Services : Frequently Requested Speaking Topics

Consumer Behavior: Understanding Arts Audiences, Segmenting and Targeting the Audience and Positioning the Offer

During this seminar, we discuss approaches for understanding current and potential performing arts audiences and application of consumer behavior theories to marketing strategies. Topics such as the ticket buying decision and purchase processes, pricing issues, segmentation and targeting of audience segments, and positioning strategies will be presented. Throughout the workshop, findings of relevant market research of arts audiences and brief case studies from arts and business organizations that exemplify the principles being discussed will be presented. We will also discuss how new technology is changing consumer behavior and expectations and, as a result, how managers are reconsidering their approaches to marketing.

Building Audience Commitment and Loyalty

As competition increases for leisure time activities and people's life styles become more spontaneous, building audience commitment and loyalty becomes a greater challenge for performing arts organizations and museums. This workshop will consider the differences between marketing museums and performing arts and will focus on how to design, package and sell market-oriented alternatives to traditional subscriptions and memberships that build audience commitment and loyalty. This workshop will also help arts managers learn how to strengthen a subscription/membership campaign and realize the lifetime value of subscribers/members with strategies for retaining current patrons and for re-attracting lapsed patrons. We will also discuss how to leverage people's spontaneous lifestyles by effectively and efficiently building single ticket sales. Integral to the discussion of these strategies are issues in consumer behavior.

The Strategic Planning Process: Understanding, Defining, Implementing, and Evaluating Mission, Objectives and Goals

In this session, we explore the centrality of mission to arts organizations, the characteristics of effective and appropriate objectives and goals, and the process for strategic marketing analysis, planning, implementation, control, and evaluation. Examples from arts organizations will be used to highlight the principles, as will a case study of strategic planning at the San Francisco Ballet.

How the Arts Can Prosper Through Strategic Collaborations

In the current environment characterized by funding cuts, shrinking attendance, rising debt, and spiraling expenses, arts organizations must seek new and effective means to (1) build new audiences, (2) increase funding, and (3) cut costs while fulfilling their missions. To accomplish these tasks, innovative arts organizations are finding that they can leverage their limited resources by forming strategic collaborations with organizations ranging from other nonprofit arts groups to community groups to businesses.

Arts organizations, which have traditionally considered one another competitors, are finding that a collaborative approach works to their mutual benefit. Corporations, which have traditionally contributed philanthropically to arts organizations, now frequently seek to meet their marketing and public relations goals in their support of arts organizations.

Many examples of mutually beneficial partnerships exist with churches, local sports teams, school districts, restaurants and businesses.

Some collaborations are for the purpose of targeting specific new audience segments; some are for increasing frequency and satisfaction among current attenders; some are for improving the quality of the product itself, the location in which it is presented, and other factors related to the audience member's total experience when attending a performance or exhibit.

A strategic collaboration is a major opportunity for both nonprofit arts organizations and their partners. When well designed and executed, such collaborations can help the partners expand their customer base, develop new sources of funding, and cut costs without compromising any organization's mission or quality.

Leveraging Internet and E-mail Marketing

In a few short years, the new information age has caused people to change their perspectives on how and when they make their choices and their purchases. This means that if arts marketers ease the processes of information search and transactions, more people will attend their events more often. Although website and e-mail marketing place much new responsibility on the shoulders of arts managers, the organization receives many benefits that more than compensate.

In this seminar we will discuss the benefits of and approaches to Internet and e-mail marketing, various options for online ticketing systems, educating publics online, and how to design websites and e-mail messages that are likely to garner the best results. We will also discuss how arts organization can track the results of their online efforts and evaluate these results to improve future performance.

Great Customer Service

Great service feeds the soul. Good service isn't enough to insure differentiation from competitors, to build solid customer relationships, to inspire employees to want to become even better at their work. Developing good customer service requires an integrated, holistic approach. Leadership is required to inspire service achievement. In this workshop, I will present concepts and strategies on how to go about establishing an overall service strategy, supported by several examples. Participants will be encouraged to discuss approaches to handling some customer care situations and to present situations of their own for evaluation.