Automated emails run quietly in the background, which is their strength and their risk. A welcome series set up two seasons ago may still be sending last year’s prices. Statistics tell you when something needs attention. This page explains which figures to watch for a business in St Kitts and Nevis, and what to do when they move.
Why we don’t quote industry averages here
You will find plenty of benchmark figures online, but few are measured for small Caribbean businesses, and none reflect your own list. The most useful benchmark is your own history: how this automation performed last month, last season and last year. Mailpro’s real-time statistics build that history for you.
The five figures to watch
1. Delivery and bounces
If automated emails bounce, the rest of the numbers are meaningless. A rising bounce rate on a pre-arrival email usually means booking forms are collecting mistyped addresses. Fix the form, not just the list.
2. Opens
Opens indicate whether the subject line and sender name are recognised. Privacy features in some mail apps now inflate open figures, so use them to compare your own emails with each other, not as an exact count.
3. Clicks
Clicks are a more reliable signal. For a pre-arrival email, clicks on the transfer or ferry information show guests are using it. For a post-stay email, clicks on the review link show whether the request is working. Clear buttons help.
4. Conversions
Track what happens after the click: bookings, table reservations, enquiries. A returning-guest offer that gets many clicks but few bookings may have a pricing or availability problem, not an email problem.
5. Unsubscribes
A few unsubscribes are normal. A sudden rise after a particular automated email means the content or frequency is wrong for that audience. Under the consent approach of the Federation’s Data Protection Act, 2018, and laws such as CASL for Canadian recipients, unsubscribes must be honoured immediately.
Seasonal patterns to expect
Businesses in the Federation see strong seasonality. Pre-arrival emails peak in volume during the December to April high season, around the St Kitts Music Festival in late June and around Culturama on Nevis in late July and early August. Compare each period with the same period last year rather than with the previous month. During hurricane season, from 1 June to 30 November, watch for spikes in clicks on any storm-update links, and make sure those pages are current.
A simple monthly review
Put a recurring half-hour in the calendar, ideally at the start of each month. For each active automation, note the delivery rate, the click rate and the unsubscribe rate, and compare with the previous month and the same month last year. Check the content for anything out of date: last year’s Culturama dates, an old ferry schedule, a price in the wrong currency. Then choose one improvement to test. Over a year, twelve small improvements add up.
Break the figures down
Look at results by segment, using segmentation. Overseas guests and local customers behave differently, and so do readers in different time zones. If Europeans open a welcome email far less than North Americans, try sending it at a different hour in AST.
From numbers to action
- Low opens: test a new subject line. Mailpro’s guide to the ideal subject line can help.
- Low clicks: move the main link higher and make it a button.
- High unsubscribes: reduce frequency or tighten the audience.
- Generic content: add personal fields such as name, island and visit date.
Detailed reports for every send are available in campaign statistics. To set up or adjust your automations, go to automated emails in St Kitts and Nevis.