PatronManager

By Jacob Trussell, Marketing Coordinator

Let’s set the scene: you’ve just gotten out of a play (or movie, or concert, you do you!) and before you even exit the theatre, you notice you have an email notification on your phone. Your eyes widen as you realize it’s from the theatre you are currently in, about the play you literally just walked out of. “What kind of sorcery is this!?” you may exclaim (especially if you’ve just seen Harry Potter on Broadway). That’s no magic though: that’s automated communication.

If your Customer Relationship Management or ticketing system has an automated email feature — as PatronManager does — you can easily streamline the sending of pre- and post-show emails so they automatically get sent to the attendees of a performance at a specific time. But you may still be scratching your head wondering what the best way is to utilize this extremely useful feature. That’s where we’re here to help!

Why Pre- and Post Show?
Sending pre- and post-show emails is all about focusing on the right people at the right time to make them feel appreciated and seen. By emailing ticket buyers prior to their event, it shows you care that they have a positive experience. This could be pre-show dinner recommendations, parking instructions, or the show’s runtime. Sending patrons an email after an event illustrates your desire to improve their experience, for better or worse. Try sharing a follow-up survey, a reminder to post about their experience on social, or even a discount for a future show! This way the next time your patron gets a marketing email, they may be more willing to open it — because they see you as an organization who cares.

Timing Saves Time
Timing is key to good results, especially for post-show emails. Rather than having your staff manually send emails outside of working hours when a performance is over, they can create and schedule emails in advance, during their normal working hours! If the email is asking for feedback on the performance or experience, make sure it gets to the patrons when they are still “feeling the feels!” By automating a post-show email, you will make this process easy on your staff and you won’t have to wait until the next morning to send that survey. And your results will likely be stronger because of it.

Plan Ahead with Templates
The whole point of automation is to set it and forget it, so schedules are your closest friend when planning out pre- and post-show email campaigns! Know exactly when you are drafting emails, creating images, and approving copy so that no one is scrambling at the last minute to get it done. What’s great about this type of feature is that you’re creating templates for each email that gets scheduled to send before/after each performance. Don’t want your emails to become stale? Then make sure you change your email templates from event to event.

The Devils in the Details
Attention to detail is what will set your emails apart from other organizations. Be especially mindful of how you are phrasing your subject lines. Clickbait isn’t a good look in 2020, so be thoughtful and to the point with your subjects: just tell them plainly what to expect! On that same point, audiences are craving authenticity so allow your organization to have a genuine, approachable voice. If you speak openly and honestly to your patrons about what you hope they took away from their experience at your organization, you’ll find they’re more likely to do the same in return.

Build It, Proof It, Test It!
After you’ve built your email, after you’ve proofed your email, make sure you run tests on your email! You never know what minor errors could occur that will affect how your email appears in your patron’s inbox. In that same line of thinking, be sure to also view all of your emails on a mobile device. As more and more business is done via mobile devices, consider how you can format your emails so that they are responsive when viewed on phones or tablets. Once you’ve started sending these campaigns, be sure to track its metrics so that you can improve on future communication, all based on what your patron’s opened and clicked!

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