Using email marketing to maximise engagement in the luxury market

I love the feeling of walking into a luxury hotel and immediately feeling the pressure on my shoulders ease, I like walking into a high-end tailors where they know my name and their attention to detail is faultless, and I like sitting down to dinner in an award-winning restaurant knowing I'm in for a treat.

These three examples are not something I do everyday - they're made all the more enjoyable because they're rare and tend to mark special occasions, holidays, or a break from the norm. They are more than the sum of their parts; they are each experiences and I've found myself (along with most consumers out there) beginning to expect more from these experiences.

The start and end points of these experiences have changed. When booking a hotel, for example, the experience starts online - usually through the hotel's website but sometimes social media - and we expect this experience to be seamless. Luxury starts from the first interaction. The same feeling the hotel strives to create when we walk into reception should be echoed across their online channels and the interactions they have with us. And then, once our stay is over, we expect an element of aftercare where we're acknowledged and our views are sought.

It's this human touch - and attention to detail - which separates the best brands from the rest and is a mark of quality, luxury, and a premium service. The stats don't lie. 73% of customers fall in love with a brand and remain loyal if they have a great experience, 77% of customers would recommend a brand to a friend after having a single positive experience and 93% of customers are likely to make repeat purchases with companies who offer excellent customer service (Source: HubSpot).

At Jarrang, we've worked with premium brands since 2003 and believe email marketing is one of the best ways to enhance the customer experience and maximise engagement.

Here's how:

1. Create a tailored approach

One of the most powerful elements of email marketing is the ability to craft and tailor your campaigns for your customers. Through tools like advanced segmentation and personalisation, you can use data to deliver email campaigns that are specific to the individual receiving them.Automation is also your friend here. Sticking with the hotel example, we all like to feel loved and hotel guests are no different. They arrive full of excitement and when they leave, want to go away with the warm glow of contentment we all get from time well spent.

A great way to start the personal journey with hotel guest is to send pre and post-stay emails. The pre-stay emails start them off on the right foot and the post-stays show them that you value them and their custom. Pre-stay emails tend to have double the open-rates of standard emails and the best examples will include suggestions of things to do, information about on-site facilities and a strong call-to-action for a secondary spend - making a reservation in the restaurant or booking a spa treatment typically see good results.

Post-stay emails are a great way to get honest and immediate feedback. The best examples also include the offer of a discounted rate for valued guests. These personal touches go a long way to ensuring your guests have the best possible experience and become repeat customers.

2. Feeling matters

Feelings and emotions derive from experience. Start the experience for your customers as you mean to go on and make them feel special.

Let's use a spa as an example. They could receive an email saying: 'Come and enjoy a day relaxing in our spa.' But why not say: 'Cast your worries aside as you unwind in the blissful tranquility of our sanctuary.' Simply by changing the language we're evoking stronger feelings in the reader and tapping into the emotional side of the brain - the side that's so important when building brand loyalty.

3. Quality shines through

In the premium marketing, everything has to ooze quality. If you run a boutique store you'd expect everything to always look stunning and be 'just so.' The same applies to email marketing. They have to exude quality and look the part. They also have to work properly across all devices and help create that seamless experience you want your customers to have. Look at what you have now and ask yourself if your email marketing campaigns give an accurate reflection of your brand and who you're striving to be.

4. Be the trusted advisor

Recommendations, top-tips and inside knowledge are a great way of providing the added value that the modern day consumer is looking for - and can play a crucial role in your email marketing strategy. If you consistently give your customers a great experience they will trust you and, because they trust you, they'll look to your for guidance and advice. You now have the opportunity to go the extra mile and exceed their expectations. Do this, and not only will they stay loyal to you, they'll tell all their friends how good you are. Everybody wins.

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Premium brands should have premium email marketing campaigns. If you'd like to find out more about how to take your email marketing to the next level we'd love to show you how.