What do you do when your subscribers are dying?
Posted by: Lynne in Strategy, tags: acquisition, BMOP, BSO, Club Cafe, retentionI have been thinking about a conversation I had recently. I was talking to someone from a prestigious Boston cultural organization about her subscriber base and the catch 22 they are facing. The subscriber base is aging so the organization needs to bring in new, younger subscribers. However, younger subscribers do not like the repertoire favored by the existing subscriber base. She described a challenge that companies face all the time. How do you acquire new customers while retaining loyal customers?
In this difficult economic environment, it is hard not to focus on protecting and defending your most loyal customers. They represent the life blood of your company. However, they will not be there forever. You need to balance acquisition and retention efforts.
In the case of the cultural organization, I think she has at least three options:
- Focus on the loyal customers for now. Once the economic climate improves and budgets ease, begin courting high potential prospects. For example, a local opera company performed Carmen on the Boston Common and used the opportunity to collect lead information from attendees. In this case, they collected information on cards distributed before the performance and then sent a targeted follow up mailing about their upcoming season.
- Create a new sub-brand. The organization could develop a sub-brand that would leverage their considerable name recognition and reputation. For example, Boston Modern Orchestra Project (BMOP) has concerts at the Jordan Hall in Boston as well as concerts some Tuesday nights at Club Café. They may play Elliot Carter at both types of venue but the club concerts are in a more intimate and less intimidating space. I imagine that they attract a different crowd as a result - probably younger and less well-versed in classical music. I haven’t yet made it to a club concert but the next one is February 3! By providing an alternate venue and experience, BMOP caters to their current subscribers and reaches out to new customers who will become future subscribers.
- Try to please to both segments. It can be hard to meet the needs of both new and loyal customers. James Levine caused a stir in Boston by including new and contemporary compositions with traditional stalwarts of the repertoire at the Boston Symphony Orchestra (BSO). However, the BSO did not give up. A new program provides $20 tickets for those under 40; it is another innovative way to bring a younger demographic to the symphony.
These are my thoughts. Is there anything you would suggest?
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A major recession may be a poor time to take drastic action but the San Francisco Symphony has been championing new music for some years under Tilson Thomas….and has a decent demographic profile from what I’ve read. I suppose it is a question of “repertoire elasticity” in a way - some fraction of the older audience will be lost as a result of the shift to new repertoire but there will be an offsetting gain in younger subscribers. Of course there remains the problem of charitable giving - the old and more likely culturally conservative are more likely to contribute more…. An interesting problem!
Consider also the apparently successful relaunch of the UK conservative-leaning newspaper “The Daily Telegraph” some years back. A literally dying readership - and a change of focus towards quality sports writing and a freshened approach to all categories may have turned things around. Now how does one translate that experience for arts organisations?
[...] « What do you do when your subscribers are dying? Feb 06 2009 [...]
This evening I spoke to a friend with significant arts organisation management experience and he bemoaned the dearth of analytic thinking within the arts world - he and I are proposing a rigorous price-elasticity study to a major US opera company to help them think about making their future secure… Perhaps the biggest issue for arts organisations is the more-or-less total absence of analytical thinking within their managerial ranks?
[...] This post was Twitted by Healing_Smart [...]
In order to acquire new customers you need to create activities or products which are relevant to the younger market at the risk of upsetting the loyal customers.
The example of creating a sub brand in your article says it all - There is no more to say on the subject - You are on the money
Failure to bring in new younger customers guarantees extinction. If new customers come in you have a chance of surviving to live another day