The Black Friday crunch isn’t exclusive to retail marketers. Black Friday is a big time for booking travel as well, and this year, 25% of shoppers said that they’ll be keeping an eye out for deals on their next getaway.
Here’s what travel marketers can do to make the most of the upcoming holiday season:
1. Segment offers
A clear and strategic segmentation strategy during the holiday season can help manage traffic and promotion take rates while driving the specific types of bookings and behaviors you’re looking for. Here are a few examples of opportunities:
- Offer early access to most loyal/valuable users to show appreciation
- Align promotion tests (value add, % off, $ off, messaging) with historical customer behavior to maximize conversion
- Win back dormant and lapsed users with higher value short tail promotions
- Use device targeting and provide mobile-only offers to drive mobile adoption
2. Use real-time data to drive urgency
Real-time inventory, social proof, and countdown timers are all compelling in their own right, but when brought together, they paint an almost irresistible picture. Imagine if you were able to show the current price of a room or package, how many are left, the number of other people looking at it the offer and how long the promotion is available, all in 1 visual experience.
3. Extend the season
Don’t limit yourself to Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and Travel Tuesday. You can keep campaigns live past the holiday weekend and well into December. Since this is a traditionally slower season, keeping up with a sustained strategy will help your brand stay visible and relevant throughout the winter months.
About the author
Katie White, Associate Director of Client Strategy
Katie has spent the majority of her career in Travel & Hospitality, driving strategy for guest engagement programs at both Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants and HotelTonight. Most recently, Katie led the global Engagement Marketing Team at HotelTonight while working cross-functionally to advance consumer learning, product enhancements, and retention initiatives. She used the power of Movable Ink’s technology to transform the email program and bring real-time, personalized visual experiences to her readers. Prior to HotelTonight, she drove co-marketing strategy for over 25 partners at Google Express.
Katie’s passion for travel runs deep and before landing at Movable Ink as Associate Director of the Client Strategy team’s Travel & Hospitality practice, she spent 8 months exploring the world.