Preparing for a Return to Larger Audience and Visitor Numbers

As we look forward to theatres and museums being allowed to reopen more fully, we know that the pandemic continues to be a challenge for attraction-based businesses and organisations, which rely on large visitor numbers and, in more normal times, see queuing or crowding at particular times and places.

Reducing venue capacity might be the short-term guidance for how to support social distancing but there are other solutions – based on proven, tried and tested technology – that can also help ensure the highest levels of safety in public places. As businesses lay out the plans to reopen, now is also the time for putting longer-term solutions in place so that museums, theatres, and attractions can be ready when for when they are allowed to fully open up again and welcome larger numbers through the doors.

The pain points for these venues and attraction destinations are first and foremost health and safety, then security, and then the customer experience. They need to manage foot traffic so that the flow and movement of people around a venue are optimised for safety. They need a way to ensure crowds don’t build-up, forcing people to get too close, and they need to minimize or even eliminate queuing, which means they need to know that people are not going to just turn up but that only the right people will turn up at the right time for their pre-booked timeslot. They also need to build up profits again, which will take time, but by providing the best possible customer experience, visitors and audiences are more likely to return, tell their friends and post on social media about what a good time they had.

This positive customer experience is not just about making sure visitors feel safe, it’s also about delivering a personalised, joined-up, and ultimately more engaging customer service, which helps with future-proofing because, when a proven data insights technology provider is part of the mix, the positive business outcomes are data-driven.

Mobile ticketing has become the driving force helping to solve many of the pain points listed above. It enables tickets to be browsed at convenience, booked in advance, and delivered remotely over the network to reduce the number of touchpoints. It also keeps them safe and secure, eliminating ticket fraud, thanks to mobile tickets being linked to the account holder, which also helps with track and trace. In addition, because a mobile app is a direct and immediate communications channel to the customer, app notifications help enable virtual queuing with staggered and just-in-time arrival times helping to get audiences through entrances quickly and assist with directions to seating (or a favourite exhibit) via the optimal route to avoid crowds. Mobile ticketing apps also help with capacity management, providing administrators with an operational overview so they can more easily monitor visitor volumes at any particular time and place. This means they can send notifications, if necessary, to suggest visitors use a different entrance or interval ice-cream stand, as well as reminders about one-way systems or exiting times and routes.

The unprecedented level of visibility gained through mobile ticketing also helps prevent ‘ghosting’, which happens when a venue knows nothing about the ticket holder themselves, who might be wandering around - like a ‘ghost’ – and harder to track and trace if needed. It’s this visibility that also makes it possible to deliver tailored customer services through the mobile app based on customer choices and behaviour, such as which routes they use and when, where they prefer to sit and what they like to eat and drink at different times. These data insights can be used by management to provide valuable personalised services that improve the whole customer experience helping to secure return business and positive reviews for the future.

At Corethree, we are very committed to playing a pivotal role in helping theatres, museums and other event and attraction-based businesses get back on their feet through our digital and mobile ticketing offerings. Our tried and tested technology helps to ensure the safest and best customer experience, helping these venues get ready to welcome back larger audience and visitor numbers – soon we hope.