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Travelmole Guest Comment: Royal Mail head of market development Catherine Campbell
It’s no secret that the travel industry has become a competitive place. Many holidaymakers tend to head online in search of lowest price, and yet there are groups of travellers looking for a high end holiday and prefer more engagement from travel brands.
Recent Royal Mail research, conducted with 20Plus30 Consulting, identified a group of consumers dubbed ‘The Charmed Generation’. This group of two million over 55-year-olds have the highest disposable incomes of any other age group, and a net worth estimated at £1 billion. On top of this, this demographic takes more than a third more holidays than any other age group.
So, how can operators best engage this valuable group and set themselves apart from the rest of the pack? The research discovered that the Charmed Generation has the highest response rate to direct mail marketing of any other customer group. This makes sense as direct mail can be kept, referred to at leisure, and compared to other offers; beneficial to over 55s as they have more free time to research travel and head in-store for more details. Indeed, 42% of the Charmed Generation said that in the last six months a mailing enticed them to become a new customer of a company, while nearly half agreed that a mailing had prompted them to buy from a company they already use. Clearly, the mail catches this group’s attention.
In addition, postal communication means that these individuals can be precisely targeted with relevant messages based on their interests and other individual criteria. Not only is mail personally addressed, but if high end customers have bought from a company before, it will hold details on the type of holidays this person enjoys and be able to use this insight to make the communication more effective.
Post has proven itself to be a valuable marketing medium for brands, and is even more effective when looking to speak with niche audiences. More affluent demographics looking for information on their holiday options don’t necessarily want to simply head online: they are looking for quality and want accessible detailed information which gives them a good idea what they will get for their money. As such it is clear that affluent travellers such as the Charmed Generation prefer their travel communications with the personal touch.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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