Membership Conversion Process

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.

Thanks!

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

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.

Thanks!

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