Recent years have seen an increased emphasis on brand identity and placing marketing at the centre of an organisation. Katy Raines and Sarah Gee discuss the benefits of taking a more holistic approach to your marketing.
Im not sure if ArtsProfessional readers are all big fans of the holistic medicine movement but I must say Ive always found it a bit unsatisfactory. The Oxford English Dictionary defines it as the treating of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease. Personally, I like to get immediate treatment for one thing at a time if I have a cough I want the doctor to look in her little book and find the medicine that cures my cough, not start asking me lots of silly questions about what I eat and how much sleep Im getting. Whats that got to do with my cough?
However, the definition of holism in a health context did get me thinking about whether in arts marketing we are sometimes guilty of treating the symptoms rather than looking at the whole perhaps when a production or exhibition isnt selling and we decide to do lots of 2 for 1 offers, or a cheesy press call, or when we book a production to fill a week, when we know its really not of the quality we would want for our customers. Perhaps the start of a new year is an opportunity to step back and take a more holistic view of our marketing but what would this mean?
Customer value
In simple terms it means that we would emphasise the importance of what the whole organisation can offer in a way that the customer will value most. This might include establishing integrated marketing communications are all of your communications (web, print, PR, media activity, etc.) putting out a consistent message time after time? Or, put another way, how often have you placed one-off adverts in your local papers in the hope of selling the last few tickets? A holistic approach to marketing should make sure that you create a consistent and integrated marketing message across many channels and campaigns. The good news is that this isnt costly; in fact, it can often save money. However, it does require investing time in planning but the rewards are worth it.
For instance, the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra (CBSO) achieved an increase of over 26% in box office income in three years once it implemented its Marketing Communications Strategy. The number of bookers making repeat purchases from one season to the next grew from 31% in 1999/2000 to 43% in 2003/04, and the average frequency of attendance increased from 3.3% in 1999/2000 to 4.2% in 2002/03. The biggest change was one of mindset: no more fire fighting. By planning ahead and realising that there was no point in chucking extra money into last minute ads for dead donkey shows the CBSO achieved the holy grail of increased frequency and value from their customers.
Service
Another key factor is consistent customer management a single customer-management approach that is understood and actively pursued across all departments, from front of house to finance. Northern Stage in Newcastle view the artistic conversation they have with audiences as extending into all aspects of their work. This concept guides everything from the design of their new building with huge glass panels so that passers-by can see inside to their recruitment of staff for front of house and box office. Were recruiting people for their attitude and willingness to start conversations with customers, not just their ability to sell a ticket, says Richard Bliss, Director of Communications at Northern Stage.
It is important that an arts organisations product is defined from the customers point of view, and communicated as a whole experience. The idea of a total product concept has been around a while, but Im not sure we use it too well in the arts. The idea is that a product is made up of, not only the core product itself but a number of other layers that correspond to the customer-satisfying attributes of the product. By managing these attributes and defining a solution that exceeds customers expectations, an organisation can maximise its appeal and relevance to customers.
In the Figure, the generic product represents the smallest circle or the product itself. In the arts this would be the production or exhibition. The expected product represents clients minimal expectations expressed by minimal purchase conditions for example, refunds and exchanges, reasonably priced programmes, bars and cafés, front of house facilities. The augmented product includes the generic and expected product plus everything else that could give a competitive advantage in the marketplace: things that make a product special and different from others on the market. These might include talks and events around productions, or perhaps a dedicated booking line for friends of the organisation whatever your customers would value most. Over time, as competitors may also include these features, they become part of the expected product. Finally, the potential product consists of everything potentially feasible to attract and hold customers.
The key to understanding your product in this way is that it should be defined by the customer and not by the organisation. Do you know what your customers expect from you as a minimum, and what small things they might actually value if you did them?
So what are the benefits of such an approach? We would argue that in a busy and crowded marketplace, and for arts organisations with limited resources, a holistic approach is critical to any campaign to raise awareness or improve profile. Marketing communications are expensive, so by making sure that every piece of communication is carrying the holistic marketing message as well as the production-specific stuff youll be creating greater awareness in the marketplace for the same money. Consistent customer management will ensure that more people come back to your organisation. And defining your product in terms of the attributes that customers value should mean that you appeal to people beyond those who may like the production you have on this week.
Starting up
Getting a whole organisation thinking holistically is hard work but ultimately beneficial. Starting with individual Board members and rolling out across the organisation, a case has to be made as to why this makes sense. As with most things in life, regular and clear channels of communication are vital, and the realisation of interdependency between all parts of the organisation is crucial. It will never be possible to get 100% commitment before starting such a project but its important to make sure that key decision-makers and influencers are convinced before moving forward. Marketing guru, Malcolm McDonald, has always asserted that marketing is far too important to be left to marketers, so an organisation-wide commitment to being brand ambassadors is vital.
Problems will arise; in many cases there is simple fear of change. In arts organisations, we dont have large research and development budgets to trial new products or marketing techniques. While some people may be happy continuing with tried and tested but not necessarily successful methods, ultimately taking a calculated and well-researched risk to work holistically can pay off. n
Katy Raines and Sarah Gee are Consultants at DixonRaines Ltd, specialising in improving customer value through marketing and fundraising.
e: katy.raines@dixonraines.com;
e: sarah.gee@dixonraines.com;
w: http://www.dixonraines.com