Would you like season tickets with that? The Art of the Upgrade
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For cultural institutions, the box office is not just the place where ticket orders are passively taken. It plays an active role in growing revenue by developing loyalty. Every time a patron logs in, calls, or visits to buy a ticket, the opportunity exists for them to upgrade and deepen their relationship with the organization. With the right training, the box office can become experts on how to cultivate patron relationships and keep audiences coming back for more. TRG President & CEO Jill Robinson presented this session at the 2015 InTix conference in Denver with Jeremy Scott of Seattle Repertory Theatre and Molly Riddle Wink of Denver Art Museum.
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Would you like season tickets with that? The Art of the Upgrade
- 1. Would You Like Season Tickets With That? THE ART OF THE UPGRADE
- 2. Upgrading “Would you like fries with that?”
- 3. Staff ARE NOT order takers Staff ARE experts in multiple areas: Product Customer care Patron experience Inventory management Data collection A BEST PRACTICE BOX OFFICE
- 4. Both org and customer feel like they’ve won To do that: 1)Know the next step in the patron’s relationship with the organization 2)Get the customer/patron to think that they want what we’re offering A BEST PRACTICE BOX OFFICE
- 8. AN UPGRADE MATRIX Action Next Step Buy a ticket Buy a small subscription or membership Renewing subscriber or member Buy another ticket Buy a full series subscription or larger membership Add on donation or events
- 10. 1) Confirm patron contact information 2) Take, confirm, and affirm the order 3) Make the appropriate “ask” 3 steps to a patron transaction CROSS-SELL & UPGRADE
- 11. 1 Photo: Todd Huffman CONFIRM CONTACT INFORMATION 3 STEPS TO A PATRON TRANSACTION
- 12. Eliminates “invisible patrons” Gives the organization the opportunity to keep patrons informed It is our responsibility and liability to know who is in the venue At the beginning of a transaction, open the patron’s account! DATA COLLECTION Why is it important? 3 STEPS TO A PATRON TRANSACTION
- 13. the order TAKECONFIRM AFFIRM 2 3 STEPS TO A PATRON TRANSACTION
- 14. The customer will tell you everything you need to know. 3 STEPS TO A PATRON TRANSACTION
- 15. MAKE the ASK 3 3 STEPS TO A PATRON TRANSACTION
- 16. What is the RIGHT “ask”? Staff must take the timing of the transaction into account Refer to an Upgrade Matrix Staff should talk about the event they’re are most excited about Guiding principles Making the Ask 3 STEPS TO A PATRON TRANSACTION
- 17. This is assumptive selling, not aggressive selling Informing a patron IS good customer service “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t tell you about XYZ, Mrs. Smith.” The patron can always say “no thanks.” Guiding principles Making the Ask 3 STEPS TO A PATRON TRANSACTION
- 18. BOX OFFICE DONATION CASE STUDY Arena Stage Mead Center at night. Photo by Scott Suchman.
- 19. More on this case at www.trgarts.com The Arena Stage box office has collected 2,834 gifts totaling $72,010 over 3 years. The Des Moines Performing Arts ticket office secured 380 donations totaling $3,887 for their education fund. 70% had no prior giving history. Ordway Center achieved their goal for box office giving halfway through the 2011–12 season. They generated 548 donations totaling $12,758, including one $1,000 gift
- 20. BOX OFFICE DONATION CASE STUDY Key Success Factors 1. Someone takes ownership of the campaign. 2. Train staff on messaging, test it, and repeat. 3. Set goals & track results. 4. Put the campaign everywhere. 5. Incentivize box office staff.
- 21. Box office culture 1. Collaborative 2. Entrepreneurial 3. Sales-focused 4. Goal-oriented 5. Communicative 6. Inspired A BEST PRACTICE BOX OFFICE
- 23. SRT SITUATION 1. Staff loss and budget cuts 30% across the board 2. Affordable option Retention vs. Acquisition 3. Opportunity Lots of new single ticket buyers
- 24. 4-YEAR PATRON RETENTION PLAN Year 1: same- season ticket Year 2: 3 plays for $99 Year 3: Subscribe! Year 4 Offer: Renew!
- 25. SPECIALLY CULTIVATED PATRONS WERE RETAINED OVER 3 YEARS
- 27. A LITTLE INSPIRATION AT THE RIGHT TIME One Patron Strategy Donors and ticket buyers are not different people Put your patrons first
- 28. OPEN PATRON MODEL TRANSITION Audience Development Patron Experience MKTG COMM DEVO Sales S H O W S S A L E S C L A S S E S F U N D R A I S I N G M A R K E T I N G P A R K I N G
- 29. INTRODUCING THE PATRON SERVICES OFFICE (PSO)
- 30. HOW WE BUILD RELATIONSHIPS
- 32. REALLY – IT WORKS!
- 33. THE RESULTS – 3 YEARS Gift with Subscription – 29% increase New gifts – 21% increase 55 HH have moved into Major Donors ($1,000k+) Annual Fund grew 4% in the last fiscal year; first growth since FY11
- 35. Jeremy Scott Patron Development Manager
- 37. Membership Program Guest Services & Ticketing The Shop Volunteer Services Events
- 38. OUR APPROACH TO MARKETING & SALES Marketing ServiceSales
- 39. DATA CAPTURE • Capturing visitors’ contact information is a challenge in a museum environment • Data helps you learn about your audience • Having data helps you build relationships
- 49. RENEWALS INCREASE WITH NUMBER OF VISITS 6% 9% 11% Buy membership Visit once Visit twice Visit 3 times renewal rate increase renewal rate increase renewal rate increase
- 50. 1. 6,200 brand new members signed on during Becoming Van Gogh 2. Invited via phone to member preview of new general admission show on Georgia O’Keefe 3. 2,565 attended. 500 was typical. 4. Renewal rate for those who attended preview: increased by about 17%
- 51. What are the challenges with these types of programs? DISCUSSION
- 52. Questions?
Hinweis der Redaktion
- JILL: Welcome, everyone. I’m Jill Robinson, President & CEO of TRG Arts, a consulting firm that works with arts and cultural organizations to build revenue through pricing and audience loyalty development. I’m so pleased to see all of you here today to talk about upselling and upgrading patrons. And, I’m so pleased to be joined by my colleagues Jeremy Scott of Seattle Repertory Theatre and Molly Wink of Denver Art Museum. Let’s jump in…
- More than 50 years ago, McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc got it right with six little words… [CLICK] It’s a catchy phrase that perfectly describes the concept of UPGRADING. An upgrade is when a patron steps up to deepen their relationship with your organization—with an extra purchase, a better seat, an add-on donation…
- To orient our organizations around upgrades, we must LET GO of thinking of our box office and patron services staff as simply order takers. [CLICK] What they ARE: Experts in multiple areas Product Customer care Patron experience Inventory management Data collection AND, they are responsible for deepening relationships with patrons and inviting them to get closer to the organization. They are sales representatives optimizing revenue from every patron interaction and transaction.
- Ray Kroc also said: Salesmanship is “the gentle art of letting the customer have it your way.” The box office staff shouldn’t fell like they are CHOOSING SIDES between the org and the customer. Success is found in compromising so that both parties feel like they’ve won. How? [CLICK and riff] Today we’ll take a look at how to do that and some specific examples from Jeremy and Molly’s organizations where the box office was galvanized around those objectives First, let’s look more specifically at what the steps in a patron relationship look like.
- At TRG we often compare arts organizations’ patron relationships to dating. It’s rather like a love story that goes like this: You meet a patron when they first come through your doors. What happens next can be a one night stand or a long, committed relationship. Together, you have a great first date—or a dud. You decide to call the next week to ask on a second date—or not. It all depends on what action you take to keep the romance going. We compare patron relationships to a romance because it IS passion-based connection. It’s about a patron’s love for the art, and for the organization that presents the arts they love. Like any good relationship, its strength depends on LOYALTY.
- Almost every patron in your database begins as a new ticket buyer. [CLICK] If they enjoy their “first date” with you, they’ll come back [CLICK] The plot thickens if and when the patron buys twice in the same season or year. We call that a “multi-buyer” [CLICK] When the romance goes to the Subscriber or Membership level, this is almost akin to getting engaged. [CLICK] Donation: that’s like getting married, because once you have each other, and, if the relationship is well-developed and cared for, you often have them for life. [CLICK] Finally, Advocate/Investor: that’s like celebrating a golden anniversary. Not many get here, but these relationships are worth their weight in gold. This evolution of patron development is a series of largely incremental “next steps” – each involving more active, more frequent, more current transactions that – cumulatively –represent longer, greater patron investments.
- You’ll notice that we are very specifically saying that to get here [CLICK (ADVOCATE)] You cannot start here [CLICK (DONOR)] Or even here [CLICK (SUBSCRIBER)] Two decades of arts consumer behavior research tells us loud and clear: Subscriber or Members and especially Donors are MADE not FOUND Most – 9 out of 10 – start here [CLICK (new single ticket buyer)] As a new or reactivated single ticket buyer who then [CLICK] comes back for a second date and subsequent, more frequent get-togethers. Why do we say that? Let’s go back to our A B T pyramid.
- There is an upgrade for every patron at every phase of their relationship with your organization. Here are just a few examples of upgrading, in what we call an upgrade matrix. CLICK If I’ve just bought a ticket or an admission to your exhibit, the next step is to get me back again – to buy another ticket. CLICK If I’ve attended multiple times through several ticket purchases or a flexible subscription or entry level membership, my next step in our relationship may be a full series subscription or a higher level membership package CLICK By the time I’ve been a subscriber or member for a couple of seasons, I’m ready for deeper engagement – we’re going steady now –ask me to add on a donation, or a ticket to a special performance, exhibit or Gala. CLICK
- Your audience has already written the plot line for their love story with your organization. Every record tells an individual’s story of ticket-buying, subscription, membership, donation, and more. This, of course, is where good data collection, hygiene and keeping that data in a good system become absolutely critical. Your caretaking of data is vital to loyalty and therefore vital to the health of your patron relationship. Let’s talk about what we typically see in a patron record as the sparks fly and a patron love story develops. [Photo by Todd Huffman http://www.flickr.com/photos/oddwick/2126909099/ ]
- At the beginning of a transaction, open the patron’s account! The patron calls and says, “I want tickets to XYZ.” Agent says, “I’d be happy to help you with that. Can I get your name so I can look-up your account?” The patron says, “I don’t have an account.” Agent says: “Have you purchased tickets with us before? If so, allow me to look-up your name, and if I can’t find you in the system we’ll start a new account…”
- Once you’ve confirmed the contact information, you’re ready to get down to business. The box office are not JUST order takers, but taking the order and getting it right is a big part of the job. So, take the order, but also… Confirm it so that you’re sure it’s right. Then, AFFIRM it. “I really think you’ll enjoy this performance, Mrs. Smith.” This can often spark a conversation.
- Remember our upgrade matrix? At this point, when we have their record pulled up and know what they JUST purchased, we have everything we need for the next step…
- To make the ask
- Is the organization selling subscriptions? Is the fiscal or calendar-year end approaching? Is the holiday/blockbuster getting full?
- This is assumptive selling, not aggressive selling Informing a patron IS good customer service “I wouldn’t be doing my job if I didn’t tell you about XYZ, Mrs. Smith.” The patron can always say “no thanks.”
- Arena Stage’s chief development and chief marketing officers created “patron revenue management” meetings designed to address ways in which their departments could work together. From these joint meetings came the strategy for soliciting donations from single ticket buyers. The Arena Stage box office began by asking patrons for a $25 donation towards the end of 2010, as part of the end-of-year fundraising push. The requests were brief and made after the customer had already given their credit card information: “Would you like to add on a $25 tax-deductible contribution to help support our education programs?” The program brought in $1,600 and more than 50 new donors in its first two weeks. Bolstered by this success, Arena expanded the program in 2011. While continuing to ask for $25 gifts from single ticket buyers, they revamped the process for asking for $100 entry-level membership gifts during the subscription campaign. Where previously they had asked subscribers to add optional donations to their subscription purchase (with the gift amount based on previous giving) they now began to pitch the message “Enhance Your Experience” highlighting three targeted membership benefits such as backstage tours, open rehearsals and discount drink coupons. -
- Collaborating cross-departmentally to grow loyalty is essential to long-term revenue growth. However, in many organizations, the box office isn’t integrated into development campaigns. The box office regularly interacts directly with patrons and so can make asks that are both appropriate in the moment and that do a great deal to deepen loyalty. For example, a telefunding follow-up call to a first-time single ticket buyer may push the new patron relationship too far, while an invitation to add on a donation during a purchase may seem more natural. Last year, three of our clients reported successes with these campaigns. [RIFF ON STATS ON SLIDE] How did they do it?
- This case study outlines 5 key success factors: Someone takes ownership of the campaign. Someone from the box office, or development must lead the charge. 2. Plan the message, test it, and repeat. Each organization scripted how to ask patrons for donations—and what amount to ask for. Based on the results they changed how much they asked for and who they asked for what. 3. Set goals & track results. Give them a number to work towards, and let them know of their progress toward that goal. 4. Put it everywhere, with signage on the box office and even online, so that online buyers are asked too. 5. Incentivize the box office staff. (daily prizes for the most gifts secured and the highest amount of gifts received. These gifts were very inexpensive, like candy bags. Overall prizes could be a pizza party or Starbucks card for each goal.) FROM THE CASE STUDY—CONTEXT: Key Success Factors Each organization managed their campaign differently, with varying goals, timelines and specific asks. Five best practice strategies emerged across the three campaigns: 1. Someone takes ownership of the campaign. In each case, one manager led the effort in collaboration with other departments, helped the ticketing team and tracked the results. At Ordway Center for the Performing Arts the individual giving manager took responsibility for the campaign, working side by side with the marketing director and box office manager. Together, they laid out the program step-by-step. They created a script (depending on if the patron had given previously and when) and trained the box office. The individual giving manager regularly monitored the goals and reported on progress to the box office team. He actively encouraged participation, celebrated successes and adjusted expectations and incentives throughout the campaign. 2. Plan the message, test it, and repeat Each organization scripted how to ask patrons for donations—and what amount to ask for. Tiffany Spinner, annual fund manager at Des Moines Performing Arts, led her organization’s ticket office campaign. She started the campaign with a brief presentation sharing the talking points and goals for the campaign. The amount the box office staff asked for made a difference in number of gifts received, according to Spinner: In the fall (part one of the two-part campaign), we asked staff at the window and on the phone to ask for a donation of any amount. The average gift size was just over $10. In the spring, we asked for a specific minimum amount of either $5 or $10. We found that we received fewer high level donations, but the number of donations increased—242 ($2,570) gifts in the spring, compared to 131 ($1,317) in the fall. Arena Stage’s chief development and chief marketing officers created “patron revenue management” meetings designed to address ways in which their departments could work together. From these joint meetings came the strategy for soliciting donations from single ticket buyers. The Arena Stage box office began by asking patrons for a $25 donation towards the end of 2010, as part of the end-of-year fundraising push. The requests were brief and made after the customer had already given their credit card information: “Would you like to add on a $25 tax-deductible contribution to help support our education programs?” The program brought in $1,600 and more than 50 new donors in its first two weeks. Bolstered by this success, Arena expanded the program in 2011. While continuing to ask for $25 gifts from single ticket buyers, they revamped the process for asking for $100 entry-level membership gifts during the subscription campaign. Where previously they had asked subscribers to add optional donations to their subscription purchase (with the gift amount based on previous giving) they now began to pitch the message “Enhance Your Experience” highlighting three targeted membership benefits such as backstage tours, open rehearsals and discount drink coupons. 3. Set goals & track results A key part of Ordway’s success was setting specific donation goals for the box office. Ordway pulled data from previous seasons to create a baseline and set goals for the upcoming campaign. Knowing that annual fund giving tended to be cyclical based on the month and time of year, they set quarterly goals based on what had been achieved in the prior year, and added modest increases. The goals weren’t overly aggressive, adding just 10% growth in the number of gifts and a 15% increase in gift size from ticket buyers. With tracking and accountability in place, the ticket office easily achieved these goals by the end of the second quarter of their fiscal year. At Arena Stage, Chief Marketing Officer Khady Kamara set up weekly reports to track results by campaign and by caller, which were reviewed by the Sales Manager and callers. Callers who were having trouble making asks were given extra coaching and support. The Development Office also came in as needed to provide talking points, answer questions and help with training. 4. Put it everywhere In the box office… The organizations also widely publicized their campaigns in multiple channels; Des Moines Performing Arts made the WLDFK campaign highly visible at the box office with the following: window cling decals on each ticket window with the WLDFK logo rack cards about the campaign at each ticket window all staff, including the Ticket Office/Guest Services team, wore WLDFK logo lapel pins …and online. After the first season’s success, Arena added an invitation to donate to its online ticketing system, so online buyers were also asked for donations. Arena’s Senior Director of Individual Giving Kristen Mitchell emphasized: Using multiple channels further expands Arena’s reach and ensures that EVERY ticket buyer, no matter how they purchase tickets, get an ask. It boosts our bottom line as we nearly doubled our revenue from ticket add-on donations by asking online. It also provides a warm base of low-level givers we can upgrade to membership. Most importantly, it brings further awareness to our fundraising message which benefits us in the long run as well. Arena’s Chief Marketing Officer Khady Kamara added: Just as we want to ensure that patrons have the same satisfying shopping experience online that they receive in person or over the phone, it is vital to ensure that the patrons have the same sales opportunities as well. Every deal, every up-sell and cross-sell, every benefit must be present through each sales channel to ensure your message, your product, your customers’ experiences are as uniform as possible. It’s better for the patrons and, we have found, it’s better for Arena Stage’s bottom line. 5. Incentivize box office staff Prizes, incentives and rewards played a crucial role in each organization’s campaign. Tiffany Spinner of Des Moines Performing Arts particularly went all out in making the campaign fun and getting the staff excited about hitting goals. There would be daily prizes for the most gifts secured and the highest amount of gifts received. These gifts were very inexpensive, like candy bags. I also gave a $25 Downtown Des Moines gift card at the end of the holiday campaign for the most money raised and a $15 Starbucks gift card to the most gifts secured. I sent daily emails announcing the winners and providing ideas for how to make ‘the ask’. Ordway encouraged the box office by setting a specific incentive like a pizza party or Starbucks card for each goal. The box office also got an extra cash reward when they achieved the overall fiscal year revenue goal, with the reward amount based on how many hours each individual put into the campaign. The bottom line: Making a donation strengthens a patron’s connection to an organization. The box office can play a key role in upgrading loyalty, but it takes effort to start and maintain the practice of box office giving. The key factors described above can lead to the development of a sustainable, successful effort.
- Campaigns like this move us toward a best practice box office. This is a box office that is: [JILL to riff on each one] Collaborative Entrepreneurial Sales-focused Goal-oriented Communicative Inspired Jeremy from Seattle Repertory Theatre is here to talk about his own organization’s efforts to make their patron services best practice…
- But first, let me tell you a little bit about Seattle Repertory Theater so you have some context as I go through this presentatio Founded in 1963 Two theater spaces 8 productions a year with 250 performances $10.4M annual budget Serve 125,000 patrons annually n. Seattle Repertory Theatre began 50 years ago in 1963 when a group of theatre lovers created the Company as a foundation for a thriving ….arts-rich community. Today, Seattle Rep creates productions and programs that surprise, entertain, challenge and uplift their community through a shared act of imagination. I love this statement on Seattle Rep’s web site: “As we reach new audiences and deepen relationships with our long-time patrons, we welcome and take care of all who come through our doors—there is room for everyone.”
- Katie & team, in your own words Budget cuts Retention became affordable option There was opportunity – lots of new single ticket buyers that you didn’t want to lose. Made the decision to get second attendance same season. CLICK
- Seattle Rep started in year one with efforts focused on getting that second date. And so, that first year, new single ticket buyers got offers to come back for a second show – and nothing else. No donation requests, although some newbies volunteered a donation as a round-up to ticket purchases….and no subscription offer. CLICK In year two, this group of households received a special direct offer – come to any three plays for $99. Again, that was the only special offer put in front of this group SRT was cultivating. And, in year two, households in this group bought on average five tickets in year two. CLICK In year three, this specially cultivated group got its own subscription offer, their first traditional subscription mailer and follow-up phone call. In year three, relationships developed further and this group of households bought on average six tickets that year. CLICK In year 4, which was the season just completed in June 2013, SRT’s specially cultivated group of subscribers were asked to renew….and they did – at an 81% renewal rate, which is a rate we normally see with long-time subscribers, not newbies. SRT’s retention program is a concentrated, patient, focused effort to get newbies to come back. They were building a relationship where none existed. Like a romantic relationship it took time and trust. Here are more results. CLICK
- Here’s where we see retention. The red line tracks the rate of retention for SRT’s cultivation group – the households they got a second date with in their first year. The blue line tracks the rate of retention for other first timers. You can see that the second date really paid off – with 30% coming back in year two, while only 10% of other first timers came back. To be sure, SRT was fighting the forces of churn with both groups, but they DID achieve better retention, and the rate of retention among that specially cultivated group remained significantly higher throughout the period. CLICK
- Most alarming was a trend we had seen in our Annual Fund , those donations between $25 - $999. As you can see here from 2006 – 2011, we saw a decrease in revenue of 47%, while at the same time saw our Cost of acquisition increase 25%.
- So I’ve got all of these bad trends, the board is asking me to think about doing our business differently, and more importantly, we had three different communications set to mail to the same group of people all asking for something different. And so I did what all of us do….went out to drinks with a colleague to drown my sorrows. And as I started talking with her about how frustrated I was with all of the messages hitting our patrons and that they weren’t coordinated, she told me about a model that had been developed by a theater in Atlanta called Alliance Theater. So think about what that really means – put your patrons first. While it seems basic in principle it’s actually very hard. It’s much easier to think about the needs of the organization than it is to think about what every individual who interacts with you needs. We needed to think about our patrons every minute, every decision, every communication. They come first.
- So I’d like you to meet Terri – a lovely patron who both buys tickets and gives money to us annually. In looking at how we currently communicated with her we realized that we were constantly putting our own needs first; and I think this is probably how she felt at time. In developing our One Patron Strategy, we realized our relationship with Terri needed to look more like this and we needed to A focus on building long term relationships across all points of interaction Ensure that every interaction was clear and reflective of the Seattle Rep as a whole Steam-line of messages; very strategic and controlled
- Concierge Service that is a benefit of subscribing and donating ($100+) Combined model of inbound and outbound into one central locations Portfolio of 1,000 – 1,500 Stay active for 18 mos Handles all interaction with patron; empowered to do the right thing for our patrons. Exchanges Additional Tickets Renewals – subs & donation Campaign Asks Special communications – RSVP, Show Cancellation, Seat Upgrades, Courtesy Calls
- Use Major Donors as a model - Personalize everything Thank you calls & letters (not acknowledgements) Website – when donors sign in to their account they see their PSS contact info Communications – e-mail & phone Allows for online communication via personalized e-mail Runway Events Position as a benefit
- Meet Anita Bought a ticket in 2012 Bought a subscription in 2013 and at that time was assigned to Roland’s portfolio. The next season when she renewed, Roland asked her for a $50 donation with her renewal and she agreed. Following Great Wilderness (New Play) called Roland to say how much she loved the show; Roland let her know that she could give specifically to support new plays – gave $100 Marked in Tessitura as “New Play” support
- Other examples Relationships go beyond the transaction; Mollie got a cake from a mean lady 100th birthday Beth & Southern Charm – better with older cranky patrons Janet was new and got portfolio of 1st year patrons – they took the journey together
- Over 3 years
- So how do our patrons feel about this change? Approximately 35% of patrons have an active relationship with their Patron Service Specialist Patrons ask for PSS at window Patrons love that they are “known” PSS feels empowered to work with patrons on all levels Contact people they way they want Unique Advantage Existing donors actually take more time than new Always engage Constantly evolving; no set structure
- So that is my story; the story of how Seattle Rep actively engaged in building a department who’s main goal was to put our patrons first. I hope this has inspired you to evaluate your own strategy to build stronger relationships with your donors. Now over to Molly to talk about building relationships through patron services at museums…
- Introduce myself and the DAM: At Denver Art Museum, art is not a passive experience. It is a hands-on, dive-in, joyful, transformative journey. Every day our visitors fall in love with art through world-class exhibitions, encounters with artists, and an open invitation to create art of their own, because when art comes to life, so do people. Denver Art Museum was founded in 1893 and is the largest art museum between Chicago and the West Coast. We’re home to an encyclopedic art collection of more than 70,000 objects in 11 curatorial departments; we’re most well-known for our American Indian and Western American art collections We operate 52 weeks a year in two buildings totaling more than 350,000 square feet We welcome between 600,000 and 800,000 visitors a year We are considered trailblazers in creating innovative opportunities that encourage visitors to interact with the collection, and are known internationally for the way we help our visitors explore art and their own creativity.
- Marketing department is focused on driving people to the museum, once they get to the museum we take care of them: both in their onsite experience (including over the phones) and in building loyalty Membership program includes program strategy as well as fulfillment and ongoing service via phone, email, etc. Guest services and ticketing includes onsite welcome centers as well as a small call center where we process ticket and membership purchases, class registrations, school tours, etc. The Shop, Volunteer Services and Events
- At the museum we believe that sales happen when our marketing efforts and our service efforts come together to create great experiences. One of our goals at DAM is to build lasting and deep relationships with our visitors which we know will result in greater engagement and longer term loyalty. In order to do this effectively we need to emphasize collection of visitor data.
- ASK the AUDIENCE—How many people work in museums? How many of you capture contact information for visitors and ticket buyers? The museum sector is known for struggling with capturing data on its visitors The museum sector is known for struggling with capturing data on its visitors, which is challenging in building relationships and therefore cultivating loyalty, but it’s also beginning to be a hindrance to our ability to report to donors and other funding agencies on who exactly we’re serving on a daily basis. Through a series of programs designed to emphasize capturing our visitors’ contact information, we have been able to cultivate better relationships with our visitors while at the same time learning about the make-up of our visitors from demographic perspective based on behavior. In the past four years our house file of ticket buyers has grown by over 900%, from 23,000 in 2010 to over 207,000 in 2014
- In order to capture visitor information we encourage online sales—no fees to buy online. Promoting and prioritizing online ticket sales, which is both effective, and efficient, also limits our ability to build a one-to-one, personal relationship right off the bat by causing our onsite sales to decline. During a recent special exhibition we were in high-demand (sold out on the first day) and so online sales were very high—almost 75% of all tickets were purchased online. This is great because now we have more people with whom we can build a long-lasting relationship, but because people purchased and printed their tickets at home they just walked right into the exhibition when they arrived, which limited our ability to talk to them about membership on the spot—which decreased our onsite conversion ability and therefore our onsite membership sales. We’re constantly searching for ways to combat this phenomenon and find the right balance. Our current strategy is communication via email both pre- and post-visit about the value and benefit of membership and the opportunities it affords, encouraging conversion before, during or post visit, but in my experience, nothing converts to member and therefore to longer term giving and loyalty than a one-to-one interaction with one of our associates.
- On the other hand… by so significantly growing our list of patrons over the past several years, we’ve learned more and more detail about who our patrons are, where they come from and what they like, which has enabled us to…. CLICK
- Better target prospective patrons, and build better relationships with new and existing people over time, which has… CLICK Made us more money overall, while cutting costs because we’re not throwing money trying to capture people who aren’t interested, and increased our earning potential from a likely pool of patrons and givers over time. All good things.
- People in leadership positions at many organizations especially non-profits, have an aversion to the word “sales.” It feels icky to them. Disingenuous. Like its out of sync with the mission, or even worse—at conflict with it. But this is simply not so. Creating an environment that not only allows sales to take place, but actually cultivates them helps to greater serve mission. It allows us to reach more people with our product and sustain ourselves over a longer period of time. Simply put, sales are critical to what we do—otherwise why does the transaction even exist to begin with?
- At Denver Art Museum we approach sales from a customer-centric perspective. “It is my responsibility to tell you about this program, this product, this benefit that you will love---if I don’t tell you about it, I’m not providing you the level of service that you deserve.” We cross and/or up-sell nearly every visitor to the DAM by understanding a visitors’ motivation for being there and ensuring that we provide every opportunity to enhance his/her experience by suggesting an added exhibition, a membership, or a program that mirrors their expressed interest in the museum (i.e. a lecture or public program tied to a collection/gallery or exhibition.) We do this, quite simply, because if we don’t… we are failing our customers. We are not doing our jobs.
- When you look to leverage your transactional teams into sales teams, into engagement teams, looking at motivation has to be a part of the conversation. I don’t have to tell you all that frontline, phone center or box office employees are often among the lowest paid in the organization. We and our teams often suffer and are impeded from excellence by high turnover, poor internal organizational communication, and a lack of trust or empowerment among a plethora of other challenges. In order to leverage our teams and resources into what they are capable, we need to consider what will motivate them to go the extra mile from simply taking orders, to creating positive, engaging interactions at every opportunity.
- One of the ways that we motivate—and in my experience the best way--is with money. I’ve tried it all, gift cards, time off, pizza parties… nothing works as well as cash. And since everything costs something, we just cut to the chase and offer the cash from the start. At Denver Art Museum, we create sales contests and reward when we over-perform to expectations. Traditional and established goals must first be met in order for any kind of additional incentive to kick in, and that first goal we must meet as a team. Then, we reward individuals based on quality of sale at individually measured metrics. For us this is a conversion rate for membership, average transaction amount, or it could be focused on volume of sales of a particular item (i.e. a specific membership level). These contests are established on a monthly basis and are communicated about every day in our daily huddles and at biweekly associate and manager one on ones. Driving revenue—driving engagement—is a critical part of our culture and we’ve recognized that sometimes creating that culture requires dangling an extra carrot in front of the team.
- At Denver Art Museum, engagement is critical in building long-term relationships and growing loyalty amongst our audiences. Because of this we look at every personal and one-to-one interaction as an opportunity for deeper engagement and know that service plays a big part in how “engaged” a patron is with us and what we do as an institution. Building engagement increases retention and builds long term capacity for future purchases and greater giving. In order to be effective at building engagement it must be an active process. And one to which our associates who interact with our members and visitors every day are critical.
- In a member-based organization like mine, engagement like this not only creates new customers, it keeps current ones...and grows their loyalty. Ongoing engagement becomes critical to building a stable membership and then being able to steward that membership into greater giving over time.
- This data is a few years old for us (was completed in summer 2011 using historical data before that), but it demonstrates the importance of engagement in renewing members. We found that our renewal rate increased 6% after a visitor visited one time during their membership, 9% when they visited twice, and 11% when they visited three times. After three visits, the increased renewal rate was much less pronounced. This research told us that visitation is among the key measurements of increased renewal rates—and so we become focused on the magic third visit and encouraging visits—encouraging engagement—at every interaction.
- Leveraging every interaction and creating opportunities for personal conversations and relationship building are at the heart of providing service and therefore driving sales. When you put it together the results can be staggering… In the fall of 2012 we played host a blockbuster exhibition of Van Gogh’s work, Becoming Van Gogh. The popularity and accessibility of this show enabled us to bring on board a whole slew of new members. We knew that these new members were going to need some special treatment in order to keep them in our membership family, so we began early in cultivating their relationship with the museum. We leveraged a variety of strategies to keep them engaged, here’s one example of how we did it….
- Incentives and how to do them STAFF buy-in: Culture of sales. Talk about money is NOT fun. But it’s your job. Income generated by phone room—inbound vs. outbound.