PatronManager

Our PatronManager Certified Admin of the Month for March is Andrew Baldwin, Box Office Manager at Mile Square Theatre in Hoboken, New Jersey.

We asked Andrew some questions about his journey and current role as a PatronManager Administrator at his organization. Here is what he shared with us:

1. What is your favorite PatronManager feature?

CRM Snapshot Reports! These are insightful slices of data that are an essential tool for streamlining and segmenting marketing and development communications. For instance, they make it super easy to run complicated queries and answer questions like “Who has seen three or more of our shows this year?” or “Which people who came to our last show were first-timers?” From there you can consolidate those segments of patrons into one cohesive list.

2. What is one feature of PatronManager you were not aware of until you became a Certified Admin?

I knew reports could be sent via email, but I did not know that I could “subscribe” to reports, which means I can automatically get a report sent to my inbox on a regular basis. The PatronManager platform offers many different customizations when designing reports, so the reports can be as specific or general as I want.

3. Which one of your organization’s events are you most excited about this year? (If you had to pick one…)

Our signature 7th Inning Stretch! Every year we commission 7 new 10-minute plays about baseball (Hoboken is the birthplace of baseball). We throw a party with Cracker Jacks, pretzels, and a hot dog cart. Everyone wears a baseball cap or jersey and we just have a blast. It’s the least formal theatre gala you’ve ever been to. This is our 15th year doing it so it should be a real doozy!

4. What have you accomplished since becoming an Admin that you are most proud of? Are there any unique PatronManager customizations that you have created as an Admin that you would like to pass on?

Oh my gosh, so many customizations. First of all, word from the wise, create a change log to record all of your customizations before you go crazy (like I did). But I set up Badges on Contacts, I created our Membership and Benefits program in the system, I changed all of our email templates to match our branding, and of course, I set up lots of custom fields on various records.

If there’s one customization I am most proud of, it would be an automation I created in Process Builder (a tool that automatically updates fields, posts automatic updates to Chatter, and creates new patron records instantly). It triggers when a patron’s ticket is scanned and they are marked as “attended.” The process automatically fills in a custom field on the Contact record called “last show attended” with the name of the show they checked into. When that field changes, it triggers a workflow in Emma (our email platform) that sends our post-show email thanking the patron for coming and asking them to take a quick survey.

It’s totally automatic and provides a great, personal touch for the patron. Plus, that field on the Contact is a quick way for us to see the last time a patron has been to our theatre.

5. What is your idea of perfect happiness?

Having a group of people I love together in one room.

6. Are there any current or upcoming technology trends that you’re excited about? If so, what?

I am really excited about phone applications that do closed captioning for live events. I think we’ve only seen the tip of the iceberg when it comes to leveraging technology to create accessible arts experiences for all people, no matter the size of an organization!

7. Has becoming a Certified Admin improved your ability to mentor and teach colleagues about PatronManager?

Yes! I am getting in the habit of sending my colleagues weekly “tips and tricks,” which are similar to the Tips Tuesday posts in the online PatronManager Client Community. Presenting Salesforce features in small bites helps me frame the training as “here’s this little trick to make your life easier” instead of “you have to learn this whole system and it’s overwhelming…” People don’t tend to respond well to the latter. The whole reason for having PatronManager is to make our lives easier!

8. What additional resources have you discovered since becoming Certified that have benefited your organization?

Trailhead (Salesforce’s training tool) is where it’s at, and I love to earn badges and learn new things. But the PatronManager online Client Community is the fastest way to collaborate, ask questions, and share ideas with fellow users. I love going on there to discuss issues and help solve problems. I often walk away with a lot of new ideas.

9. Is there anyone from the PatronManager community (client or staff) that has helped you and your organization improve during your journey to becoming a Certified Admin?

Christina Johnson, Senior Manager of Client Support at PatronManager, helped me set up our Membership program. We spent hours troubleshooting to help me get the result I wanted. Then she encouraged me to submit a presentation idea for the 2018 PatronManager Community Meeting and I ended up getting a slot to present. It was my first time at the community meeting and it totally rocked!

10. What is one of your goals for 2019?

We’re working hard on audience development. I want to not just expand our audience, but diversify it as well. Bringing in groups who would never otherwise come to the theatre is what spreads the theatre magic!

11. What is your favorite vacation spot?

I’m from Colorado, so I go back whenever I can to ski, bike, or camp, whatever the season.

12. Which words or phrases do you most overuse or are known for saying?

I get a lot of requests from people. Whether it’s comp tickets, reports, refunds, or something else. My typical reply will always include the phrases “You got it!”, “No problema!”, or “Easy peezy!” (just to change it up).

13. What is your most treasured possession?

I do have a small collection of garden gnomes and, in addition to being this creepy/charming addition to my apartment, they also have a lot of sentimental value. Most people think it’s weird to have a garden gnome collection when I live in New York City, but if I can’t have a garden, at least let me have the gnomes!

Suggested Blog Posts

5 Reasons Why Reporting Is Critical to Sustained Success

4 Questions To Remember When Searching for a CRM

March PatronManager Certified Admin of the Month