How to Build Demand by Managing the Room, Not Just the Price
Why Experience, Access, and Perception Drive Audience Behavior
When demand for performances softens or fluctuates, the pressure inside arts organizations intensifies. Leaders feel it in budgets, board conversations, staff morale, and the constant urge to “do something” to influence sales. Too often, that something is discounting, comping, or quietly pulling back on the audience experience.
This episode challenges that reflex, and re-frames demand not as something organizations either “have” or “don’t,” but as something leaders can actively manage through experience, access, and perception. Demand is rarely at the extremes. Most organizations live in the middle, where leadership decisions matter most.
We explore how common tactics used to “dress the house” can create long-term consequences: weaker loyalty, diluted pricing power, reduced frequency, and internal misalignment. Rather than chasing sell-outs or using price as a shortcut, this conversation invites leaders to protect the real value of the work by managing access, signaling success, and prioritizing experience so today’s decisions strengthen relationships instead of quietly working against them.
Key Takeaways to Put Into Action:
Demand is something to manage, not wait for: Most organizations already have demand. The question is how leadership decisions shape it over time.
Experience matters most when demand feels soft: Pulling back on hospitality and energy sends powerful signals to your most loyal audiences.
Access shapes perception before price does: Scale plans, seat availability, and early access influence how audiences interpret value.
Comps are currency, not filler: Unmanaged complimentary tickets quietly undermine perceived demand and future behavior.
Success is more than a sell-out: Protecting perception and experience builds loyalty, frequency, and long-term revenue.
Listen to this episode:
Watch this episode:
The video version of this episode features bonus content.Watch from 33:46 as the TRG team puts demand management into practice with a live hall re-scaling exercise, revealing how the room itself shapes perception, behavior, and value.
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