Maximise your income generation

Written for Stephen Spencer + Associates

"Seamless technology integrations improve guest service and good technology can enhance every business.” Carly is a ticketing + tills supremo and business software guru. She can help you get the best ROI from every aspect of your digital set-up.

Here's my list of top areas to consider to maximize your income generation.

Ticketing

• Webstore
  Your webstore should complement any purchase journey. Does your website content get guests excited to come and experience your attraction? Does it accurately portray the experience they will get? There should be as little friction as possible between the guest hitting your website and purchasing a ticket or product from you. And the easier the purchase process, the less likely the guest is to remember how much they spent by the time they get to see you in person!

• Advanced retail sales
  Is there something you could be selling to your guests before they even get the chance to visit your attraction? An activity pack for the kids to complete before they get to visit in real life or a book about the founders of your museum? Online retail sales can support a physical visit or can allow supporters unable to visit your site to still feel part of the experience from afar. Steer away from generic items and really showcase what your site is famous for to encourage people to spend with you.

• Advance food + beverage sales
  Pre-purchasing food and beverage options can reduce the stress for some visitors, assuring them that there will be something for them to enjoy whilst on site. For others it might be the ability to pre-book a food experience that enhances their visit - an afternoon tea and tour combination, a special meal they can have a hand in making or a simple picnic lunch to save them the hassle of feeding a large group.

Technology

• Online sales
  Online sales have been pushed to the fore in the past 18 months but it's been a priority for many visitor attractions for a long time. the ability for your guests to be able to purchase their ticket online, in advance offers an opportunity for you to engage with those guests in a way you can't do when simply awaiting their arrival on site. Offering an incentive to purchase in advance can help your business in a number of ways - being able to pre-plan how busy you will be on certain days, being able to effectively contact and market to those visitors in advance of their arrival and the ability to collect data to inform future business decisions. And it's proven that by removing the purchase from the day of visit most visitors will spend more when they are physically on site with you.

• Marketing automation
  Alongside this new data collection you now have the ability to automate much of your marketing based on criteria provided within the booking process. Being able to simplify your data collection as part of your purchase path should make GDPR regulations easier to conform to and give you more options for data segmentation. Getting to know who your audience is and how you can cater for them better allows you to better tailor products for them and encourage repeat visits. Should you have a membership programme? Is having a pre-booking discount worthwhile? Collecting better data and automating your marketing communications should form a part of your marketing strategy, saving time and resources for better understanding of your market.

• Virtual tour technology
  2020 taught us that, even with doors closed, visitors still want to engage with your content. Virtual tour technology has existed for a number of years but was given a boost by attraction closures due to the pandemic. If you want to reach visitors who wouldn't normally be able to engage with your site physically then a virtual tour can be a great way to reach new audiences. Perhaps you have rooms that are unable to be physically accessed but hold interest for visitors, or you have an internationally renowned collection which has global appeal? Whatever the reasoning, virtual tour technology can help you reach and engage new customers and supporters and offer more value for regular visitors in their own homes. Here’s a great example by The Natural History Museum, London.

Tourism

• Product development
  Most tourism businesses focus their attention on the numbers of visitors through their doors however this focus has moved, for some, after forced closures during the pandemic. If you're looking for new ways to engage audiences, encourage secondary spends or gain more donations then get in touch and we can discuss options to make your site more money. New products for you to sell can be focussed on specific markets or in reaction to something that has changed in your attraction - there is always something that can add value to your attraction and increase spending.

• Facilitator for business change
  Are you making cultural changes to your attraction? Bringing in new teams, changing your focus for guests or embarking on a new project that will change the fundamental way your business will work? Do you need an independent eye to guide you through the process and help you get your project in order? Sometimes you just don't have the expertise within your organisation of the person responsible for change needs to be more independent of your current business processes. I can help you make sense of the changes you need to make, create project plans and keep your team moving forward as you progress into your new future.

• Find new revenue streams and markets
  Are you stuck in a rut of selling the same thing to the same people and finding your market is slowing in it's growth? Let me offer advice and guidance on how you can revitalise your business, make small changes that have a big impact or revolutionise the way you operate to inspire your staff and guests alike. Finding new markets and revenue streams helps you build on your current offering to increase spending or perhaps physically take your attraction to a whole new geographical market.