Attendance is just as important to track as sales. After you sell someone a subscription, you don't want to become complacent. So you have hit your subscription goal this season. Congrats! But now comes the hard part. You need to track which of your subscribers purchased subscriptions but are not attending. These are the folks who will not renew for the following season.
Many people have asked me how Virginia Stage Company maintains such a high renewal rate (last year was 89%). I am certain that one of the reasons we have a high renewal rate is the constant interaction we have with our customers. After each production, I run an attendance report showing which subscribers did not attend. If I see a continuing pattern starting to develop, I contact them either through an email, or telephone, to just talk about their experience with VSC. I don't come on too hard, and usually they tell me right off the bat why they haven't been attending. If it is something that I can correct, or address (and about 90% of the time it is), then I will go out of my way to get them to the theater. I am sure that once they start attending regularly, they will love the experience.
Maintain that personal contact with subscribers who for some reason are not attending. They will appreciate that you are reaching out to them, and addressing their "problems" in a timely and attentive fashion.
Saturday, March 23, 2013
You'll Love It or We'll Eat It!
I love Taco Bell's new guarantee (I know you are probably thinking that I eat out too often now). As you walk into their restaurants, there are big signs on the walls that state, "if you don't like it, we'll make it right or we'll eat it." As a customer, I know that although it only cost me 79 cents, if there is something wrong with my taco, they stand behind their product. I wonder how many people actually ask for a full refund? I bet there are very few...
At the LORT conference, many of my colleagues were talking about offering a money back guarantee. Some theaters had a guarantee already in place, and they noticed that postcards that mentioned the guarantee sold had a much higher ROI than those sent out without the guarantee. But even more interesting was that most theaters reported having ZERO requests for a refund. There are very few people in the world who are argumentative enough to walk straight up to the box office and ask for a full refund even if they had the worst experience ever. So if you provide a good experience to your customers, I would imagine that you have nothing to worry about. Increased sales with little risk...seems like an easy call to make.
At the LORT conference, many of my colleagues were talking about offering a money back guarantee. Some theaters had a guarantee already in place, and they noticed that postcards that mentioned the guarantee sold had a much higher ROI than those sent out without the guarantee. But even more interesting was that most theaters reported having ZERO requests for a refund. There are very few people in the world who are argumentative enough to walk straight up to the box office and ask for a full refund even if they had the worst experience ever. So if you provide a good experience to your customers, I would imagine that you have nothing to worry about. Increased sales with little risk...seems like an easy call to make.
"Faith Night" at the Ball Stadium?
We all try inventive ways of bringing in new target demographics into our venues. Some large mainstream attractions have even gotten a lot of press by having particular days dedicated to a target demographic (i.e. Disneyland and gay day). However, this one caught me off guard this morning when I heard about it on CNN Headline News. Now before I go another step, I should say that I myself am a practicing Christian, but is this taking it a step too far?
The Atlanta Braves announced that they will be holding three "faith nights" at the ball park. In an interview with the Vice President of Marketing from the Atlanta Braves this morning on CNN Headline News, he admitted that the primary reason for holding the event is to target the populations of over 5,700 churches in a 70 mile radius of the stadium. That in itself doesn't necessarily bother me. But handing out bibles to everyone that goes through the gate? or better yet, Moses bobbleheads? or how about holding a concert with a Christian Rock band before the game? With a seating capacity of over 50,000, surely they understand that there will be many people attending the game who are not Christian. Will they take kindly when they are handed a bible at the gate? or when forced to listen to Christian worship music? is it an appropriate step to have a major league ball team endorse one religion over the other, going so far as to have a ballplayer as the official spokesman for the event?
On the flip side, I don't know how I would feel if I were a season ticket holder, and when I came to the ball game, I was handed a koran and a free prayer mat with the Atlanta Braves logo on it.
Check out an article on "faith night" here.
Initiators' Night (the experiment)
Sorry I haven't posted in awhile. We are getting ready to open CROWNS at Virginia Stage Company and things have been a little hectic around here. Today's post is about a program that Virginia Stage Company just launched. We all know that about 80% of your business can be directly traced back to about 20% of your customer base (these individuals being the most influential and enthusiastic customers you have). There have been many names given to these types of customers. At Virginia Stage Company, I refer to them as Initiators. Initiators are the types of people who like to discover new things, and then tell all of their friends about it. They have influence with a large number of people. In short, they are the trendsetters. The key is to get these individuals to adopt your product as the new trend.
At VSC, we have just launched an Initiators' Night at the Wells. We try to locate those Initiators in our community, and then bring them in to sample our product. For example: With Crowns, I researched who I considered to be the most influential people within the African American community of Hampton Roads. These people included pastors of historically black churches, directors of political organizations such as the NAACP, administrators at our two historically black universities, leaders of African American social groups such as LINK, African American media personalities and African American government officials. We even added in owners of African American salons (the thought being they talk to a lot of African American women and could pitch our product for us). We invited over 120 Initiators to the first public performance of CROWNS. We provided them with free tickets, a complimentary catered dinner and an open bar. We made a little pitch to them about the show, asked for their support in getting the word out and then gave them a lot of marketing materials (including flyers for discounted admission). All of them left the performance last night pledging their support. Hopefully we will have 120 advocates in the community to help start a word of mouth campaign.
As they say, the proof will be in the pudding and time will tell. I will let you know how it turns out.
At VSC, we have just launched an Initiators' Night at the Wells. We try to locate those Initiators in our community, and then bring them in to sample our product. For example: With Crowns, I researched who I considered to be the most influential people within the African American community of Hampton Roads. These people included pastors of historically black churches, directors of political organizations such as the NAACP, administrators at our two historically black universities, leaders of African American social groups such as LINK, African American media personalities and African American government officials. We even added in owners of African American salons (the thought being they talk to a lot of African American women and could pitch our product for us). We invited over 120 Initiators to the first public performance of CROWNS. We provided them with free tickets, a complimentary catered dinner and an open bar. We made a little pitch to them about the show, asked for their support in getting the word out and then gave them a lot of marketing materials (including flyers for discounted admission). All of them left the performance last night pledging their support. Hopefully we will have 120 advocates in the community to help start a word of mouth campaign.
As they say, the proof will be in the pudding and time will tell. I will let you know how it turns out.
Want more subscribers...
Minimize Attrition + Maximize Exposure = More Subscribers.
I will talk later about minimizing attrition, so today I will talk about maximizing your exposure in front of prime target audiences. If you are in a community with a lot of transient populations (i.e. a large military population), then you will want to focus on new movers. Every time a subscriber moves out of the area, you will lose a subscription (naturally). But every time a person moves into your community, there is an opportunity to gain another subscriber. Are you reaching that new target audience? what are you offering them?
To compensate for the loss of subscription income due to relocations, Virginia Stage Company aggressively targets new movers. We send an information packet about Virginia Stage Company, including a coupon for two free tickets, a season brochure, press clippings and a DVD to each new mover in the area that fits our demographic profile. When looking for new subscribers, I look at individuals who have a certain amount of disposable income primarily. However, I also like to target married couples without children, women (primary purchasers) and individuals who have purchased from direct mail in the past twelve years. I learned at a recent conference that the best determining factor on whether or not someone will purchase theater tickets from a direct mail piece is not income, education or marital status (as once thought), but in fact it is their purchase history from direct mail items such as catalogs. If a person has purchased from a catalog in the past twelve months, they are much more likely to respond to your direct mail campaign. Just food for thought.
Create a welcome to the neighborhood packet and send them to every new neighbor that meets your criteria. This way you can mitigate the damages suffered from losing subscribers to relocation.
I will talk later about minimizing attrition, so today I will talk about maximizing your exposure in front of prime target audiences. If you are in a community with a lot of transient populations (i.e. a large military population), then you will want to focus on new movers. Every time a subscriber moves out of the area, you will lose a subscription (naturally). But every time a person moves into your community, there is an opportunity to gain another subscriber. Are you reaching that new target audience? what are you offering them?
To compensate for the loss of subscription income due to relocations, Virginia Stage Company aggressively targets new movers. We send an information packet about Virginia Stage Company, including a coupon for two free tickets, a season brochure, press clippings and a DVD to each new mover in the area that fits our demographic profile. When looking for new subscribers, I look at individuals who have a certain amount of disposable income primarily. However, I also like to target married couples without children, women (primary purchasers) and individuals who have purchased from direct mail in the past twelve years. I learned at a recent conference that the best determining factor on whether or not someone will purchase theater tickets from a direct mail piece is not income, education or marital status (as once thought), but in fact it is their purchase history from direct mail items such as catalogs. If a person has purchased from a catalog in the past twelve months, they are much more likely to respond to your direct mail campaign. Just food for thought.
Create a welcome to the neighborhood packet and send them to every new neighbor that meets your criteria. This way you can mitigate the damages suffered from losing subscribers to relocation.
So you want to be innovative?
In today's world, it is tough to stay on the leading edge of marketing technology. Things are constantly changing. I am asked on a somewhat regular basis what is the most innovative thing that you do? How do you stand out from your competition? My answer...thank you notes. Kind of strange, I know. However, think of how many marketing messages you are hit with a day? how many e-newsletters? how many telemarketing calls? now think about how many hand written note cards you get in a day.
When someone receives a hand written notecard in the mail, they know that you have invested the time and energy into sitting down to write one. On average, I write probably five notecards a day. It takes me maybe five minutes each, but the returns on each notecard are amazing. Send them out for the little things--an editor gives you great placement on a story, a salesperson gives you a free ad, a subscriber buys ten extra tickets for their friends, etc. I guarantee you that you will be remembered, and your message will come across as thoughtful.
I learned this lesson while working in a development department. Development professionals are great when it comes to stewardship. As marketing professionals, we can learn something from them.
Have Video. Will Share.
So you have bought that new video camera, and you have figured out how to download your digital video clips onto the desktop of your computer. Now you are wondering how you can post your video on your website and share it with the world. You Tube to the rescue. When I was looking at posting video on VSC's blog for the first time several months ago, I knew that I needed someone to host the video. I had to get the video online quickly, and I didn't have time to bother our web designer. So necessity is the mother of invention. I found You Tube online, and it is quick and painless. All you have to do is visit www.youtube.com. Set up a free acount, and then you are able to upload your video (to a maximum of 100 mb). You Tube then processes your video, posts it to their website, and gives you the html code to post it to your website. You can even email the link out in your e-newsletters. It is easy. It cost no money. It shares your video with millions of people. It is truly a no brainer.
On a personal note...
I wanted to share that I have accepted a new position as the Director of Print and Multimedia Communications at the Americans for the Arts in Washington, D.C. My last day as the Director of Communications at Virginia Stage Company will be Friday, October 27. I am also very lucky to be going out with a bang! Virginia Stage Company's current production of CROWNS has become the Company's fourth best selling show in its 28 year history. Leaving Virginia Stage Company is bitter sweet. It is a great organization, and I have had an amazing time there. However, I am ready for the next challenge...
Congratulations my friends...
Congratulations are in order for two of my colleagues here in DC!
Kevin Moore, Managing Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, has accepted a new job as the Managing Director of the Cleveland Playhouse. Kevin has been the Managing Director of Woolly Mammoth since 1998, during which time the company raised over $9 million for the construction of their new theater.
Patrick Madden, Vice President of External Relations for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, has accepted a new job as the Executive Director of Sister Cities International. Madden has served as the vice president of external affairs and the publisher of Inside Arts magazine at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters since 2003, where he managed fundraising, government affairs and membership departments, in addition to directing the organization's communications outreach.
Kevin Moore, Managing Director of Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, has accepted a new job as the Managing Director of the Cleveland Playhouse. Kevin has been the Managing Director of Woolly Mammoth since 1998, during which time the company raised over $9 million for the construction of their new theater.
Patrick Madden, Vice President of External Relations for the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, has accepted a new job as the Executive Director of Sister Cities International. Madden has served as the vice president of external affairs and the publisher of Inside Arts magazine at the Association of Performing Arts Presenters since 2003, where he managed fundraising, government affairs and membership departments, in addition to directing the organization's communications outreach.
Bring your audience "behind-the-scenes"...
Virginia Stage Company's primary reason for launching a blog was to give its patrons a behind-the-scenes view of the Company's operations. The idea being the more the patron is involved in the process, the more interested they will be in attending the production. At first, I spent a lot of time trying to convince the artists to blog about their experiences. Some artists were very willing, while others had no clue to what a blog was. Across the board I found that the closer we got to opening, the less likely they were to blog. I had to find another way to bring our readers behind-the-scenes. I figured the next best thing to hearing directly from the artists would be to watch the artists in rehearsal. I consulted the AEA rules, and found that we were able to use rehearsal video to help promote a production as long as we stayed within some limitations (check your rule book). So we started to post a video clip from rehearsl each week, and we had a fantastic response. Our audience loved it! So now, with every production, we post weekly rehearsal video clips on our blog.
Below is an example from VSC's production of Crowns:
Below is an example from VSC's production of Crowns:
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)