Top 5 Expert Tips for Writing Effective & Engaging Push Notifications
Out-of-policy bookings cost money, time, and at worst, put travellers at risk. Sure, you’ve sent the emails (and lots of them), but bookings and traveller decisions still seem to fall through the cracks. So how can this issue be solved?
Browser extensions are easy to install, constantly working in the background, and assist you in real-time during various workflows or tasks. A common consumer-grade browser extension is Paypal Honey: it searches across countless online databases to immediately provide the best and most relevant coupons for 40,000+ stores.
This sounds all well and good, but how can you use browser extension to facilitate adoption of your booking policies?
Instead of relying on email to get the message out, you can send company policy updates right where it matters most: at point-of-booking. A browser extension can shoot over a push notification at any point of the booking process to remind travellers of your travel policy as they book. This lets you act as a guide for your travellers without wasting time hovering over everyone’s shoulders. But keep in mind that not all push notifications are created equally.
Looking to get started? Here are 5 tips from our experts on writing effective and engaging push notifications.
1. Be Benefit Focused
Let’s face it: if you want people to do something, you have to let them know what’s in it for them. Your push notifications should clearly communicate what travellers will gain from taking policy-compliant actions.
For example, if your traveller is trying to book on Expedia instead of your online booking tool, don’t just say, “Company policy requires you to book lodging through our OBT.” Let your traveller know what booking through your OBT can do for them. Can they get late check outs? Free breakfast? Loyalty points they can use toward personal vacations? The more you show your traveller how your policy benefits them, the more they’ll be motivated to follow it. Timely notifications can also make travellers feel safe and supported while on the road and give travel managers the reach they need to meet their duty of care standards.
2. Don’t Be Pushy with Your Push Notification
We know it sounds like an oxymoron but let us explain. At the end of the day, you should be using push notifications to gradually change travellers’ booking behaviors and familiarize them enough with your travel policy that they can do it without the extra reminders. Being too bossy risks creating an adversarial perception of your travel program. It’s more effective to nudge your travellers towards the appropriate booking decisions. Instead of explicitly saying they need to opt for eco-friendly transportation to benefit your policy’s carbon initiative, try something softer like, "Go green! Maybe take the train instead?"
Just remember: your content should still sound like it comes from your brand. If you work for a company that uses humor heavily in all their messaging, then it would make sense for you to use humor in all of your notifications too! But if your brand tends to take a more serious tone, a strict response may be more expected and well-received by your travellers.
3. Keep It Catchy & Concise
Your message should be easy to read and understand (yes, they’re two different things). Make sure every word counts. Sometimes it’s best to stick to one short phrase while bolding the most important content. You could even enhance your message with images, GIFs, and emojis to catch your traveller’s eye and ensure they’ll read your push notification!
However, there may also be times where you genuinely do have a lot of necessary information you can’t afford to cut out from a singular push notification. To convey that guidance without overwhelming your traveller, you could try one of the following methods:
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Break up your content with a dropdown menu so travellers can easily identify and look into topics most relevant to their personal booking experience.
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Use bullet points to chop up information into bite-sized, easy-to-read concepts.
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Link out to your organization’s larger internal resources, like videos or instructional guides. Just provide a teaser of the content you’re embedding so your traveller knows what they’re getting into.
4. One CTA is All You Need
When writing a push notification, you should first ask yourself: “What is my goal with this message?” Do you want to encourage booking through your OBT? Convince travellers to take the train to cut carbon emissions? The answer should be one quick, measurable action your user can take from your push notification. Keep in mind that while push notifications are not an approval tool, they are great for surveying and collecting contextual data to see if your travellers are actually doing what you need them to.
5. Spread Out Across Booking Flow
Be careful with the amount of push notifications you send. Your travellers will quickly get overwhelmed if they receive too many messages at once – especially if they won’t use that information until further into their booking journey. Piece-mealing notifications keeps travellers more compliant and confident in understanding policy, so try to think holistically about different stages of the OBT booking process where notifications could appear. A push should be relevant to your users and their needs at that moment in their booking flow. If it’s not something they need at that point, wait until they do!
Wrap Up
This tool isn’t just a dream…we have it, and it’s called the FCM Extension. And oh yeah, did we mention it’s the only tool of its kind?
The FCM Extension is a simple browser plugin that works on Chrome and Edge and provides travellers with enhanced decision-making support (and you with peace of mind). The Extension operates on more than 2,000 websites, with notifications tailored to your program and aimed at changing booking behavior.
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