the start and end of the promotion – a few days before the start of the sale, launch a sequence of emails informing about the rules and categories. It is best to send notifications only to specific segments, unless the promotion covers most of the offers. It doesn’t make sense to send information about the promotion on Dubai hotels for someone who only chooses accommodations in different parts of Poland. Once the promotion takes off, send SMS messages to remind people about it and to encourage those who were hesitant to take advantage of it after receiving the email. Finally, you can launch a “Last Chance” campaign.

Key elements of omnichannel

• Customer segmentation: Know your audience, their needs and preferences to deliver personalized messages.
• Message consistency: Make sure your brand communicates uniformly across all channels, maintaining a consistent visual identity and tone of voice.
• Systems integration: Connect your marketing tools (CRM, booking system, email marketing platform, etc.) to get a complete picture of the customer path and automate processes.
• Data analysis: Monitor and analyze the results of your activities on each channel to identify what works best and optimize your strategies in real time. 
• Testing and optimization: Constantly experiment with different channels and content formats to find the most effective combinations for your target audience.

Summary…

Omnichannel is not the future, it is the present of travel marketing. Using the synergy of different forms of communication, you can effectively reach your potential customers at every stage of their journey, build a strong brand and increase sales. Remember, the key is a strategic approach, consistent messaging and continuous optimization of activities based on data. So, Travel industry marketers, it’s time to take the reins and drive your brand to the top with smart omnichannel campaigns! Let your communications resonate in every corner of the web, inspiring and encouraging people to discover unforgettable adventures.

With iPresso, you’ll schedule automatic campaign mailings, as well as prepare a loyalty program and generate discount codes for your customers. Want to test more tools? Click here and fill out a brief and we’ll get in touch with you to agree on the details of cooperation.