Red Letter Days reduces bounce rate by 75% and increases revenue attributable to email by 10%
The Highlights:
50%
Increase in total clicks
33%
Increase in total opens
~100%
Increase in inbox placement
The challenge:
Taking email deliverability and engagement to new levels of performance.
Email is a key part of the online marketing mix at Red Letter Days. The email channel is mainly used to drive loyalty and engagement by communicating with existing customers. In addition to sending out transactional emails (i.e., order confirmations, booking confirmations), Red Letter Days also uses email to solicit feedback on services and experiences.
Reaching customers’ inboxes is vital in making the program a success. It helps to increase return visits/purchases to the Red Letter Days website and ensures customers receive their vouchers. There’s a strong focus on moving their email programmes away from traditional “batch and blast” campaigns and moving toward bespoke campaigns based on customer preferences and behaviour.
The solution:
Sender Certification and a revamped email strategy.
Red Letter Days chose Validity’s Sender Certification program to drive up subscriber engagement by improving their inbox placement rates (IPRs), while also locking in the benefits of the email best practices that already formed part of their email strategy. A team of email consultants provided in-depth knowledge and data analytics to demonstrate the impact of Certification on their email program across a number of key performance indicators (KPIs).
“Since becoming Certified, we have seen a massive improvement in our email programme. Open rates for marketing campaigns have almost doubled and so have click-through rates. Attributable revenue from email has increased by 10%.”
Joshna Patel – Head of Online, Red Letter Days
The results:
Greater open rates, increased engagement, and almost 100% IPR.
Engagement data showed the first benefit of Certification was a significant improvement to Red Letter Days’ IPR. Previously, around 25% of their email had been delivered, but not to their subscribers’ inboxes. Since Certification, this metric has improved markedly, and IPR is now near 100%. This improvement is reflected in Red Letter Days’ campaign reporting data, where both open and click-through rates have shown a major uplift. This behaviour is also seen for gross opens (up by nearly 33%) and gross clicks (up by nearly 50%). These repeat interactions strongly indicate increased subscriber engagement, as Red Letter Days’ customers revisit the offers they found most interesting. Not only has their total open and click activity increased since Certification, but their click-to-open ratio (one of the strongest measures of subscriber engagement) has also shown a measurable uplift.
Red Letter Days has increased their broadcast activity by 30% since Certification, with no increase in negative engagement metrics like spam complaints. Bounce activity has also been reduced by 75% as a result of more favorable spam filter treatment and improved sender reputation.
Established in 1989, Red Letter Days pioneered the concept of giving memorable experiences as gifts. Since then, Red Letter Days has flourished, offering hundreds of experiences across the UK with something to suit every taste, occasion, and budget. From a pampering day at a luxury spa or a champagne hot air balloon ride to once-in-a-lifetime experiences like an exhilarating ride in a Formula One car, Red Letter Days aims to cater to anyone’s dream day.