The hotel is historic, but the email program is fresh.

Last week a few of the Emma staffers spent some time in America’s Finest City, San Diego, California. We stayed at The Sofia, a recently renovated hotel with history that dates back to 1926. The service was friendly, the rooms were comfy, the sinks were chic and the dark chocolates, well, they were a special gift from my sweet wife. She knows my addiction all too well, and the folks at The Sofia were ready to accommodate.

The email program caught my attention, too. (Of course!) Their in-room comment card doubled as a signup form and had a question that piqued my interest. It asked, ‘Are there any dates you would like us to help you remember?’ (Here’s the online version of the form.) Immediately, I thought of my anniversary and gave them the date. It started a whole chain of thoughts, too. How will we celebrate this year? Where will we go? Would Lauren enjoy San Diego? My hunch is that I’ll get an email a month or two in advance of my anniversary and all of these thoughts will come flooding back into my head. Just in time to make my travel plans!

There are two things I love about this little strategy. First, it’s easy on the marketing team at The Sofia. One email campaign can be waiting in the wings and automatically be sent out in advance of every special day in their list. Once it’s in motion, not much maintenance is required. Second, it makes for a great subscriber experience. An invitation to celebrate a day that’s special to me is so much better than a randomly timed 20% discount offer or an update about a new amenity, for example.

What about you and your list building strategy? Are there other questions you should be asking? Questions that set the direction of your email program in ways that improve the subscriber experience and strengthen your customer relationships at the same time? If so, go ahead and change things up. And by all means, please let us know how it goes.