Fred made his way to the cinema for what he hoped to be a great night out. As he walked the streets of his city, he thought back on how easy it had been to organise his evening. The cinemas web site was really well designed; it had all the information and film times you needed readily available and most of all no annoying animations or irrelevant adverts. He chose the film his girlfriend had told him about, found the showtime and then by entering her e-mail address the website even sent her a personalised invitation to the film. The website told him that soon he would even be able to buy his tickets online!
The latest feature available on the web site allowed you to register with them: by entering his email address Fred would now receive their weekly email detailing the show times and other special events or screenings. He was also asked to complete a short questionnaire on himself including the number of his Cine Point Card that he was given by the cinema a few months ago. He normally disliked organisations probing into his private life but he trusted his cinema and there was also a clear message from the manager assuring him his information was not going to be passed on. The questionnaire was also very easy to fill out with pop down lists and check boxes – the whole process took him less than five minutes, and now Fred secretly hopes his registration will be the winner in the draw for a meal for two at the bistro next to the cinema – his girlfriend would really like that!
Fred arrives at the cinema and goes to the box office to buy his tickets without forgetting to hand in his Cine Point Card. The box office attendant swipes his card and tells him that on his next visit he will be able to claim two free drinks at the bar. As he picks up his tickets he notices that on the back of them is the mini-poster for the new French film that is being released next week – he makes a mental note for next Saturday night…
Upstairs in the manager’s office, Alice is busy preparing the programme for next month. She has been playing with the idea of holding a Spanish Cinema Week for quite some time but up to now she is not sure her patrons will approve. She has an idea, and looks up the replies to the registration questionnaire: 22% of the responses place Spain in their top three favourite film producing countries. She is sure she can encourage further interest by launching a ‘viral’ marketing promotion campaign within her registered user group. Alice prepares an email to announce the festival and offers a reduced couples price to any member that generates a online referral registration identified by the promotion code “Viva España”. With a click of a button she schedules the email to be sent the following afternoon at 14h00 to the 1,200 registered users of the cinema web site.
Alice wants to kick off her Spanish Film Week with a special screening of the latest Almodóvar film followed by a Champagne cocktail with tickets to the event costing 15 € each. She knows that there is a limited availability and so decides to send an SMS text message the next morning giving 11% of users that put Spanish films above all others in their questionnaire a chance to book the event in advance. If the feedback from the Champagne cocktail is positive – Alice has made up her mind – she will launch a new VIP member card that will offer a higher level of service at a premium cost for a clearly identified segment of the cinema’s customer base….
Is the technology described in the above story available today for cinemas? Is it a cost effective solution for building relationships with independent cinemagoers? Should the understanding and knowledge of your customers be your top priority today? Can the advantages of such a relationship be measured or quantified accurately?
The answer to all these questions is a definite yes.
Until recently, Customer Relation Management (CRM) was only cost effective for higher-value ticketing sectors such as performing arts and travel. Today, the Internet, wide adoption of e-mail and modern box-office systems have all contributed to dramatically reduce the amount of investment required to get to know your customers. The online equivalent of CRM, e-CRM, makes extensive use of electronic channels such as websites, online memberships, and email to initiate and develop a lasting relationship with your clients at a significantly lower cost.
As access to film copies becomes easier for exhibitors and competition between cinemas or cinema chains fiercer, only a thorough knowledge of your customers’ habits and preferences will help you ensure their loyalty, satisfaction and maximise your chances of selling them additional services or products. This knowledge however, can only be acquired by developing many one-to-one long-term relationships built on trust, respect for privacy and not perceived as intrusive by your customers. Further, when implementing changes to existing commercial or marketing strategies of your organisation, it is important to set out clear long-term objectives and define the various steps or phases that are required.
You should also prepare yourself for the likely challenges challenges you will find along the way: internal backing from your operational staff, integration with your existing box-office systems, local data protection issues and the inevitable customer support issues that will arise. Finally it is wise to consider the additional costs that will be created by your new strategy as well as any savings or additional revenue that will be generated.
A successful implementation of e-CRM should strive to both quantify and maximise the value of the resulting customer data and this value can then be used to measure the success of future initiatives. As the adoption of e-commerce and the Internet takes giant strides into the future, you might find that by introducing an e-CRM strategy before your competition, you will have made your most valuable investment yet!
Emanuele de Plano Ticketing strategy consultant and co-founder of TixOS, an innovative ticketing solutions provider.