5 Success-Driven Push Notifications for Travel App Users
The one-line messages that you receive on your smartphone device are known as mobile push notifications. The purpose of push notification is to reach users through compelling, short and crisp messages that will make them respond, engage and act accordingly.
All mobile push notification services are permission based. The moment you download an app on your smartphone, it automatically takes your permission to interact with you through push messages in the future.
Today, marketers are using push notification services to reach and tap the maximum number of potential customers. Push notification helps them promote their products or services, and in turn, get real-time responses from subscribers and prospects on the go. This is extremely important to boost sales and enhance business ROI.
The usage data for push notification varies, depending on the operating system. Push notifications are more widely used on Android than iOS. However, the value and benefits of push notification remain the same, regardless of OS.
Push Your Travel Brand and Boost Your Business
In 2017, there were 2.4 billion smartphone users, and the number continues to grow. By 2020, the figure is likely to reach 6 billion.
On average, push notification reaction rates on mobile phones are almost 8%. With numbers like these, different industries are taking to using push notification to reach their target market.
But did you know that the travel industry is one of the sectors that uses push notification services the most? If you are a marketer in the travel industry or own a travel app to generate revenue, imagine what push notification can do for your business.
Almost all travel apps today are dependent upon push notification for a number of goals:
- Target an audience
- Engage potential customers
- Retarget prospects
- Generate revenue
- Retain customers
However, simply sending push notifications will get you nowhere.
Successful push notification campaigns require planning and strategizing well in advance. A well-crafted push notification campaign will have just the right amount of stickiness to keep your subscribers engaged, and to retain them as well, without turning them off with spammy messages.
Different target audiences and business goals will demand different approaches to push notifications. Keep reading to discover the 5 types of push notification you can use for your travel app subscribers:
#1 Push notification for new customers
Make your new customers feel extra special by nurturing them instantly. Create a personalized campaign that creates upselling opportunities. For instance, if they have booked travel tickets to Bali, you can offer cheap deals on hotel bookings. Or you can provide them with a limited period offer coupon code on their next purchase.
Keep the push to a nudge; don’t be too aggressive. New customers can be skeptical. They don’t yet know your brand or product very well. You want to encourage them to come back but do it gently. Nurture them with offers they find interesting and compelling – something hard to resist.
#2 Push notification for cart abandonment
Cart abandonment during the purchase process in the travel industry is high. It’s a serious issue that cannot be ignored by owners of travel portals or businesses.
Cart abandonment can occur for many reasons:
- There is no real intent to purchase.
- The customer is still undecided.
- The customer is comparing prices and deals on different travel apps.
- The checkout process in your app is too complicated. These are out of your control. However, you can use push notification to help the customer overcome some of the barriers to purchasing, For example, send a personalized push notification to entice them to return to the app. A strong Call to Action encouraging them to complete the booking can do wonders. Offer additional discounts during checkout. Create a sense of urgency. You can do all this with push notifications.
#3 Push notification for travel deals
Promote seasonal offerings with dedicated push notifications. For example, in the pre-summer booking season, push summer vacation packages to your prospects. Similarly, before a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving, you can offer limited-time discounts on certain hotel packages and flights. Track users’ buying behavior. Say a user purchases regular tickets from Dubai to London on a particular airline every three months. You can push a discount on the same deal to cement their repeat purchases with you.
#4 Push notification for reminders
Once your user has booked the ticket, send reminders at regular intervals before the travel date. Users love to receive these gentle reminders, as they show that you care – you don’t want them to miss their flight or make a mistake at the last moment! These small post-purchase gestures go a long way to building customer loyalty and trust.
#5 Push notification for travel plans
Keep your customers engaged with notifications even after their purchase. If they are traveling to a certain destination, you can provide current information about the weather or important local customs that they must know. This way, you keep them coming back to your app. It might not always be for a purchase, however, you are engaging them with useful information that keeps your brand at the forefront of their mind, and encourages them to return.
Final call
The more you engage your users with relevant, helpful information, the more they will keep using your app. Provide excellent 24/7 customer service (or as close to 24/7 as you can!), make sure your app interface is user-friendly and your checkout gateway is not complicated. Then, strengthen your offering via timely, useful push notifications that entice customers to keep using your app for all their travel needs.
