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Blog Entry 6 of 28 Audience Development Specialists
Do you want to learn how to build an audience for your events? During the week, join me on the adventures of audience development. It is my mission to help you to build a more loyal and satisfied audience!

Blog Url: http://denver.yourhub.com/~AudienceDevelopment

Audience Development Extras - Group Sales
Contributed by: Shoshana Fanizza   on 2/12/2008

Today I want to talk about all the audience development extras that take some extra time, but are well worth the effort. I call them extras since these projects go above and beyond the normal marketing that is scheduled. These projects are usually the ones that go on the back burner when you are short staffed, which is a shame since the projects themselves can boost sales as well as create more of a connection between your audience and the organization.

Okay, enough build up, the projects are: group sales, ambassador's programs, audience surveys, and audience appreciation programs. Each program deserves a blog of it's own so I will begin with Group Sales.

Group Sales programs are usually set up to give a group of 10 or more people a special discount. Discounts can range from $2 off adult tickets on up to 25-30% off of the regular ticket prices. Group Sales programs are great deals for your patrons, however, most of the time this deal is buried within the website or not promoted at all. There are many reasons aside from a big sale that group sales should be a program that is consistently marketed:

1. We are social animals - the more that we can promote our arts to groups so they can enjoy the programs together, the more it will create a social connection with your organization.

2. Groups can give us great feedback - instead of having to call 10 individuals, you can call the group as a whole and get some quick feedback about how effective and enjoyable the program was for those 10 or more people.

3. Groups can be future focus participants - most people know how difficult it is sometimes to get the 10-20 people needed for focus groups. If you develop a great relationship with groups that have demographic variety, you can contact these groups to fill your focus session slots. It's a win-win situation for the groups to get more involved and for the organization to have a successful focus group session.

4. Groups add a festive flair to your event - announcing appreciation for groups that are in the audience adds fun to the event and most groups enjoy the recognition.

5. Groups can become future volunteers - cultivating groups to get them more involved in volunteering is another win-win situation for the groups and the organization. Your volunteer programcan grow quickly when you have good releationships with your groups.

6. Groups can be future donors - again, cultivating groups to become more involved in your organization may help you financially as well when the group members decide to become more invested in your organization.

7. Groups are great to invite to audience development parties - inviting groups to attend a special pre-event or post-event party can increase attendance at the function and since at least some of the people there will know each other already, the party will be more social in general.

There are many other reasons that groups can be a welcome addition to your organization's patron family. In order to make sure groups are aware of your group discount and your cultural programs, you need to take the time to market to them. This means creating a plan including direct mail campaigns, email campaigns, telesales campaigns and receptions or parties to introduce your Group Sales program. Simply listing the announcement and link on your website, especially if it is buried in the ticket section (more than one click to get the info), will not get the word out.

I recommend assigning group sales to someone in your marketing or audience development department. If you are short staffed, I would consider hiring a group sales consultant. Some consultants can be hired on a commission basis so the money is paid out after the sale. However, when you hire a consultant, it is imperative that you get to know your groups in order to form the relationships that will benefit both your groups and the organization. You will need to be in touch with which groups the consultant is working with and get reports from time to time to stay in the loop.

Being a group sales consultant myself, I am delighted to report that many of the groups are very happy to receive information about cultural arts organizations, and they are grateful to have been considered for the special program. Some even shared with me that it was the first time that they were ever approached about the cultural organization and they felt that the marketing at the organization must be getting better!

Until next time, may your audiences be happy and loyal ones, and if not, feel free to contact me!

~Shoshana~

Shoshana Fanizza is the founder of Audience Development Specialists. Her mission is to introduce organizations to their existing and potential audiences and to help them form more rewarding relationships with them.

www.buildmyaudience.com


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CONTRIBUTOR INFORMATION

Shoshana Fanizza

Boulder , CO

Shoshana Fanizza has posted 28 blog entries and 0 comments since joining on 1/18/2008. Shoshana Fanizza 's average blog rating is 5.
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