According to Nails Magazine as reported by The New York Times in August 2007, there are 3,800 nail salons in New York City. I will only go to
one of them. I’d like to tell you that’s because I appreciate the good
service, personal care and attention to returning customers, but it’s
none of those things. They have a frequent visit card: after 10 visits,
you get a free manicure. At $7 per manicure, that’s not exactly the
deal of the century (what’s another $7 when you’re $70-deep in hand
care), but it’s the idea of getting something, anything, for free
that’s appealing. A quick gander at my key chain proves my unfaltering
support of a number of rewards programs: Duane Reade ($5 coupon for
every — cringe — hundred dollars you spend), Borders, C-Town
supermarkets (classy girl), AAA and Cosi. I also believe I am a
“frequent” flyer of every airline still in existence, a frequent rider on Amtrak, a member of OpenTable
(700 points away from a $20 gift certificate!), and I just cashed in
all my credit card points for Staples gift cards. What a rewarding life
I lead.
But where is my frequent Philharmonic card? Broadway and Off-Broadway card? Opera card? New Music
Ensemble card? I realize that, unlike manicures and train rides, the
content of performing arts organizations changes – that is, I can’t buy
ten random tickets and expect a free opening night ticket to The Met – but other realistic and appealing rewards can be created. For
example, most of the behind-the-scenes tours, talk-backs and
post-performance receptions at performing arts organizations are reserved for major donors and/or
subscribers. Unfortunately, the behind-the-scenes material is what
would be most interesting, I think, to the infamous “new audiences”;
why only offer such perks to those already committed to your
organization? Assign points to each ticket price and rewards to each point level. Five $20 tickets gets you coupons at the gift
shop, three $100 tickets gets you a backstage tour, so on, so forth.
I don’t think performing arts rewards programs will get people in the
door: if I’ve never seen an opera, the promise of a backstage tour
after a significant financial investment probably won’t be the deciding
factor. But I do think that, once single ticket buyers have bought
their first ticket, the promise of fun perks down the line can only
help.
I couldn’t agree more about the arts being slow to catch onto rewards programs but you might want to check out http://www.audiencerewards.com, a new initiative that’s modeled on the airline and hotel programs.
Great site. Keep up the good work.
Cool. Thanks for the tip! -AA
My recollection is that Wicked has started to at ease package this sort of thing for the tours – buy good seats get a “free” shirt.
I imagine that several nfp presenters would tell you that a subscription is a defacto frequent goer discount – just that you have to pay up front.
I completely agree with you about behind-the-scenes material being the most interesting. For new audiences in particular, it makes the dance company/symphony/theater/opera more accessible.
Why not have a special offer for first-time ticket buyers: with their first ticket purchase, they receive a behind-the scenes event of some sort right after/before the performance. I think that the initial “welcome” and instant gratification is more critical than a promise down the line, and encourages audiences to come back. It’s important for performing arts groups to cultivate and engage new audiences right away, when they’re really new, and not just after several performances.
Your posts have all been so interesting! Keep it up!
I’ll tell you why performing arts organizations don’t get into customer loyalty programs. These programs make the most sense for goods and services that are commodities, where the goods from various vendors are all about the same and the consumer buys solely based on price. Like you said, all nail salons are pretty much the same but you buy from one because you get a little discount.
Arts products are not homogenous commodities. You don’t decide to see the New York Philharmonic instead of the Boston Pops because you get a small discount. You chose arts events based on what you like, rather than just a discount. If the Seattle Symphony offered you 1 free ticket for buying 5, you wouldn’t just move out there for that.
You don’t stop buying from the New York Philharmonic and start buying from someone else over something that small because it’s not the price that makes you buy from them. If another nail salon offered you $10 off you would probably change your patronage.