CHARTING A NEW COURSE.
Boosting lead generation effectiveness for the corporate cruise business.
THE SITUATION
Hornblower Cruises and Events is one of the largest and most established dining cruise and charter yacht companies in the United States with over seventy yachts, thousands of employees and millions of happy guests every year. With a growing presence on both coasts, Hornblower was looking to boost lead generation effectiveness for its corporate cruise business and to get a new program on course.
THE SOLUTION
Our engagement entailed a comprehensive demand generation effort, including Buyer Persona Development; Customer and Prospect Database Segmentation; Content Strategy; Blog, Email and Ebook Content Creation; Lead Generation Marketing Plan; and, Marketing Automation Workflows.
THE RESULTS
Our efforts were implemented starting with Hornblower’s Summer Corporate Event Lead Generation campaign. Results for the campaign far exceeded previous years, with a quadrupling of qualified leads booking summertime corporate charters on Hornblower Yachts.
Customer Segmentation
We uncovered the key characteristics and triggers for Hornblower’s top corporate event buyer types and used these insights to develop custom Buyer Personas to guide marketing and lead generation efforts.
Lead Generation Programs
Developed strategies for refining, expanding and improving Hornblower’s lead generation marketing efforts. Created new email segmentation programs based on personas, geo, buyer stage, and other criteria. Developed extensive email workflows and related processes to improve email database performance through better alignment of the buyer profile, content, and timing.
Sales Funnels & Email
Created and managed Email Campaigns targeting various buyer profiles across key geographies. Managed A/B Testing Programs designed to optimize conversions.
Content Mapping & Development
Developed suites of engaging and purposeful campaign concepts, ebooks, blog/social content, offers and editorial/posting calendars, targeting Hornblower's various buyer types.
Premium Content & eBooks
Concepted and developed Ebooks and follow-up nurturing campaigns designed to capture contact information and engage mid-funnel prospects who are not yet ready to book a cruise event.
Landing Pages
Concepted and created landing pages based on buyer segments, funnel types, offers, and calls-to-action. Managed A/B Testing Programs designed to optimize outcomes.
