1. ................: ~meshare...................•.•............•..............••..............................••....••••..•••.•.................•......•
Brown: E-mail
marketing can be
faster, cheaper and
more effective.
Developers Announce New
limeshare Projects
Judging by the pace of new
timesh
it's har
from a i
tight fir
major n
owners]
unveilei
• Intr
Storied
fraction
clusters
homes i
resort l~-II
bedroo
shares 0
occupa
weeks a L
$200,OOC ~
project,
Door, w
Constru
comple1
• Ace
Orland
near a
Disney ,--.;.ill",
commu-
resort
include
golf co
and af
• Th
Commi
plans fe
beachf,_;~,.~.
retail c
Develoj
propert
rooms,
square ~
DEVELOPMENT
For direct-response marketing and lead generation,
there is no faster, cheaper and potentially more effec-
tive tool to reach owners and prospects than e-mail. It of-
fers developers not only the opportunity to reach new
prospects more efficiently and effectively but also the
less-obvious but equally important goal of building bet-
ter relationships with existing ownership bases. Existing
owners are both a prime market for cross-selling addi-
tional development units and a source for referrals.
An effective e-mail strategy lets developers of all sizes
and resources create campaigns around offers that allow
them to cross-sell, upsell and resell core and ancillary
products and services. And, instead of generating sales
and leads over the course of weeks or even months after a promotion be-
gins, an e-mail campaign is considered complete within a matter of days.
Begin by defining key business goals and objectives. An e-mail market-
ing effort should appeal to non-owners and promote the timeshare con-
cept, the attractiveness of a property, and the benefits and value of owner-
ship. You also can use e-mail marketing to reach out to existing owners to
convince them that one unit isn't enough, that they should purchase addi-
tional points, or that there are other products and services that can make
their ownership even more valuable. ,
E-mail allows you to target an audience and taken to an extreme, slice
and dice it by demographics, geographics, even psychographics and e-mail
each group a customized message. E-mail marketing offers numerous ben-
efits for the developer:
Direct communication with prospects and customers. E-mail allows di-
rect business-to-consumer messaging and provides for actual transactions.
Communications can be in the form of a letter, an electronic "postcard"
complete with photographs, a colorfully designed HTML advertisement,
or streaming video and sound. If targeted properly, an e-mail promotion
can reach a core audience where they live. For business building, though,
the goal is to increase the number of people reading the e-mail, thereby in-
creasing the likelihood that your end goal will be reached.
Interactivity. Unlike any offline media, an e-mail encourages direct and
immediate interactivity. The request made of the prospect/ recipient is
clear: "Click here to get this" or "Visit here to see this."
Lower costs. E-mail can be extremely inexpensive on a cost-per-piece, or
cost-per-e-mail address basis, regardless of whether you're in an acquisi-
tions or retention mode, especially when you compare it with other forms
of marketing media.
Targeting qualified leads on a one-to-one basis. For acquisitions e-
mailings, there are opt-in lists available for rental that span a variety of cat-
egories. For retention campaigns, the targeting is even more enhanced, and
allows marketers to segment and pinpoint their house lists by f1 variety of IW,",_ ..A
criteria, including interest, previous transaction (whether that transaction
was based on a purchase or simply a click-through on a particular product
or service), geographiC and demographic data, and more.
In a future issue, I'll outline specific steps of a successful e-mail market-
ing campaign. LH
William J. Brown is assistant vice president of e-commerce for Interval
International, where he spearheads the company's e-mail initiatives. As an
adjunct professor at the University of Miami, he teaches graduate classes
involving strategic use of e-mail and the Internet.
wbrown@interval-intl.com
800-622-1861, extension 7252.
Storied Places Director Steve Cartner previews a
model of At Nature's Door, an upscale fractional-
ownership resort development in Whistler, BC.
)
20 LH/LODGING HOSPITALITY / APRIL 2002 www.LHonline.com
![................: ~meshare...................•.•............•..............••..............................••....••••..•••.•.................•......•
Brown: E-mail
marketing can be
faster, cheaper and
more effective.
Developers Announce New
limeshare Projects
Judging by the pace of new
timesh
it's har
from a i
tight fir
major n
owners]
unveilei
• Intr
Storied
fraction
clusters
homes i
resort l~-II
bedroo
shares 0
occupa
weeks a L
$200,OOC ~
project,
Door, w
Constru
comple1
• Ace
Orland
near a
Disney ,--.;.ill",
commu-
resort
include
golf co
and af
• Th
Commi
plans fe
beachf,_;~,.~.
retail c
Develoj
propert
rooms,
square ~
DEVELOPMENT
For direct-response marketing and lead generation,
there is no faster, cheaper and potentially more effec-
tive tool to reach owners and prospects than e-mail. It of-
fers developers not only the opportunity to reach new
prospects more efficiently and effectively but also the
less-obvious but equally important goal of building bet-
ter relationships with existing ownership bases. Existing
owners are both a prime market for cross-selling addi-
tional development units and a source for referrals.
An effective e-mail strategy lets developers of all sizes
and resources create campaigns around offers that allow
them to cross-sell, upsell and resell core and ancillary
products and services. And, instead of generating sales
and leads over the course of weeks or even months after a promotion be-
gins, an e-mail campaign is considered complete within a matter of days.
Begin by defining key business goals and objectives. An e-mail market-
ing effort should appeal to non-owners and promote the timeshare con-
cept, the attractiveness of a property, and the benefits and value of owner-
ship. You also can use e-mail marketing to reach out to existing owners to
convince them that one unit isn't enough, that they should purchase addi-
tional points, or that there are other products and services that can make
their ownership even more valuable. ,
E-mail allows you to target an audience and taken to an extreme, slice
and dice it by demographics, geographics, even psychographics and e-mail
each group a customized message. E-mail marketing offers numerous ben-
efits for the developer:
Direct communication with prospects and customers. E-mail allows di-
rect business-to-consumer messaging and provides for actual transactions.
Communications can be in the form of a letter, an electronic "postcard"
complete with photographs, a colorfully designed HTML advertisement,
or streaming video and sound. If targeted properly, an e-mail promotion
can reach a core audience where they live. For business building, though,
the goal is to increase the number of people reading the e-mail, thereby in-
creasing the likelihood that your end goal will be reached.
Interactivity. Unlike any offline media, an e-mail encourages direct and
immediate interactivity. The request made of the prospect/ recipient is
clear: "Click here to get this" or "Visit here to see this."
Lower costs. E-mail can be extremely inexpensive on a cost-per-piece, or
cost-per-e-mail address basis, regardless of whether you're in an acquisi-
tions or retention mode, especially when you compare it with other forms
of marketing media.
Targeting qualified leads on a one-to-one basis. For acquisitions e-
mailings, there are opt-in lists available for rental that span a variety of cat-
egories. For retention campaigns, the targeting is even more enhanced, and
allows marketers to segment and pinpoint their house lists by f1 variety of IW,",_ ..A
criteria, including interest, previous transaction (whether that transaction
was based on a purchase or simply a click-through on a particular product
or service), geographiC and demographic data, and more.
In a future issue, I'll outline specific steps of a successful e-mail market-
ing campaign. LH
William J. Brown is assistant vice president of e-commerce for Interval
International, where he spearheads the company's e-mail initiatives. As an
adjunct professor at the University of Miami, he teaches graduate classes
involving strategic use of e-mail and the Internet.
wbrown@interval-intl.com
800-622-1861, extension 7252.
Storied Places Director Steve Cartner previews a
model of At Nature's Door, an upscale fractional-
ownership resort development in Whistler, BC.
)
20 LH/LODGING HOSPITALITY / APRIL 2002 www.LHonline.com](https://image.slidesharecdn.com/emailmarketing-abetteralternative-130426150429-phpapp02/85/Email-marketing-a-better-alternative-1-320.jpg)
