We focus a lot of our attention on our customers, but how often are we thinking about our non-customers?
Ruth Hartt has been on the podcast before to talk about ‘Jobs to Be Done’ and marketing the arts, but her recent blog post got me thinking about a different aspect of this idea: non-customers.
She looks a recent National Endowment of the Arts study in the US that shows trends in audience participation in different arts areas:
Ruth points to the lack of diversity in the audiences, but I looked at the lack of diversity combined with the decline of audiences to see an even more problematic issue.
- 14% of white folks went to see a classical music performance in 2002. In 2022, just over 5%.
- In 2002, about 6% of black folks went to see a musical. 2022, just about 5%.
- About 3.5% Asians went to the opera in 2002, but only 1.5% went in 2022.
- 6% of Hispanic folks went to theatre in 2002, but around 3% went in 2022.
But…what about COVID?!?
Sure, COVID had an impact…it pushed the trend line off a cliff.
Arts leaders say that 25-30% of their audiences haven’t returned.
Michael Vincent did the math and showed that if these trend lines continue, an average opera company could be looking at a 40% smaller audience in 2031.
Does this just apply to the arts?
Probably not:
- The NEA study did say that other arts like concerts, hip hop, etc. were a bright spot.
But despite record breaking revenues and price increases, Live Nation CEO, Michael Rapinoe says that only 5% of Live Nation’s shows sell out.
We see that sports tickets are still selling, but what are the scan through rates?
This matters because:
- An empty seat impacts your per cap spend.
- An empty seat has a negative impact on brand equity.
- An empty seat that has been purchased by a broker or consolidator and goes unsold can give you bad data on the real demand for your product.
Also, which direction are the numbers moving in?
Are you going backwards like the arts?
Or, are they moving forward like the AFL where 1 in 26 Australians have a membership or the AFLW where 17 of 18 teams increased their membership totals in 2022?
This matters:
One, again, which direction are your numbers going?
Two, what are you non-customers doing if they aren’t coming to your events?
Three, if your numbers are going in the wrong direction, what are you going to do differently to change the course of your business?
A few suggestions/ideas:
- If you are seeing major declines in the number of unique customers, you have a top of funnel issue. Focus on filling the top of the funnel with emotional stuff that highlights the power of your experience.
- Know your numbers. What does your funnel conversion rate look like? Do you even know what your funnel looks like?
- What’s your strategy? Most importantly: CFA&R—Choice/Focus/Action/Review
Let me know what you are thinking.
You can leave a comment in the Slack Channel, DM me, or send me a note.
You’ve made it this far, will you share ‘Talking Tickets’ with one colleague that is trying to figure out how to boost attendance?
What are you focusing on in 2024? Challenges? Opportunities? Tell me!