As far as well developed welcome series go, I haven’t seen many in the travel and tourism sector. Most businesses focus on getting straight to the specials, and discounts rather than introducing subscribers to the value of having subscribed, or the benefits of subscribing.
As such, it was quite a change to see this very simple 4 email welcome series from Club Carlson – the global hotel rewards program from Carlson Rezidor Hotel Group.
Now you might be thinking what I initially thought when I saw these, ‘What’s going on with those subject lines? They look like they written by children.’ And to be honest initially I had the same reaction. But here’s another perspective – they provide a context and anchor for the reader, and without being tricky tell you where you’re up to and what to expect in the future.
There’s no emoji, there’s no ALL CAPS SUBJECTS, you’re not teased or baited – you just know what to expect inside the email.
Personally I would have chosen something a little more subtle, or crafted – but amongst the throng of emails received on those days, these subject lines actually stood out.
What do you think? Leave a comment below with your thoughts.
Welcome 2 of 3: Ways to earn Gold Points
The content of the emails themselves is a methodical example of how to introduce someone to your brand, the benefits of being subscribed (or in a club), and what to do next. They’re clean, straight forward and explain in three simple emails, what you likely want to hear about having just joined their club.
The Carlson Club is a loyalty club and so of course it has loyalty points. But they don’t leave you to work out how the points work and how to get them.
- You know from the top of the email what account you’re reading for, and how many points you have
- There’s a clear explanation of the mechanism that helps you accumulate points, it’s clear and easy to understand.
- You can earn more points by purchasing, or downloading their app
- You know what the next goal is because you can ‘build towards Elite status’
In a very simple email, it’s quite clear how Club Carlson wants you to behave and interact with them.
Overall this is the flow of their emails. With four well timed, simple introductory emails, you should be well familiar with the brand by the time you’re all the way through (or at least have seen the email subject lines).
This is a rare example of an onboarding process looking like it has had thought put into it. While there may be stylistic changes, and alterations once email results come in – at least from the perspective of the customer this is a strong piece.