Dottourism.com

Why People Are Leaving - Email Exit Surveys

13 December 2011 | Kate Waite

One of your most valuable marketing assets is your email database. The people on this database will generally fall into one of two categories; existing customers or people who have expressed an interest but have yet to act. Both of these groups are important for travel and tourism marketing.

Treat your database with care

Existing customers have the potential to become repeat bookers, especially in travel marketing where after a great trip many people choose to return to the same destination. They also have the potential to become ambassadors for your destination and recommendations from friends and family has been proven to rank high as a motivator for people when planning their next holiday.  Those who have yet to convert but have expressed an interest may be in the process of planning a trip and are valuable leads for future conversion.

Minimise database loss

Having established the importance of your database it’s key that you maintain it, which means minimising any loss through email marketing. It is very easy to lose customers to the unsubscribe button on an email but essential that you manage this.

This doesn’t mean making it hard to unsubscribe! Following regulations means that every person you communicate with have to be given an easy option of opting out of receiving any further communication from you. However, understanding why people are leaving will help stop any mistakes you are making with your message and maintain the integrity of your database.

Setting up an exit survey

Setting up an exit survey which ties into the unsubscribe link on your email can give you valuable data about why people are choosing to opt out, allowing you to rethink and adjust your strategy and message if needed.

When a user clicks on the unsubscribe link, on the page where they normally just get a confirmation that they have successfully unsubscribed we can embed a short survey. The key here is to keep it short, friendly and something which the user can complete in just a few seconds.
At this point they have unsubscribed and we just want to find out why, we aren’t trying to convince them to stay.

What should I ask them?

The most common reasons people might opt out of your list is that they get too many emails, and not necessarily from you. People are getting choosier and only keeping the emails that interest them most. Other common reasons include repetitive and boring content, irrelevant messages, not remembering signing up in the first place and subscribing for a one time offer

With travel marketing people may choose to opt out after they have been to a destination if they don’t plan to return or their circumstances may have changed – that month long adventure trip to a remote location they were planning a few years ago may have turned into a family holiday with children.

Plan your questions carefully, in a way that will help you learn from the results. Are people no longer interested because they don’t plan to visit your destination or are they no longer interested because your emails are boring?

What you can learn from this

Exact Target published some findings earlier this year on why people unsubscribe.  Overuse of email was the biggest reason with 54% of consumers opting out when emails come too frequently from a particular brand while 46% unsubscribe because they’re overwhelmed by email in general. If people are leaving because of the latter you need to ensure your content is more engaging and relevant than anything else in their inbox.

Image from the Exact Target Social Break Up Report

You may find that people are leaving because they no longer see the content as relevant. Exact Target found that 49% of people unsubscribe due to boring or repetitive content. It is important to look and see which stories generate the best response on your newsletter and to use this information to develop a content strategy to keep content fresh and varied.

It may be that your results lead you to split your database. The more targeted and relevant an email is, the better the response and engagement will be. Consider two versions where people who have already travelled with you / to your destination can engage in one way, for example inviting comments and advice based on their experiences, creating brand ambassadors. And those who have yet to convert get a different message leading them towards that all important booking.

Of course sometimes people leave as they are genuinely no longer interested in what you do, and in this case their departure simply makes your database more relevant and current.

It is more far more effective to reach out to your current database with offers than to market to the unknown so setting an exit survey could give you valuable insight into any mistakes you are making with your email marketing, allowing you to make changes and preserve your database.

If you would like to chat about the best ways to implement an exit survey say hi on Twitter @dottourism or drop us a line.