Automated emails are like hardworking employees who never complain and often perform even better than you expected! Use automated emails to delight your guests and usher them into purchase decisions that drive revenue.

What are automated emails? These are emails sent on automatically, set by a date, by an action, etc. Automated emails are often called nurturing emails because they ‘nurture’ your contacts to move them further down the marketing funnel.

These emails propel casual bowlers to join a league or to host a party with you. They make sure that when someone signs up for an event, the person actually attends.

Although automated emails send automatically, once you set them you can’t just forget them. Revisit them monthly to check they are up-to-date and working as planned. Check the click and open rate for A/B testing opportunities. Look for areas to improve.

While the number of automated emails you could possibly send are virtually endless, let’s start with the 6 must-have automated emails that your bowling center needs to send.

Birthday Specials

Do you have specials for guests during their birthday, or do you host birthday parties at your venue? This is the perfect time to send an automated email.

Start by collecting the birthdays of your contacts. From here, you can create an email to automatically send around the time that they celebrate. In the email, provide a coupon or special discount, and remind them that you host parties.

If you don’t offer anything special for this occasion, you can still use it as an opportunity to wish your customer a happy birthday!

Event Reminders

If you allow people to sign up online without collecting payment for bowling center events, you’ll notice that not everyone who RSVPs attends. Automated emails are one way to make sure they show up.

After a lead submits a form for an event, there a few emails you should automate. The first is a confirmation email to let them know they are officially registered. Include all important event information like dates, times, and details. Is the event months and months away? Schedule another email to send out a few weeks before. These emails don’t have to be repetitive. Include fun facts, like ways to prepare for the big day. For your bowling event, something simple like including tips on how to bowl the highest score can keep people interested.

Don’t stop there. Schedule a reminder email for a few days before the event. This one can be a simple “Don’t Forget!” email that repeats the event details.

(And while you’re at it, make sure you set up a Facebook event!)

Reserve a Lane Confirmation

Reserve a lane confirmations are a big automated email must-have. Once customers fill out the form on your site, don’t leave them wondering whether their request went through.

Send an email with a confirmation of their lane reservation. Include the date, time, location, and other details of their reservation so they aren’t left with any questions or confusion. If you will be following up their form submission with a phone call or email with a final confirmation from the bowling center, include this information in the email.

If you really want to impress them, include a coupon for a free soft drink or snack in the email!

Reengagement Email

Marketing automation software, like Hubspot, allows you to collect useful information about your leads and site visitors. One thing your software should tell you is whether someone hasn’t interacted with you in a while. If a lead hasn’t visited your website or come into your center to bowl in many months, it’s time to send them a reengagement email.

You can set up an email to send automatically if six months has gone by with no interaction. You can send them the traditional “We miss you” message, but we recommend also including a coupon for a free bowling game or food or drink. Be sure to include a link to reserve a lane directly from the email.

Thank You For Contacting Us Email

When someone contacts you through your contact form. It should trigger an automated email letting them knowing their email was received and an estimated time until they should expect a reply. It gives your customer peace of mind that you’re listening and will be answering them shortly.

These emails don’t have to be too in-depth, but they are a great opportunity to show stellar customer service and friendliness.

Thank You For Subscribing Email

When a customer subscribes to your blog or to signs up to receive emails from you, your should thank them. This can be a simple introductory email that says thanks and gives them a taste of the type of content they can expect to see.

Send them your most popular blog posts or include upcoming events. To really thank them, add in a coupon or discount. And if you don’t have a blog or email signup form on your site, add one now. These are easy wins for collecting email addresses to nurture in the future.

Need help setting these up?

Contact us and we'll help you put together a plan to start sending automated emails.