Data is everywhere in today’s cultural sector, but usable insight is rarer.
Arts leaders don’t need more of it; they need sharper questions. The right questions focus attention, expose blind spots, and turn information into decisions that strengthen loyalty and revenue.
Here are six questions that every arts leader, regardless of scale, artform, or CRM, should be asking right now.
1. Do we know the people behind our revenue?
Ticket income, memberships, subscriptions and donations may look healthy on a spreadsheet, but behind every pound or dollar is a person. Segment your audiences into new, active, and lapsed groups and track how each behaves. Real insight starts when you link revenue targets to relationships, not just totals
- Who are our most valuable audience segments, and why?
- What proportion of our revenue comes from returning vs. first-time households?
- How recently have our key customer groups engaged?
2. How often do our customers actually come back?
Recency and frequency data reveal whether you’re cultivating loyalty or starting from scratch each season. Measure how many households have attended in the past 12–18 months and how many haven’t. Sustainable growth comes from frequent engagement and the recurring revenue it enables, not just acquisition.
3. What’s our pacing by segment telling us?
Every campaign tells a story. Tracking pacing (how sales progress over time) by audience segment (new, loyal, reactivated) helps identify where demand is strong and where it’s slowing. This metric connects marketing actions to outcomes and keeps teams responsive, not reactive.
4. Is our CRM a source of evidence or just a database?
A CRM (Customer Relationship Management) or ticketing system should show you what’s happening across departments (marketing, box office, and development) not hide it. If you can’t easily answer who’s returning, who’s upgrading, and who’s lapsing, your data isn’t working hard enough.
A culture of data discipline is as vital as the technology itself.
Read: Your CRM is as Valuable as Your Building
5. Are we testing what we think we know?
Anecdotes can be persuasive: “everyone’s buying later,” “no one pays full price anymore”, but they’re often misleading. Challenge assumptions by comparing stories with evidence. The leaders who turn 'I think' into 'I know' make braver, smarter decisions.
6. What are we doing with the insights we have?
Data without action changes nothing. Agree, as a team, which four to six metrics truly matter to your organization and make them part of every planning meeting. When everyone speaks the same data language, focus (and confidence) follow.
Read: Six Metrics Every Arts Leader Should Obsess Over
You Probably Have a Culture Problem, Not a Data Problem
Arts organizations often don’t suffer from a lack of data. They suffer from overload. It’s not a question of what to measure; you already have the numbers. This is about how to turn that tidal wave of information into clear, confident action.
Culture change doesn’t start in a spreadsheet. It starts when leaders commit to reviewing the same few metrics, together, and acting on them. That’s how you move from being data-paralyzed to being truly data-informed.
Building Confidence Takes Partnership
Turning data into action takes focus; and sometimes, a partner who can help you see the wood for the trees. Whether it’s aligning your team around a shared set of metrics, shaping pricing strategy, or embedding a culture of evidence, TRG Arts works alongside arts leaders to make change stick.
If you’re ready to move from data in theory to discipline in practice, we’re here to help.
