Initial data

Before our collaboration, the brand didn't take advantage of retention marketing tools. So in June 2021, we started working on developing the email marketing channel.

Solution

The resort is actively growing year to year, and therefore it is essential to build effective communication with customers. In the long run, the quality of communication can directly impact the company's revenue. The better a brand communicates with its customers, the more loyal clients, transactions, and repeat purchases it will get.

Resource Base

Before our collaboration, the Bukovel email database contained only those contacts that users entered when placing an order on the website. Despite the fact that there was no communication before, that potential loyal audience became the foundation for a good contact base for further work.

Before starting the work, we audited the database and left only valid contacts to establish further communication. In addition, we  created a technical task for the client for importing new contacts, which were added to the base.

"Join The Bukovel Club" widget for New Contacts

The technical capabilities of the brand's website had a number of functional limitations, so we offered the client to implement a widget with the message “Join The Bukovel Club” to collect new contacts.

The “Join The Bukovel Club” widget is design to form a loyal community for the customers who are interested in communication with Bukovel.

The main advantage of the Bukovel Club members is that they are the first to receive newsletters with big deals and promotions.

We adapted the widget and subscription triggers to each language version of the website (Ukrainian, Russian, Polish, Romanian, English). This solution allowed us to personalize the communication with users and improve it. 

An integrated approach to setting up the channel allowed us to double the contact base.

eSputnik account

To optimize the process and monitor the effectiveness of all emails, we set up the account in the marketing automation service eSputnik.

• verified the domain;

Thanks to the verification, we were completely ready to send marketing emails, since it guaranteed the correct sender name and signature with the brand domain, not the email service domain.

• set up push notifications on the Bukovel website.

We considered push notifications as an additional communication channel for informing about the most important events and promotions in Bukovel. 

During the work on this case study, we received ~60,000 subscribers from the email marketing channel.

email templates for newsletters

Resort activities are divided into summer and winter. Considering these specifics, we suggested the brand implement three email template options:

• for the summer season (April-September period);

• for the winter season (October-March period);

• for triggered emails.

When designing the templates, we used:

• standard blocks (e.g., header, footer, text blocks);
• non-standard blocks (for example, content blocks for newsletters, category blocks for special offers: hotels, ski passes, club cards).

After the templates were ready, we developed a trigger communication map. The triggers were implemented in stages, according to the technical capabilities of the client's site.

Media plan

We managed to systematize the work and ensure stable growth of the desired performance due to the media plan. It covered all possible segments of the users, focusing on services that are a priority for Bukovel and relevant to customers (e.g., ski-pass, the ability to rent a hotel, club cards, etc.).

The media plan provided for sending 1-2 trigger emails per month, depending on their priority.

Trigger Communication Map

When developing the trigger communication map, we considered seasonality, which is an advantage in the case of a ski resort. Bukovel offers their guests recreation and entertainment at any time of the year.
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We created triggers for all major events (for instance, welcome email series for each season and Ski-pass, Double Opt-In, and welcome series for the Artek Bukovel camp, etc.).

Double Opt-In is a type of subscription which includes an additional confirmation of the email address from the email.

Example

If Bukovel offers ski-pass discounts in autumn, we include this promo offer in the welcome series, if the user has not bought a ski pass before. It allows us to update the content for users based on a season or current offers.

As part of the project, we developed 30 basic scenarios. Today some of the triggers are implemented and working (e.g., welcome chains, upsales, contact reactivation, loyalty triggers). Others need additional information from the client to run the script or require access to the site code.

Artek Bukovel

Additionally, we developed and personalized communication with users interested in sending their children to the Artek Bukovel camp.

Since it is a separate direction of the Bukovel brand, we designed:

• a subscription widget for current Artek Bukovel offers;

• a separate chain of communication;

The demand for this direction depends on seasonality, as the camp is open only in summer. In the future, well-functioning retention marketing tools will allow forming a separate segment of clients with whom Artek Bukovel will be able to build effective communication.

Results

At the end of 9 months, we completed the client's task and ran successful email marketing campaigns. Moreover, all the work helped to get additional revenue from the channel, which Bukovel didn't have before.

* 55% of the base are loyal and constantly read emails for at least three months.

For further channel effectiveness, we are going to expand the number of segmented trigger chains and increase the number of contacts communicating with the brand.

What's next?

• Increasing the contact base.
• Improving the revenue from the email marketing channel.
• Creation of the concept and implementation of new contact forms on the site.
• Implementation of all the trigger chains developed in the trigger communication map after the Ukraine's victory in the war.
• Development of additional user segments for more personalized communication.