British hotelier Travelodge tapped Responsys for its e-mail marketing programs in which automated e-mails will be sent to existing customers, encouraging them to stay at the chain’s hotels more often using reminder alerts and special offers.
Travelodge previously outsourced its e-mail marketing process, but will now take the campaign in-house using Responsys’ Interact software. Responsys will act as a consultant for the process.
“E-mail is the natural choice for a brand like Travelodge with a major online presence,” said Stephen Welham , interactive marketing manager at Travelodge. “It allows us to communicate quickly with a wide variety of customer segments and drive traffic to our Web site.”
Travelodge offers discounts on hotels. The site communicates with customers on a weekly basis about news, promotions, offers and periodic competitions. Customer profiling e-mails also are used to let customers can set preferences, which helps Travelodge learn more about their needs and interests.
The travel site plans to introduce a more sophisticated e-mail program to further personalize and segment its content. It aims to gain more of an in-depth understanding, and build profiles, of each guest.
“We see the possibilities with e-mail to tailor messaging based on customer profiling,” Mr. Welham said. “Over time we want to build a dialogue with customers so we give them news ideas on how to use Travelodge and enjoy great value accommodation.”
