In Jill’s last blog, she asked arts leaders to imagine that for the next 90 days, their teams would focus on earned revenue above all else with consistence and discipline. The first three months of any new year are critical for arts organizations. It's likely not the start of your season or fiscal year, but for your patrons, the start of a new year is a chance to make new resolutions, new budgets, and new priorities. It’s also a time for orgs to take the momentum built from year-end campaigns and carry it forward. With earned revenue from ticket sales being the most immediate and controllable form of income, focusing your energy here can generate early wins for your team and set the tone for a successful 2025.
So what does earned revenue focus look like?
Discounting without the backing of solid data is setting prices in the dark - its guesswork. Without market competitor analysis, audience segmentation, and behavior tracking, discounts are shots in the dark too. These discounts can lead to decisions that don’t align with your strategic goals, failing to resonate with your audience segments or advance your organizational objectives.
Employing a data-driven approach is essential, utilizing analytics that incorporate customer demographics, buying behaviors, and competitor pricing strategies. Your organization’s data is your most valuable resource for shaping early-year strategies. Use it to answer questions like:
Case Example: This year, New York Theatre Workshop used TRG’s Data Center to look beyond their own database. Data Center members can trade lists with other organizations in their Community Network, helping each other find high propensity arts visitors in their area and cross-pollenate their audiences. A response report measuring the effectiveness of the marketing for their production of Merry Me found that as much as 30% of NYTW ticket sales came through this collaborative, data-driven strategy. Generating this extra revenue is great, but the long-term value in the data for NYTW is that it enables them to use relationship building strategies with this segment of frequent arts visitors who have now been to their venue. Which leads to Step 2, RETENTION!
Check out the full case study here
Retention isn’t just a buzzword and it definitely isn’t just luck; it’s the foundation of your earned revenue success. The key with retention is to be active about it rather than believing that it can be built passively or that your team’s focus is better spent on acquisition. In the first 90 days:
Use loyalty campaigns to incentivize repeat attendance. From insurance companies to cell phone providers, most companies reward people for switching rather than staying. Arts orgs should incentivize loyalty. There are all sorts of ways to do this, but in these first 90 days, make sure you remind your audience of the ways they can save and improve their experience by staying engaged with you.
Identify segments that are at risk of lapsing and re-engage them before they disappear. In our client work at TRG we usually identify patrons who have not returned within 18 months as lapsed. When they are start getting close to that, you have an opportunity to invite them back, perhaps with a special offer. If they do return, acknowledge that as well after the show.
Quick Tip: A simple "We Miss You" email with an exclusive ticket discount can often reignite interest among lapsed audience members.
Early in the year is a prime time to refine your pricing models. Experiment with dynamic pricing to align ticket costs with demand. Yes, you really can build revenue and access at the same time. Revenue is not in the way of your mission, it’s a requirement to achieve it. Pitlochry Festival Theatre’s dynamic pricing adjustments resulted in record-breaking yields! Dynamic pricing doesn’t lead to selling less tickets for more money, some seat prices will go up and others will go down based on demand; dynamic pricing and strategic inventory management means selling more tickets to more people at the right price for a higher total revenue yield!
Learn more about Dynamic Pricing and Inventory Management
The first 90 days are also a time for your team to learn, grow, and align their efforts. Leaders, you will know best how to motivate your teams. Maybe you’ll host a kickoff meeting to outline your 90-day plan and get buy-in from your team. However you do it, you need to create shared goals for earned revenue, audience retention, and audience acquisition and encourage cross-department collaboration to maximize impact.
Actionable Idea: Designate a “Retention Champion” on your team who will focus on loyalty-building initiatives and report back on progress weekly.
The first 90 days of 2025 are an opportunity to start strong, build momentum, and set the stage for success throughout the year. By focusing on data, retention, pricing, and team alignment your organization can start the new year as strong with earned revenues that will make you breath easier all year.
At TRG Arts, we specialize in helping organizations like yours make impactful decisions. If you’re ready to focus your earned revenue strategy for the first quarter of 2025, let’s talk. Reach out to our team for personal recommendations and resources to kickstart your year.