R2: Responsible for Results

Conversion studies in the region reveal that many of us, particularly DMOs, are not collecting e-mail addresses for all our visitor prospects.  Customers are far more willing to share their e-mail addresses than many of us think, and it’s time to bank those "joe@whizbang.com" contacts as if our livelihoods depend on them.  They are the key to measuring conversion efficiently and activating your database.

E-mail marketing is expected to grow 11 percent per year through 2014 for pretty much one reason: because it’s working.  Capturing prospects’ e-mail addresses should be a key mission of our outbound campaigns, whether in print, broadcast or on our websites.   With e-mail addresses in our databases we can

1. survey results
2. segment our offers to the most receptive prospects
3. get in touch quickly with the people who have already raised their hands to show some degree of interest in our destination, accommodations or attraction.

Accommodations seem to be far ahead of attractions and DMO’s in collecting their prospects’ e-mail addresses.  People don’t hesitate to give their e-mail addresses as a means of getting confirmation of their lodging arrangements.

The result of this is that today people don’t consider it an imposition to be asked for that e-mail address.  So let’s get it and use it.

Complete the file on your existing database prospects.  Drop an opinion survey or conversion study via postcard to the people in your database for whom you have snail-mail addresses, but not e-mail addresses.  This will include those visitor-guide recipients and anyone who’s received a fulfillment packet.  Ask for their view on an interesting question, or why they did/did not visit, and get them to put their e-mail address on the return card.

Get the e-mail address when you send the brochure or visitors’ guide.  Nowadays it’s not an imposition, so let’s ask.  Make it routine to get this electronic contact before sending the fulfillment piece.  It’s nothing less than “where people live” in the digital age.

Capture e-mail addresses at events.  A modest incentive is all it takes to make a booth or table at your next event a collection point for e-mail addresses.  People are browsing, strolling, looking for activities, and why wouldn’t they write down their e-mail address to take away a souvenir or get a piece of follow-up information on their subject of interest?

Make getting e-mail addresses an objective of your advertising.  One key to a new way of marketing that is less dependent on buying more and more first-time media impressions – and taking a more active part in converting those prospects who respond into visitors – is to get that e-mail address.

It’s hard to activate your database nowadays with mail and phone alone.  And it’s harder to collect and analyze results without having a quick, inexpensive way to survey your visitors and non-visitor respondents.

E-mail is normal. Let's make capturing e-mail addresses standard operating procedure.