by Lisa Mackay
In the last blog post, I included the first part of an article on developing audiences. In it, I suggested that adjusting our focus to the needs, loves, and motivations of the audience we want is crucial to grow audiences and remain relevant. Becoming as obsessed with our audiences as we are with our art will help us create mutually beneficial experiences where art, artists, and audiences feel appreciated.
In this article, I will make the case that the next big focus of audience building should be retention. Arts organizations are better at attracting new audiences than we think! As many as half of our audiences are new to us each year, which shows incredible success at finding new patrons. However, the percentage of these newbies who don’t return is staggering.
We Have A Retention Problem
I first learned the magnitude of the problem in 2008 with Oliver Wyman’s research on Churn in the arts, presented at the League of American Orchestras conference of that year. Their report noted that as many as 90% of first-time attenders of the arts (although this study looked at orchestras specifically) do not return. In the years since this study first appeared, these numbers have not changed and the general retention rate for first-time attenders today is around 10-15%. While the lack of movement in retention rates of first-time visitors over the last decade and a half might seem daunting, I think it is partially due to a lack of dedicated effort to elevate that retention rate, for many reasons. The time and effort required to create and implement a retention strategy is substantial, as it often requires consistent effort to test, iterate, and measure what parts of the strategy are working and what aren't. Because the payoff for this effort takes a longer amount of time, it is easy to have this drop to the bottom of a long list of priorities. Furthermore, the task of tagging and following up with first-time attenders requires a sophisticated database, which is often a significant expense. However, even many smaller databases have now developed ways to tag accounts, and being very careful and intentional with lists can make a difference.Dedicating time and effort to retention is not meant to take precedence over campaigns to attract what Stone-Olafson has termed the "Passive" arts attenders, but it is important to also plan strategies on how you plan to keep those audiences. Without a retention plan, we are essentially having to constantly refill a bucket full of holes. Especially since the cost of acquiring a new audience member is several times higher than keeping an existing patron, it makes sense to work on plugging the holes as well as filling the bucket. It is a shame to lose all those hard-won patrons!
Luckily, there has never been a better time to start focusing on retention than right now.
The Time is Now
Recent post-pandemic (March 2024) research from ticketing platform Spektrix and UK audience engagement firm Indigo points to the potential rise of renewal rates coming out of Covid. They amalgamated ten years of data from 340 UK-based performing arts organizations and found that in 2023, retention rates of first-time buyers rose for the first time in many years to 19.5% from a previous average of 15%. Furthermore, their analysis showed that in 2023, more first-timers came to the arts than ever before, reversing a trend from 2013-2019 of declining new-to-file audiences.
“The post-lockdown bump in first-time booker retention could offer a route out of a prolonged period of decline, in which audiences embrace the unique experience of live performance in a digital age, and organisations adapt traditional practices to meet their changing needs,” the report suggests.
Planning and Testing
With this increase in new patrons comes the perfect scenario to test the impact of elevating that renewal rate and your renewal strategy. Companies such as TRG Arts and consultants like Audrey Bergauer have developed some great ways to approach first-timer retention. Their strongest common advice is to keep first-timers separate from the rest of your database, and not to include them in subscription or donation campaigns right away. These visitors simply don’t have enough experience with your organization to justify that level of commitment right out of the gate, and may be put off by the ask. Instead, they need to feel comfortable and welcome, and should be in a more sensitive communication funnel where you can experiment with incentives to compel a second visit.
In line with the most recent findings of the Stone-Olafson research, which shows that audiences are looking for memorable experiences above all else, it makes sense to help patrons recall the great time they had with you, through images and language, and not focus on the content of the next offering. TRG Arts recommends, for example, using images of the event they attended in any offer you send, instead of showing the future event you are inviting them to.Timing-wise, it is best to communicate with them as close to their initial visit and experience as possible while those positive feelings are strongest. I have seen things like leaving a note on a first-timer's seat welcoming them and offering a discount for a future event with a deadline to build urgency; a "Hope you loved it" email sent at the end of the event inviting feedback and thoughts on the experience, with an offer included; and postcards with enthusiastic audience quotes sent soon after the event that invites them to return. There are many ways to approach the idea; get creative and test a few different ideas things out!
There are also strategies to set the stage for a positive experience before people attend. Perhaps you can send an email noting that it looks like they are new to the database, and include some commonly asked questions and answers from other first-time attenders. This could go with, or be sent separately from their tickets. Explain potential friction points like where to park, how much time to give themselves getting to the event, if there is late entry should they run late, and what to wear. Maybe send a coupon for a drink on you in honour of their first time attending. Perhaps you can leave a notecard saying 'thanks for coming!' on their seat. All of these things help establish positive attitudes and expectations, creating a better chance of them enjoying their experience with your organization.
Rinse and Repeat
All these actions work for retaining "regular" patrons as well. Recent results from the Wallace Foundation’s 5-year Audience Building initiative confirmed that we are likely to see better results from developing the audience we already have than trying to bring in brand new patrons. And as with first-timers, the most effective way to communicate with audiences is to focus on their experiences at your organization.
Whenever possible, have your audiences describe what they love about the experiences they have with you and remind them of that as often as possible using their own words - fellow patron testimonials are good for this. It is worthwhile to dedicate some time to doing an audit of your marketing and communication materials and their overall experience with this in mind - will they remember what they love as soon as they arrive on your website or open your emails? Will they recognize their language in your messages? Does the imagery match the experience they had?Always look for ways to make everything as easy as possible. Give them tools and incentives to book their next event while they are still glowing from their visit, perhaps even still in your building. Equip them with the materials they need and provide incentives to share their enthusiasm with their friends. Offer them something surprising and wonderful next time they attend as a thank you for returning.
Creating the optimal experience for new patrons increases their likelihood of returning, but as mentioned, many of these methods also help the whole audience have a good time and be excited to return. Reminding first-time patrons to attend again and giving them a reason to do so is better than crossing your fingers and hoping they come back on their own.If we can harness the enthusiasm of patrons and build up their frequency of attendance, we will see the results in our seats, our galleries, and on our bottom line. After all, buckets with fewer holes carry a lot more water!
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