I am interested in stream-lining our process for converting tickets to memberships, and I’d love to hear how other museums in the network do things!
Thanks!
Jennifer
Hi Jennifer!
1. Yes!
2. We apply all tickets for which there’s no revenue share. Ex. If a special exhibit is all Shedd revenue, we allow them to apply it toward the cost of a membership.
3. We’ve done this two ways:
· Originally, we just returned the paid tickets and exchanged for a Membership (we use Memberships as Contributions, not Products) and the equivalent number of $0 member tickets. We had the guest pay the difference of course (and on the rare occasion that the guest spent more on tickets than the cost of the membership, we do NOT refund; we apply the overage as a contribution). For Extraordinary Experiences such as Behind the Scenes tours and animal encounters, we exchange the full price for the Member price and allow the difference in price to be used toward Membership. We used a source code to track conversion to Membership. The downside to this is that the Source Code didn’t (or couldn’t) always get updated so our ability to track conversions was limited.
· Recently we switched to a payment method. Now we don’t return single tickets or exchange them for Member price; we simply apply the eligible amount toward the Membership contribution with the Membership Conversion payment method and pay the balance with another payment method. This is a very recent switch, so it’s too soon to say with certainty that the change has helped Finance as they were hoping and whether we see more or less human error than the old way. But I’ll keep you posted!
4. Both methods have some downsides, mainly in the potential for human error. I probably would have argued against changing to the Payment Method route if we still had complex package structure, but now every guest gets all exhibits for one inclusive price and the only paid add-on is a 4D Experience, which cannot be applied to Membership. That makes the math a lot more straightforward and eases my mind about miscalculation potentially caused by *not* returning the original tickets and rebooking as Member tickets. I’ll keep you posted as other pros and cons come up.
Heather
Heather McLaren
Assistant Director, Box Office Operations
Guest Experience
John G. Shedd Aquarium
p 312.692.2702
www.sheddaquarium.org
Shedd Aquarium is a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organization and an accredited member of the Association of Zoos & Aquariums.
THIS MESSAGE CONTAINS INFORMATION THAT MAY BE CONFIDENTIAL OR PRIVILEGED. ANY UNAUTHORIZED DISCLOSURE IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED. IF YOU HAVE RECEIVED THIS MESSAGE IN ERROR, PLEASE NOTIFY THE SENDER IMMEDIATELY BY REPLY EMAIL THEN DELETE THE ORIGINAL MESSAGE. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ASSISTANCE. From: Museums [mailto:groups-museums@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Jennifer K. Miller Sent: Friday, September 22, 2017 6:05 PM To: McLaren, Heather Subject: [Museums] Membership Conversion Process I am interested in stream-lining our process for converting tickets to memberships, and I’d love to hear how other museums in the network do things! Do you allow guests apply the cost of their tickets to a membership? Does this only apply to General Admission tickets, or can they also apply the costs from add-on experiences like traveling exhibits and theater shows? How do you process it in Tessitura? Are you happy with your process or are there things you wish you could change about it? Thanks! Jennifer
From: Museums [mailto:groups-museums@tessituranetwork.com] On Behalf Of Jennifer K. Miller Sent: Friday, September 22, 2017 6:05 PM To: McLaren, Heather Subject: [Museums] Membership Conversion Process
I am interested in stream-lining our process for converting tickets to memberships, and I’d love to hear how other museums in the network do things! Do you allow guests apply the cost of their tickets to a membership? Yes. We tell them they need to do it within 2 weeks of their visit, but we are very flexible about that. It just helps create urgency and avoid the "I have tickets from 9 months ago" situation. I like not forcing them to do it day-of, as that creates a problem on days with long box office lines, and even without lines, who wants to do that with a 4-year-old who is having an exhaustion tantrum? Does this only apply to General Admission tickets, or can they also apply the costs from add-on experiences like traveling exhibits and theater shows? We allow them to credit GA and our Omnitheater. We have sometimes allowed traveling exhibit fees, but a few years ago decide to just omit those. It was difficult to deal with the constantly changing math, and, more importantly, the financial contracts around each traveling exhibit can be so different that omitting them was the only way to guarantee that we didn't lose money on that part of the deal. How do you process it in Tessitura? We use a payment method as well. The cashier starts a new order, sells a membership, and then splits the payment, using a payment type that is set up to move the money from Ticketing to Membership. The balance is then charged to the customer. You can set it up not to move the money between depts if you prefer. Are you happy with your process or are there things you wish you could change about it? I love it! Easy to report on, and since we eliminated the traveling exhibits, the math is simpler to do. I haven't heard any complaints from our ticketing folks. Thanks! Jennifer Spam Not spam Forget previous vote
Heather explained this very well. I'll only add that the decision to change to using a payment method was directly from Accounting. It is easy to report on a payment method to see how much money was converted.
It is a great conversation for our teams (Heather's on the floor and mine in the call center, including Memberhsip Hotline) to have with guests and I think it does result in a lot of happy new members. We advertise this option on the back of our ticket stock and on signage near the exits. We give people 30 days fromt he date of their visit to do the conversion.
Let us know if you have any other specific quesitons. Hope you are doing well!
Thank you, everyone! This has been a very helpful discussion!
Also, we missed you at TLCC this year, Tony. :(