Our prospective client/partnership emails aren't getting responses- what are other online marketing tactics?
We are doing online marketing in the area of tourism, we send email to the perspective clients and partners, dozens of emails sent but only one or even no reponse received.
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Apr 20, 2015
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May 20, 2014
As many have already mentioned, other tactics include using social media / networks to reach out. Facebook ads are quite effective and allow to target very specific users.
SEM (ie. AdWords) works wonders in getting visibility and if done well can have a good ROI.
Regarding emailings, I would suggest keeping your emails simple and conscise. People do not have the time to read long articles in their emails, and often just skim them to see if anything is interesting. If there is too much information, you will lose your readers along the way.
May 19, 2014
A good strategy is to embed lots of links into the body of the email (eg. your company website, a specific package you're promoting, etc.). You can then use analytics tools - there are free ones available - to see who has clicked on links and how many he/she opened. This will give you hot leads to follow up with. At very least, check who has opened the email. The process can and should be much more proactive than sending a mass email and waiting for a response.
May 18, 2014
Email marketing doesn't have to have low open and response rates. It's all about targeting and permission-based marketing. Use double-opt in lists and separate lists based on interests. Where possible, use triggered emails.
Just look at your own behavior in your inbox. Which emails do you open and which not - why?
This is often (not always) the answer to why others are not engaging with your emails.
May 17, 2014
The message / call to action must be in the header to get the email even read is my experience.
May 17, 2014
SEO + Email Marketing + PPC = visits to your site but no Conversion (no sales)
To make things clear. SEO, newsletters, videos, websites are not solutions to your problem, they are merely platforms to which companies can market themselves today.
Strategy + Tactics = Long and Short term success
In short, I would suggest moving away from tactics (short-term) and focusing on strategies (long-term) as well as evaluating your business model and product offering objectively. Establish KPI's and get into your customer's heads. Once you have those things figured out, create unique content that people would be interested in.
Know your customers + Good Content = Potential for Conversion
Then you can use SEO and Emails etc. to push that content out.
Hope that helps!
May 16, 2014
Most people plan travel fairly far in advance. Depending on the service offering, you may want to offer a credit or discount that can be applied within a reasonable time frame. The other successful tactic is to offer information on generally popular destinations that people may visit on a regular basis, or an exclusive offer not commonly available. Finally, make sure your embedded links are tracking properly without multiple redirects.
May 15, 2014
Do you have any opportunity to get to know better your clients (through social media for example)?
Try to learn their interests and what do they talk about. And then adapt your emails and other content accordingly.
Try to engage them not only through emails, but also through touristic groups, forums and blogs. The amount of suitable resources is huge.
May 15, 2014
Hi Thath
1. CJ is right, what kind of customers are you targeting?
2. The response rate for email marketing depends the market.
3. The other thing is that message you are putting in the email. Is it driving them to take action? Are you also giving them the choice of going to a landing page on your website?
4. For Tourism, I strongly suggest using Social Media marketing. The number one factor that influences people's decision in this market is other people's reviews/opinions.
Ashvin Ujhoodha, CEO, Ecreations Age
May 15, 2014
Hi Thach,
What kind of information is in your e-mail? Are you being too "salesy"? I find I get a better response when I am providing them helpful content without a hard sell. I use e-mail to create credibility and establish a connection with my audience. Although a promotion or your product or service is entirely understandable, try to back off on being a hard sell, if this is the tactic you've been taking, and focus more on providing value for your customers and partners in the form of content they can use to help them see the value in your product or the value in partnering with you!
Good luck,
Jess
May 15, 2014
Email marketing and CRM have different open rates for every industry. Your open-issue may come down to the email marketing / CRM service you are using. As others have pointed out this can send your emails to the junk/spam folder and never get your proverbial foot in the door. As well, there are many tools that can improve open rates and knowledge about your client marketing demographic. One of these not to be missed: MailChimp has an incredible resource page answering many of these questions ( about subject lines, transactional email, content marketing) http://mailchimp.com/resources/research/
May 15, 2014
Hi, Thach - this is a question that, as you can see, has a lot of answers. Sometimes, there's a technical reason, like a poor email system, "dirty" list, etc. Other times, there's no call to action - or the call to action isn't really compelling enough to get someone to respond.
Sometimes, the answer can be in both categories - is your list segmented, and are you sending the most appropriate messages to the right segments? As an example, the person that travels across the country to visit the Finger Lakes Wine Country in Upstate New York is likely a much different kind of traveler than the person that goes on safari in Africa.
My first recommendation to you is to KNOW, really know, your audience. Please, do yourself a favor and don't buy an email list. You will be much better served in the long run if you build out an organic list on your own. It certainly takes longer, but you'll get far better response if you do it the "right" way.
What are you offering the viewer? The chance for a nice vacation? They can get that from any number of places. What's making you and your organization different from the rest?
Perhaps the biggest part of this answer is this. Are you offering the viewer something of value? Ask yourself, if I received this email, "What's in it for me?" If the answer isn't enough to get you to open it, go back to the drawing board and try again. Then, when you've got a couple of good ideas, do some A/B testing to see what really resonates with the segmented audience that you have.
If I can be helpful to your efforts, contact me and we can discuss at length!
May 15, 2014
Are you evaluating results correctly? The typical response to any advertising campaign is only 2%, closing only 10% of responses. You have to reach an awful lot of potential clients before orders begin. Then you must be ready for business.
Television ad sellers used to demand stock on hand, often 40,000 units, before they'd air a spot, although that has changed with the plethora a new cable stations. Television ads reach a lot more people immediately than email, much of which never passes spam filters. Clients with means use filters, including "do not mail" registries. Television and websites are about the only ways to reach them.
Focus should remain on providing excellent goods and services and satisfying customers. Staying in business is simple enough as long as you are easy to get along with, expect only fair transactions, and maintain a good reputation.
May 15, 2014
Everyones responses here are valuable, when reaching out to people in your emails, make sure that they are adding value to your audience... Try not to just pitch, or sell...its as easy as what are you offering...don't sell the product/place in the case of tourism....what does your area offer to people, what can they find, explore, activities to enjoy...
I agree with Joseph...company websites, social media, blog is an excellent way to promote tourism in an area...
Ask yourself...Why would people want to come and visit?
May 15, 2014
Well most just do the following;
open email platform
select all
scroll down and un-select the important ones
click delete
move on.
Go to their social networking sites
read through the postings
post on the ones that you can be a valued contribution to
if possible defend them as long as you are following their company values
this will get you noticed
send messages to them through these sites with the following
problem you noticed
solution
then suggest they contact you
email marketing has become the junk mail on the 70's most get thrown in the trash
May 15, 2014
As noted below Thach, email has a low response rate... that is not to say it cannot be part of your larger marketing strategy and funnel. But beyond anything technical or even strategic (i.e. clearly defined target market) you need to be sure your value proposition and how you present it to that group is dead on to what it is they need. If you are not crystal clear on that, you can do all of the marketing, social media and PR you want, but it will not be effective. Get focused around that (as part of your overall strategy), then seek out where your target hangs out, and the various tools and methods, including email, you use, as part of that strategy, will reap results. Though, be patient, it takes times as several noted.
May 14, 2014
Title your emails using a phrase that solves your target market's problem. For example, I'm a personal image consultant. I might title my monthly newsletter something like Does Personal Branding Really Matter in Business? or What Does Business Casual Mean?
Hope that helps.
Marian Rothschild, AICI FLC
May 14, 2014
Sending emails doesn't quite frame this for me. I have a management consulting firm and have a doctorate. I use cartoons based on an image of wooden Square Wheels on a wagon with a cargo of round rubber tires.
SO, I get emails for construction equipment, automotive parts, increasing patient care, suggestions for hiring office workers, and all sorts of other crap -- we call it spam. And, I get tired of it and often respond with VERY discourteous emails suggesting dark holes and unseemly acts.
Are you sending to actual opted-in prospects and people who have contacted you or are these cold, spammy kinds of things? Are you looking at how many are opened or just replies? Are you testing subject wordings and comparing?
Emails are still the best way to communicate with prospects. But I read the other day that the average manager gets about 300 emails a day. You probably get lots of emails. I get lots of emails.
Are you giving people a good reason to respond? Do the benefits outweigh the costs for responding?
(I respond because you caught me eating lunch so I had some sidebar time. And, I do not do much tourism so adding me to your list is not a good idea! (grin) )
.
May 14, 2014
As you review all of these responses, think about changing the focus of your email and other social, digital and web marketing activities to engaging your prospects first, then as they develop interest, have tools to facilitate the selling process. How to engage? CONTENT! You could do a blog about Vietnam history, culture, tourist attractions, resorts, destinations, etc. have some links to hotels, resorts, etc. for them to check out. Develop package deals with hotels, resorts and other tour providers that you can offer your prospective clients. You can become a one-stop shop for travel, vacation and touring in Vietnam. Get their attention, generate interest, then do a call to action.
May 14, 2014
Make you email stand out. In the head lines wright some thing creative. And ask for a respones. Example. I look foward to hear from you. Or please let me know so i can i reconcile my records
A good advice, however, watch out, as embedding too many links could increase the chances of being marked as Spam, dont over do it :-)