H
ave you ever heard of the Rule of 7? It’s a marketing principle about consumer behavior that suggests a prospect needs to encounter a brand at least seven — yes, seven — times before taking action. Whether that specific number applies to your brand or not, the concept is certainly true: With so many options to choose from, brands need to stay in front of potential customers as they’re considering their choices. A great way to ensure your brand is top of mind? An email nurture campaign.
How does that translate to wedding venues? Engaged couples typically browse 10-15 options online before scheduling an in-person tour at three to five locations, and they make a final decision within two to three months. The research phase of the customer journey is pivotal, which is why it’s so important to keep reaching out to potential customers who have shown interest in your venue.
Email nurture campaigns for wedding venues help ensure your messaging and imagery don’t get lost in the torrent of information available to couples. By providing multiple touchpoints, a nurture campaign can guide soon-to-weds to conversion — whether that’s booking a tour or signing a contract.
The Sequence and Flow of an Email Nurture Campaign
To make an impact with new audiences, a nurture campaign needs to guide them through the marketing funnel, from initial awareness and interest to conversion. In a way, email nurture campaigns for wedding venues aren’t all that different from a real-life relationship journey, moving from an introductory first date to more detailed information sharing and finally popping the question — otherwise known as the call to action.
Since engaged couples tend to research for only a few months before securing a venue, a campaign shouldn’t last much longer than five weeks, with one email sent every four to seven days. Here’s a general idea of how an automated nurture campaign should flow before a tour is booked:
- Email 1: Recognize their prior interactions with your venue (likely through a website visit) and provide your digital event brochure, paired with a distilled version of your unique brand story. This will give prospective couples a better sense of what sets your venue apart — whether that’s your venue’s unique history or your stellar in-house catering team.
- Emails 2-3: Familiarize email recipients with your services and location through testimonials, real wedding stories, menu information, staff profiles, and more. You can also provide educational content in the form of how-to guides, blog posts, and industry news to build trust and establish authority.
- Email 4: Entice them to dig deeper and truly picture their big day at your venue by watching a video tour, scheduling an informational call, or downloading a step-by-step wedding-planning guide.
- Email 5: Use a direct call to action (CTA) inviting them to book an on-site tour.
What to Include in a Follow-Up Nurture Campaign After a Tour
After the tour, consider a shorter email nurture to stay top-of-mind while couples are making their decision:
- Email 1: Send a “Thank you for attending!” email that feels personalized, with details and photos from the tour.
- Email 2: Provide social proof in the form of website testimonials, any awards your venue’s earned over the years, or social media posts featuring real weddings at your venue.
- Email 3: Include a brief wrap-up of your services, packages, team, and overall experience — with a final CTA encouraging them to save their date at your venue.
Also, a crucial tip: Be sure to remove emails from the campaign once a customer signs a contract.
5 Tips for Crafting Nurture Campaigns
- 1. Be warm and friendly: Your goal is for the reader to feel that you know them (and vice versa), so your tone should be conversational and relaxed. Tell them engaging stories about your brand, team, and the overall experience at your wedding venue. Remember, it’s all about building a relationship.
- 2. Address leads by name: Your marketing email platform should allow you to address potential customers by their first name, as in “Dear XX.” If your contact data isn’t complete or isn’t entered properly, this can backfire, so only use this feature if you’re sure it’ll be accurate.
- 3. Harness technology: To target the right groups, use a customer relationship management (CRM) platform to segment your audience by interests or funnel stage. Then, set up triggers that deploy automated sequences when a lead takes a specific action, such as submitting an inquiry form, downloading a brochure, or visiting a specific page on your website.
- 4. Focus on the visuals: Incorporate high-quality photos and videos in every single email, including signature images of the property that remind readers who you are, as well as wedding-related visuals — menu items, outdoor venues, etc.
- 5. Optimize for mobile: Over 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices, so ensure all emails and linked content are mobile-friendly.
- 6. Track the campaign’s effectiveness: Look at open rates, click-through rates, and conversion metrics for a sense of how your campaign is performing. You can also A/B test different subject lines and content, using the insights to continuously refine and adapt. Since a nurture campaign can be used repeatedly over time with different audiences, taking these steps will ensure a polished, persuasive final product.
Need support developing and deploying email nurture campaigns for your wedding venue? Hawthorn Creative can help you build strategic campaigns that keep your venue in front of audiences at each phase of their consideration journey. Take a peek at our email marketing solutions and reach out to get started.