Ideas

In a matter of days, the arts industry has pivoted from in-person programming to livestreaming and other digital content. Our venues are empty, and our doors are shut temporarily, but we have an incredible opportunity to reach more people than ever and begin new relationships.

Stellar customer service is key to patron loyalty. In fact, 90% of Americans use customer service as a factor in deciding whether or not to do business with a company.

This statistic was gathered in a pre-pandemic world - now, our box office and visitor services staff are in the thick of the COVID-19 crisis. From ticket exchanges, to refunds, and questions about reopening, they’re dealing with a barrage of questions in a rapidly evolving situation.

Robert Phillips is a customer experience expert specializing in arts, culture, and events. He virtually sat down with us to answer some customer service questions to help arts organizations learn from and empower their customer service staff. 

Perhaps you were among the many thousands gathered around a YouTube livestream on March 22 for a one-night-only return of The Rosie O’Donnell Show. It was a live benefit for The Actors Fund and was billed as “Broadway’s Biggest Stars...At Home!” You’re reading this on our website so you’re likely an industry insider and familiar with the wonderful work of The Actors Fund. If not, go here – maybe make a donation – and then come back and read on.

Ah yes, the stock image. It’s a creative resource we have at our fingertips, yet rarely use. It’s officially time to stop fearing stock images and focus on the value they can bring. We’re in an age of high-caliber creative stock resources that will keep your ticket sales flowing when you’d otherwise be at a loss for content.

This past year, Dorset Theatre Festival, a small summer theatre in southern Vermont, diversified their portfolio and discovered what stock images can add to the performance of their season’s Facebook campaigns.

The Performing Arts Ticket Buyer Media Usage Study is back to provide you with the data you need as an arts marketer in 2020. We created this study as a resource for arts marketers in organizations of all shapes and sizes to navigate this rapidly changing media environment and the 2019 report breaks new ground as the follow up to the study we debuted in 2017.

Spring might be over a month away, but it’s the perfect time to start planning for a bountiful season of new, engaged patrons. We hope we reignited your passion for gathering new leads in our blog post about the success Emerson Colonial Theatre has had with their lead generation campaigns on Facebook.

In this follow-up post, we’re here to round out your repertoire of ways to gain permission to talk to patrons via email and then dive into how to make sure you set up great communication with those patrons from the get-go...and avoid losing their permission via the dreaded unsubscribe.

It’s a fresh, new year and with it comes the opportunity to think about new leads. When it comes to permission marketing, gaining an email address from a patron is the ultimate invitation—they’ve given you permission to have a regular conversation with them about the things they care about. It’s vital to nurture those patron relationships through tailored, vibrant communications. And it’s also important to continue to infuse your database with new leads to grow your patron base and weather the ebb and flow of database churn.

In honor of the new year, I am sharing the non-fiction books that resonated the most with me in 2019. I recommend all of these books if you are looking to become a better leader, marketer, professional, and human. I think these books can be grouped into three large buckets: Understanding the World, Understanding Yourself, and Understanding Your Workplace.

The holiday season is in full swing, and amidst the swirl of wrapping paper and ribbon, holiday baking and travels, your patrons are bravely facing down email inboxes chock-full of promotions. We’re here to help make sure your organization’s messages stand out like a bright red mailbox above a blanket of snow.

Read on for some content tips and creative inspiration that will keep your patrons merry and bright, and keep you on track to arrive at your holiday parties on time.