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Integrated Software – Case Studies
See how theatres of all sizes are using software to improve
their communications and bottom line
CASE STUDY 1: Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois – Tessitura Software-Impresario LLC
CASE STUDY 2: American Players Theatre, Spring Green, Wisconsin – Blackbaud
CASE STUDY 3: Paramount Theatre, Rutland, Vermont – New Concepts Software – Tick-It!
CASE STUDY 5: Munson-Williams- Proctor Art Institute, Utica, New York - Choice Ticketing
CASE STUDY 6: Boulder’s Dinner Theater, Boulder Colorado – Martech Systems-Folio Box Office Software
Integrated software can truly give your patrons the relationship-building
interaction they crave. See how some theatres have used software to link departments,
offer better service and operate more effectively.
CASE STUDY 1:
Steppenwolf Theatre Company, Chicago, Illinois – Tessitura Software-Impresario
LLC
Seating Capacity: 3 Theatres
over 850 seats
Software Supplier:
Tessitura Software - Impresario LLC
P.O. Box 670245
Dallas TX 75367-0245
(214) 265-1908
www.tessiturasoftware.com
Started Using Software:
2004
Criteria Used to Select Software Provider:
Erin West, marketing director of Steppenwolf Theatre Company, was looking
for software that could address the uniqueness of a not-for-profit art organization.
Since many ticketing companies got their start in sports, West always felt
that arts organizations were treated like a neglected step child. “Many
of the innovations didn’t occur for the arts,” explains West. “We
had to adapt to the sports model or just deal with the ticketing portion of
the software.”
As with many organizations, Steppenwolf was dealing with multiple databases,
problems with data inaccuracy, data needing to be entered multiple times in
separate databases and no real way to look at ticket purchasers individually
or as an aggregate. But West also notes the pressure from patrons to improve
customer service. “Our patrons have a level of sophistication consistent
with what they receive from other consumer companies,” notes West. Steppenwolf
patrons expected to get the same level of service they received from other
consumer companies.
Benefits to Using Software:
Steppenwolf responded to this demand by purchasing Tessitura Software –
Impressario to connect all the departments and give the patron the service
level they expect. Since Tessitura was built based on the Metropolitan Opera
business model, West felt that this software would be more in touch with the
needs of a not-for-profit arts organization.
Steppenwolf is now able to integrate its operations from box office to marketing
to sales and development. Within the box office, seat sales are coordinated
between the lobby, Internet, kiosks and outbound telemarketing. Whether calls
are incoming or outgoing, Steppenwolf’s phone staff is armed with information
to handily accomplish everything from fundraising to season ticket sales.
This information-centric approach has long been called CRM or customer relationship
management by consumer and direct marketers. Equipped with information, purchasing
habits and preferences, marketers are able to better understand the needs
of their customers and react timely with the appropriate product offering.
Being a firm believer in the CRM principles, West goes onto say, “We’ve
collected all sorts of information from show preferences to where people have
gone to college. It has really changed the way we work together because now
we can do cross-over calling for ticket and donations without wasting extra
time coordinating the details of the campaigns across departments.” West
is able to run customized reports that allow her to track and note the decision-makers
and which donors are most likely to renew. She can also track trends and set
the software to alert her when ticket sales hit a certain percentage. If sales
aren’t where they need to be, West can launch an outbound call campaign
to sell tickets or do fundraising—sometimes with the same call! West
also notes that the various departments like marketing and development are
able to share the telemarketing costs whereas before each department would
have launched their own campaign and incurred their own separate costs.
Steppenwolf also participates in a worldwide user group that meets regularly
to make improvements to the programs which may also inadvertently improve
the way you operate your theatre. The process is very democratic in which
enhancements are made three times a year. Each member organization may submit
their change requests and then all the members can vote on which enhancements
will get made. “We get the best Arts organization minds together to make
improvements to the software,” explains West. “In return, the software
is enhanced giving us best practices nation-wide.”
Rating of Product/Support:
Steppenwolf was assigned an account manager from Tessitura to handle the implementation
which took about six months. They helped to facilitate what Steppenwolf needed
and where to start from a data integration standpoint. Once the direction
was set, Steppenwolf also hired a database implementation specialist to coordinate
with the different departments at Steppenwolf and Tessitura to ensure the
transition went smoothly.
Additional Comments:
West is excited about the future uses of Tessitura software including more
datamining to help her connect the dots and personally communicate with patrons
and donors. “There are ways to use algorithms to be able to send the
right message to the right person at the right time,” explains West.
“By identifying those patrons that are the most engaged with Steppenwolf,
we’ll be able to provide personalized communications that meet their
specific needs and wants.”
CASE STUDY 2:
American Players Theatre, Spring Green, Wisconsin
– Blackbaud
Seating Capacity: 1148
seats
Software Supplier:
Blackbaud
2000 Daniel Island Drive
Charleston SC 29492
(800) 443-9441
www.blackbaud.com
Started Using Software:
1996
Criteria Used to Select Software Provider:
According to Dale Manning, information systems manager at American Players
Theatre (APT) of Wisconsin, Inc., the one requirement in choosing any software
is the total cost of ownership. Within that total cost of owning APT includes
the cost of training staff on how to properly enter information and report
on that information. With all of Blackbaud's products APT found that it took
a minimal amount of time to train employees. APT adds to that the cost
benefit to them in using the software. With the Blackbaud products, APT’s
donations continue to grow, ticket sales are at their greatest level ever
and better fiscal decisions are being made as a result of Blackbaud’s
software. Of course, one of the most valuable components is the ability to
share
information between the different software packages. That information is very
important to APT because it gives them a total view of what a patron
means to APT.
Benefits to Using Software:
Blackbaud's Financial Edge handles all of APT’s accounting including
payroll. They use the Raiser's Edge with Patrons Edge to create lists for
Meet'n'Greet, appeals for donations, renewal and general brochures. Manning
states, “There is a large amount of data analysis that continues throughout
the year, which could not be done without this combination of products. Ticket
sales are up, and since we added Patron Edge Online, our Internet sales have
almost doubled in one year.” APT’s online sales in 2005 were 23%
of our total sales where this year it increased to 38%. Manning believes that
the one component for increased ticket sales overall is that APT is better
able to handle the volume of orders better than ever before with Patrons Edge
and Patrons Edge Online. Donations have increased steadily since APT started
using Raiser's Edge.
Rating of Product/Support:
“I am very happy with the level of support,” notes Manning. “We
do not hesitate to call when we need assistance and the support team is always
very helpful.” APT can
track the progress of a case online and there are constant email updates as
to how their case is progressing. “Blackbaud is constantly providing
us with
updates to our software, which include fixes to known issues and new enhancements,”
adds Manning.
Additional Comments:
As APT was searching for a ticketing solution they felt that it was very important
to have a system that could be integrated with what they already had. “We
knew that Patron Edge was the logical choice for integration but how was it
at selling tickets,” recalls Manning. “The first demonstration of
the software made us think that this product was too good to be true. So we
asked for a second demonstration and invited more of our staff to attend.”
The one thing that they could see after the second demo and now after using
it for two seasons is that even if the integration were not important, is
the ease at which Patrons Edge handles ticketing.
In the future, APT hopes to be able to do more things with marketing online
such as email blasts, blogs, podcasts, etc. Also, APT feels that the integration
between Raiser's Edge and Patrons Edge will allow them to prospect more effectively
and move more ticket buyers to donors. A part of their mission is to provide
the best possible experience for the patrons while they are attending an APT
events. “My goal since the beginning of my tenure at American Players
Theatre has been to provide technology to the degree that it helps us become
more productive in what we do to provide a better experience for our patrons,”
says Manning. “I believe that integrating the proper software with what
we do here allows us the freedom to think about better ways to service our
patrons and not concern ourselves with better ways to capture data because
there are companies that are out there doing that for us.”
The bonus for APT is that there is a company like Blackbaud that has seen
a need for non-profits like APT and is making a very good effort to serve
those needs. “Not only is that company providing software that integrates
well with what we do, they are providing software solutions that integrate
with each other,” relates Manning.
CASE STUDY 3:
Paramount Theatre, Rutland, Vermont – New
Concepts Software – Tick-It!
Seating Capacity:
850 reserved seats
Software Supplier:
New Concepts Software, Inc.
P.O. Box 688
Roseville MI 48066-0688
(877) 800-0222
www.ncsoftware.com
Criteria Used to Select Software Provider:
The Paramount season runs from September through June. There are three distinct
programming tracks to the season. The first is The Playhouse Series. This
series is an eclectic mix of programming which includes comedy, dance, music,
and weekend children’s shows. The second is The Broadway Series which
consists of touring musicals, dramas, and comedies from Broadway. The third
series is called “Education is Paramount” which brings the local
school curriculum to the stage. The Box Office for the Paramount Theatre is
open and staffed only 3 days a week. A system enabling “full time sales”
capacity with a “part time box office” had to be implemented. Central
to this requirement was the ability for sales to take place on the Internet
24 / 7, with verifiable print at home tickets generated by the customers themselves,
along with the ability of Paramount staff to manage, update and control box
office operations remotely when the office was closed. Additionally, Paramount
needed a system that could handle multiple types of membership discounts,
each of which were sold at different price levels. The ability to accept donations,
both in the Box Office and on-line, as well as handle other merchandise and
fees was also desired.
Benefits to Using Software:
The Paramount Theatre chose to implement Tick-It! Trak Pro from New Concepts
Software, Inc, complete with the internally hosted web-based sales module.
By hosting their own Trak Pro web ticketing site on their server, The Paramount
Theatre gained complete control of ticketing and other POS operations both
“in house” as well as “on line”. Donors could act upon
their generous impulses while buying tickets by adding donations to their
on-line shopping carts. The box office hours were effectively extended to
24/7 leveraging the 3 days a week that the theatre office was manned. Since
launching the on-line ticketing, the Paramount has maintained an average of
30% ticket sales by dollar volume on the web, trending towards higher percentages
more recently. Needless to say, this represents a serious slice of ticketing
operations, all done with less staff and materials as it is all “self
service” and “print at home”.
All website visitors to the Paramount ticketing portal must “register”,
so even if they do not purchase anything during their initial visit, they
are already entered in the Paramount’s database, ready for subsequent
transactions, and available for marketing campaigns, all without any work
done by the staff.
Using the ability to define membership “levels” in Trak Pro, specific
discount benefits could be assigned to memberships ranging in price from free
to $2000. Once defined as a member of a Paramount “Circle”, discounts
are automatically applied at the box office POS stations for qualifying purchases
made by that customer. No further action is required by the operator, other
than to identify the customer during the transaction. Everything else is handled
by the Trak Pro POS System.
CASE STUDY 4:
Arkansas Repertory Theatre, Little Rock, Arkansas
– Arts Management Systems Theatre Manager
Seating Capacity:
354-seat main stage
Software Supplier:
Arts Management Systems Ltd.
Suite 300, #2
3012-17 Ave. SE
Calgary, AB T2A 0P9
(403) 536-1214
www.artsman.com
Using Software Since:
2002
Criteria Used to Select Software Provider:
Michael McCurdy, general manager of the Arkansas Repertory Theatre (ART),
noted that the selection process was fairly lengthy and difficult for the
Theatre. The
key criteria ART used was as follows: the software had to be a single database
for box office ticketing, subscriptions, marketing and development; it had
to have an on-line ticket sale option that allowed for real time ticketing
as well as a flexible and reasonable fee structure; and it had to be reasonably
affordable.
Benefits to Using Software:
“Our research led us to Arts Management,” states McCurdy. “They
continue to improve the software and it has fulfilled our basic criteria.”
McCurdy also wanted to make sure that the additional fees charged per ticket
were kept reasonable. “Unlike a contract with another provider, we keep
all the money from our on-line sales,” explains McCurdy. “We set
the fees we charge, which I think our patrons appreciate.” McCurdy goes
on to say that unlike a "ticketmaster" like system, where the patron
spends up to 25% more on handling charges and per-ticket fees, Arts Management
Systems Theatre Manager allows ART to keep all fees modest and reasonable.
ART is able to recoup the money they spend on their annual maintenance agreement
and longer term, the cost of the entire software package.
“But Theatre Manager is much more than the on-line sales,” explains
McCurdy. “It does subscriptions, development, and all ticket sales and
has various features for marketing. The creation of mail list for direct marketing
is one feature we could not live without! I still believe that it is an asset
to have development and patron marketing in one system.”
Rating of Product/Support:
“One thing I still believe is that there is not the perfect software
out there yet,” laments McCurdy. “I thought that four years ago
when we purchased Theatre
Manager and I believe that still today.” ART has been able to sell subscriptions
and tickets, track and record donations and have the patron information all
in a single
database, but still struggle with getting specific reports in a format that
is easy to use and decipher. “Some users are better with the program
than others and therefore are able to do more with the reporting and mail
list structure of the program,” notes McCurdy. “Other users do get
frustrated at times. I just wished we were more proficient on the software
and was getting everything out of it that we could.”
Additional Comments:
McCurdy gives theatres searching for integrated software the following tips:
- Do your homework. Make sure the product you are considering fits the way
you do business. Knowing the limited resources of arts organizations - getting
the "best" does not always mean the best for your organization if
you need a dozen people or a much bigger computer server/system to run the
program.
- Talk to other companies that currently use the product and see what they
think.
- Be sure the technical support is available 24/7 and responses are treated
consistently
- Do demos – but know that the demos are going to look a lot different
than when you have your data in the program.
CASE STUDY 5:
Munson-Williams- Proctor Art Institute, Utica,
New York - Choice Ticketing
Software Supplier:
Choice Ticketing Systems
1200 28th St., Ste 305
Boulder CO 80303
(303) 402-0400
www.choiceticketing.com
Started Using Software:
2003
Criteria Used to Select Software Provider:
Munson-Williams-Proctors Arts Institute (MWPAI) faced many of the same integration
challenges theatres do, but also needed to manage data for their theatre,
museum and school. Specifically, they were looking for software to handle
their ticketing, volunteer management and donations. According to Mara Grace,
ticket office manager at MWPAI, the system needed to be reliable with no down
time, but also help with cross-marketing MWPAI’s different offerings.
“We wanted to narrow our marketing efforts to make them more successful,”
explains Grace. Patrons who attended a New Orleans jazz performance may not
be interested in the upcoming Opera scheduled. MWPAI wanted to data mine their
databases and better target their offerings to pinpoint their direct marketing
and advertising efforts.
Grace also wanted a system that was user-friendly and didn’t require
a lot of down time for training. “We have a variety of people using the
system with varying computer skills and we just didn’t want to waste
a lot of time training and re-training people on how to use the system,”
comments Grace.
Benefits to Using Software:
MWPAI decided to use Choice Ticketing Systems in part because Grace had used
them before and knew that it would be easy to get up-and-running. Grace knew
how the software worked and felt that it would best fill their needs. “It
only takes 10 minutes to train someone on how to use it,” says Grace.
“I just love that it is so easy-to-use!” Many of the reports are
standard but customization is available. Grace also liked the fact that many
upgrades were made quickly and at no charge depending upon the type of upgrade.
Rating of Product/Support:
Grace has worked with other software companies and became frustrated with
the lack of response time, servers that would go down and the fees charged
for upgrades and changes. MWPAI’s inability to respond reflected poorly
on them, not on the software provider. Many of the requests and changes for
MWPAI are handle quickly with no real down time. “I like the fact that
I can call them and get an answer right away,” explains Grace. “And
we have never had the server go down since we’ve been using [Choice Ticketing].”
Grace particularly notes the increase in online sales and attributes it to
the work done by Choice Ticketing. “Their online guy is amazing,”
exclaims Grace. “I just call him up and he makes it happen. He even helped
me program our whole season to help generate more ticket sales.”
Additional Comments:
For theatres thinking about using integrated software Grace advises to always
get a demo—maybe multiple demos to make sure the program is working as
promised at different times of the day. She also recommends getting anyone
involved in the use of the software to participate in the demo. “Everyone
who has a say should really look at the software so that you can make sure
that everyone is on board,” says Grace.
CASE STUDY 6:
Boulder’s Dinner Theater, Boulder Colorado
– Martech Systems-Folio Box Office Software
Software Supplier:
Martech Systems, Inc.
614 N 3rd Ave. Ste B
Wausau WI 54402
(715) 845-2794
www.foliotickets.com
Started Using Software:
2006
Criteria Used to Select Software Provider:
Boulder’s Dinner Theatre couldn’t quite find the online sales system
that it wanted to replace its legacy system, so they searched for a system
that would best integrate with their marketing activities. Melissa Vargas,
marketing director, wanted software that would seamlessly integrate in-person
sales with online sales and track marketing results. The integration needed
to sync up box office sales with marketing efforts so that Vargas knew just
how well her marketing efforts performed.
Benefits to Using Software:
Vargas said that they chose Martech Systems Folio suite because it would provide
real-time syncing with box office and online ticket sales as well as provide
instant reporting on ticket inventory. Boulder’s Dinner Theatre can now
redeploy their marketing dollars based on instant information derived from
reports and also better assess which marketing programs are working. “I
am able to track where people saw my advertising, so that I can better place
my marketing dollars,” Vargas says. From these reports, Vargas is able
to see the ROI from each marketing activity and continually fine-tune her
marketing.
Rating of Product/Support:
The system is still relatively new for Boulder’s Dinner Theatre and Vargas
notes that they are still learning how to maximize all of the integration
functions. Martech has been supportive in helping Boulder’s Dinner Theatre
move at their own pace to add in more features.
Additional Comments:
“The program does what we needed,” says Vargas. “But beyond
that, I don’t think anybody here knows everything that it can do. We
haven’t figured it all out yet.” Vargas points out that continually
learning the capabilities of a new program is very important. She reminds
theatres considering purchasing integrated software to be sure they allow
time for training and to keep exploring how the software capabilities may
continually improve your theatre’s operations.
©2005 Dramabiz Magazine. All Rights Reserved.
