Attractions have traditionally seen their ticketing and access control operations as being about little more than gatekeeping, with money exchanged for access. But today, that touch point with the customer is an opportunity to begin a whole new and transformational relationship
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Visitor attractions of all kinds, from museums to theme parks and zoos to planetariums, have traditionally known very little about the customers who come through their doors.
Understanding visitors’ motivations, needs, wants and responses has only been possible through the use of market research which few could afford or afford often enough, so it’s mainly been a case of build it and they will come.
The growth of membership schemes has helped some attractions to better understand who their customers are and to develop deeper and more meaningful engagement with them, but few attractions have taken this golden opportunity and made anything of it – even those with membership schemes do very little with them in terms of customer engagement – so for the most part, the attractions industry is poor at knowing and interacting with its customers/visitors.
A few years back, I argued attractions should follow the same model as the theatre and sports markets and move to advance ticketing. We had a mixed post bag on that topic, with some arguing it would spoilt the spontaneous nature of an attractions visit, or that the investment in technology wasn’t justified.
The trend towards advance ticketing is now growing and on page 94, we debate the issue and look at some examples of how the implementation of advance ticketing is helping businesses to improve their financial position through more reliable ticket sales and their marketing reach and customer engagement through better customer data.
As a customer, I’ve repeatedly been frustrated to find attractions doing a poor job of customer engagement through tech and believe we need an industry-wide push on this front.
As a basic check list, customers should be able to easily buy timed and non-timed tickets online. They should also be able to join membership schemes with valid and useful benefits and then to have a great customer journey in relation to that scheme, with regular and sincere contact from the attraction, special offers and other types of benefits.
They should also be able to buy gift certificates which meet their needs in terms of the types of packages on offer and which are delivered in a timely fashion. The technology is available – cheaply – to enable this and it’s time we grasped the nettle and implemented it.
The world is increasingly affluent: the World Bank announced this month that the number of people living in extreme poverty will fall to under 10 per cent in 2015, and as previously poor nations urbanise, there will be an increasing appetite to do things rather than have things. Attractions are in completely the right place to deliver on this need.
You can make a healthy revenue stream from gifting, from memberships and from online sales and if you’re geared up to do this, we’d love to hear about it, so we can share it as best practice with other readers. And if you’re not, then it’s really time to take action. Your customers expect and need it and it can do nothing but benefit all concerned.
Liz Terry, editor. Twitter: @elizterry
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Attractions: Gone, Not Forgotten
We find out what people thought of
Dismaland, Banksy’s twisted theme park
and contemporary art attraction – and
talk to one of the Dismal Stewards
Promotional feature: IdeAttack
Mysteries of China’s rich culture are at the heart of IDEATTACK’s new mixed-used tourism destination
Zoos & Aquariums: Turn over a New Reef
The Florida Aquarium is teaming
up with the National Aquarium of
Cuba in a bid to save and restore
the region’s precious coral reefs
Attractions have traditionally seen their ticketing and access control operations as being about little more than gatekeeping, with money exchanged for access. But today, that touch point with the customer is an opportunity to begin a whole new and transformational relationship
By Liz Terry | Published in Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Visitor attractions of all kinds, from museums to theme parks and zoos to planetariums, have traditionally known very little about the customers who come through their doors.
Understanding visitors’ motivations, needs, wants and responses has only been possible through the use of market research which few could afford or afford often enough, so it’s mainly been a case of build it and they will come.
The growth of membership schemes has helped some attractions to better understand who their customers are and to develop deeper and more meaningful engagement with them, but few attractions have taken this golden opportunity and made anything of it – even those with membership schemes do very little with them in terms of customer engagement – so for the most part, the attractions industry is poor at knowing and interacting with its customers/visitors.
A few years back, I argued attractions should follow the same model as the theatre and sports markets and move to advance ticketing. We had a mixed post bag on that topic, with some arguing it would spoilt the spontaneous nature of an attractions visit, or that the investment in technology wasn’t justified.
The trend towards advance ticketing is now growing and on page 94, we debate the issue and look at some examples of how the implementation of advance ticketing is helping businesses to improve their financial position through more reliable ticket sales and their marketing reach and customer engagement through better customer data.
As a customer, I’ve repeatedly been frustrated to find attractions doing a poor job of customer engagement through tech and believe we need an industry-wide push on this front.
As a basic check list, customers should be able to easily buy timed and non-timed tickets online. They should also be able to join membership schemes with valid and useful benefits and then to have a great customer journey in relation to that scheme, with regular and sincere contact from the attraction, special offers and other types of benefits.
They should also be able to buy gift certificates which meet their needs in terms of the types of packages on offer and which are delivered in a timely fashion. The technology is available – cheaply – to enable this and it’s time we grasped the nettle and implemented it.
The world is increasingly affluent: the World Bank announced this month that the number of people living in extreme poverty will fall to under 10 per cent in 2015, and as previously poor nations urbanise, there will be an increasing appetite to do things rather than have things. Attractions are in completely the right place to deliver on this need.
You can make a healthy revenue stream from gifting, from memberships and from online sales and if you’re geared up to do this, we’d love to hear about it, so we can share it as best practice with other readers. And if you’re not, then it’s really time to take action. Your customers expect and need it and it can do nothing but benefit all concerned.
Liz Terry, editor. Twitter: @elizterry
Read more from this issue of Attractions Management magazine
View contents of Attractions Management 2015 issue 4
Attractions: Gone, Not Forgotten
We find out what people thought of
Dismaland, Banksy’s twisted theme park
and contemporary art attraction – and
talk to one of the Dismal Stewards
Promotional feature: IdeAttack
Mysteries of China’s rich culture are at the heart of IDEATTACK’s new mixed-used tourism destination
Zoos & Aquariums: Turn over a New Reef
The Florida Aquarium is teaming
up with the National Aquarium of
Cuba in a bid to save and restore
the region’s precious coral reefs
OMA has completed a major transformation of New York's New Museum, creating a larger
cultural campus that combines expanded exhibition spaces with learning, performance,
hospitality and public programming.
A US$50 million (£44.2 million, €51.2 million) transformation of Chicago's historic McCormick
Mansion has created a new destination that combines live magic, immersive theatre, dining and
private membership under one roof.
The Montana Historical Society has officially celebrated the opening of its new Montana
Heritage
Center, a US$107 million (£79 million, €92 million) destination that combines immersive
storytelling with cutting-edge audiovisual technology to bring the sta
San Antonio Zoo has reported a US$283 million economic impact for 2025, following a decade-
long transformation programme that has seen almost US$200 million invested into the Texas
attraction.
Plans for the AU$180 million redevelopment of Reef HQ Aquarium in Townsville, Australia, are
progressing, with the project set to transform the attraction into a global centre for reef
education and conservation.
Abu Dhabi-based investment firm Mubadala Capital has made a binding, fully financed
€1 billion
offer to acquire Pierre and Vacances SA, the European holiday resort operator behind the
continental European Center Parcs business.
Disney has reaffirmed its commitment to investing US$30 billion in its US parks and cruise
business by 2033, using new America250 celebrations to underline the role its attractions play
in supporting jobs, tourism and economic growth.
Expo 2030 Riyadh is being planned as a permanent visitor destination, with organisers
confirming the six-million-square-metre site will become a Global Village after the event closes.
The owner of one of Australia's best-known waterparks has acquired a major competitor,
creating a new attractions business spanning two of the country's largest visitor destinations.
The Toverland theme park in the Netherlands has announced a €98m expansion programme
that will add a resort, new attractions and staff facilities as it pursues plans to become a multi-
day destination.
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