They came. They saw. They left.
You did nothing and now they're not coming back.
It's amazing how many arts organizations let their future subscribers and donors slip right through their hands. Research company Oliver Wyman says that 50% of your yearly audience are first time attendees and 80% will never return. They won't return, that is, unless you ask them.
You spent all that marketing budget getting them in the door. Now what? Do you have a next step? Surprisingly, most companies don't. Oh sure, they might send a CRM generated "thanks for coming" email, but that's it.
As Jill Robinson of TRG says "If they are treated right, they will say yes," to future tickets, to subscriptions, to donations. At Diablo Ballet, we take audience development seriously. We don't wait till after the show to identify first-timers. We know who they are before they step through the door. We make sure they feel welcome - from a welcome email with info on the works presented to how to reach the theatre, to a personalized welcome note on their seat. These folks know that we appreciate their time and effort to join us. Then after the performance, they are invited back to our next show with a ticket offer. That's when we start the relationship - the 2nd Date.
What are you doing to start a relationship?
Audiences are not built...they are developed.
#marketing #arts #performingarts #audience #development
Board Chair and Director | Risk Consultant | Transformation Leader | Inclusion and Diversity Champion
7 年Thanks for your thoughts, Dan Meagher - some excellent insights. Audience development in the arts sector - just like customer experiences in any sector - cannot be thought about simply as individual 'transactions' to generate revenue. It needs to be considered from the perspective of 'whole-of-life' customer experiences focused on building and cultivating relationships. Ultimately, this comes down to real engagement with our audiences and you offer some great suggestions on this front.
I am the infoboss | Search & discovery | Data Compliance | Data Quality | Unstructured data | AI
7 年Hi Dan et al, thanks for posting this, very interesting topic. There was an article published last year by the Audience Insight Wales service covering the same topic, but was based on ticket sale data across 25 venues in Wales. You might find it of interest... https://clearviewbusiness.com/index.php/download_file/view/714/557/
Dan, it sounds like you have thought this out keeping customer preference in the forefront. That’s great. I'm delighted you enjoyed Arts Marketing Insights. I would like to recommend to you my more recent book: the largely revised and updated second edition of Standing Room Only. My recent blog is about the effect of third party discount ticket sellers on single ticket buyers. You can read it here: https://artsmarketinginsights.wordpress.com/
Dan, this topic interests me greatly and I have just written an article about churn from another perspective. I think your tactics are excellent! I am curious as to how much of a discount you offer to people to bring them back a second time and how many people take you up on it. Then, among those who do come back a second time, what do you offer them to attract them for a third visit? Thanks!
Client Account Manager - Manchester Ticketmaster
7 年Very powerful message! So often we all forget the engaging and retention basics of maintaining new audiences. Thank you for this!