Visitor Attractions – thinking creatively in testing times

We believe that trying new approaches will be vital during these difficult times and your approach to refunds and cancellations may need to be varied by customer type. Here are some suggestions from TRG Arts:

 

• For any first-time customers – your response will shape any ongoing relationship with them, so make sure they are offered a full refund if they request it and potentially follow it up with small discount offers for future events, when they are open again

 

• For regular bookers - perhaps offer them a voucher for 110% of their most recent ticket, which again they can redeem when you are open again. This means they are more likely to continue booking repeatedly in the future and the venue still retains the value of the current ticket

 

• For loyal customers – if you have identified customers that come often, are perhaps a member and in some ways rely on your organisation being open, encourage dialogue and don’t be afraid to ask for a donation, not just for the price of their recent ticket, but over and above that (even if they haven’t got an outstanding ticket currently.

 

A thought from The Access Group:

Why not sell differently – You could encourage people to plan for when your venue will re-open, by purchasing gift cards the can be redeemable at a later date. This will help with immediate cash flow and help you plan for the future. For those people who have already purchased a Gift-Card, you could consider extending the expiry date as a good will gesture.

Creative thinking like this, coupled with the use of technology to engage with our audiences will be more important than ever. Chris Bayne, CEO, The Access Group has said “I have always been a passionate believer in the benefits technology can bring to organisations. In these unprecedented times, I truly believe that technology will be crucial to keeping us connected and keeping our organisations going as we work together to protect our communities and deal with this pandemic.”

Our teams are currently working hard to bring together their knowledge, experience and expertise to create and provide resources, information and support that will help you and your employees in these difficult times, so please keep an eye on our LinkedIn page for updates.

 

Quick thinking organisations:

One fantastic and quick thinking example of this is The Metropolitan Opera, who will be live streaming their famous opera performances for free in the coming months. Something like this increases the reach of their organisation and potentially opens their offering to a whole new generation of patrons when things have settled now.

 

What is the government doing to support

The UK government has pledged to help businesses where they’re not insured against the impact of social distancing. Chancellor Rishi Sunak promised a £350bn package of loans and grants to support business. These new measures include £330bn in loans, £20bn in other aid, and business rates breaks for organisations.  He has said he would do “whatever it takes”. For larger organisations new lending options will be available.

Sunak said “Following the changed medical advice on 16^th March, there are concerns about the impact on pubs, clubs, theatres, and other hospitality, leisure, and retail venues,” Sunak said. “Let me confirm that, for those businesses which do have a policy that covers pandemics, the government’s action is sufficient and will allow businesses to make an insurance claim against their policy. But many of those businesses don’t have insurance – so we will go further.”

 

Wrap Up

These are of course challenging times for the Not for Profit and visitor attraction sector, but it’s a sector with a very strong sense of community. Idea sharing will be key, and we’re committed to providing you with as many ideas and as much advice as possible in the coming weeks and months.