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Ted Molter, marketing director, San Diego Zoo
When it comes to research, why is one of the most important questions to ask.
You absolutely need to know why. Your boss, board, and shareholders frequently ask the question, and research prepares you to answer it. However, don’t forget to find out who, what, when, and where.
To begin your research effort, take inventory of your data. Find out what you need to assess. A great place to start is with exit surveys. This answers the question who? Gathering demographic data about the guests visiting your attraction help you develop an accurate picture of your guests each year. Comparing the data year-to-year and quarter-to-quarter will tell you if anything about your guests has changed—annual income, local, regional, or national origin, and preferred activities while visiting the attraction. Ultimately you want to find out if you’re providing guests with what they want and expect from a park. When deciding on an exit survey provider you may also wish to contract someone who surveys other attractions or businesses like yours. A benchmark comparison to other businesses will enhance the value of the data collected at your facility.
The what can be found in your sales reports. You need to know what products your guests are buying. This data can serve as a significant point of reference for potential sponsors. Marketing also has a hand in admission ticket sales. Identifying the strength of each consignment ticket sales outlet, promotional program, or partner selling your products is vital in evaluating the continuation or termination of such programs.
Advertising is expensive, and some say that only half of it really works. Unfortunately, no one knows which half. Research can help you understand what works. Knowing when guests are coming is important to your advertising efforts. Many facilities offer promotions designed to draw attendance during shoulder seasons. Collecting financial data and reviewing past successes and failures are important when planning activities. Do you know if shoulder-season events are able to create incremental business? By moving existing business away from the time of year when you are fully staffed you may be decreasing your revenue and spending marketing dollars that result in little return. A great promotion resulting in increased attendance during a shoulder season poorly staffed can result in decreased guest satisfaction, longer return cycles, and negative word-of-mouth.
Where are guests coming from? Exit surveys give you an idea, but details can be gathered from sales data, including the location of outside ticket outlets and coded coupons and by collecting residency information when a sale is made. Many facilities have systems that capture zip code data right at the point of sale.
Understand what is occurring on your web site. Consumers are online 24 hours a day, and they are researching you. Make sure you are able to give them what they want when they are visiting your site. Use your web site as a research tool. Visitors to your site are leaving data all the time. Find out how to read it. What pages get the most hits? Use that data to direct visitors to the information you want them to have. Make sure interactions on your web site provide a high-quality experience that matches a visit to your facility. We all know that first impressions are lasting and a negative online experience will lead consumers right to your competitors. Make sure you look at your competitors’ sites any time you can. The effort doesn’t cost a thing and the data you will gather is very valuable.
Research tells you what the consumer is feeling, thinking, wanting, and doing. Too often we think in terms of ourselves but not our customers. The best research is the old-fashioned kind. Get out of your office, walk around your facility, or visit with guests and hear from the consumer directly. That will reinforce the data you have and assist in making the evaluation more tangible.
After you have taken inventory you might discover inconsistencies. Don’t be discouraged—
everyone encounters bad data. You might not have all the data you need, and for a variety of reasons it might be compromised. Use whatever data you have to begin an analysis, and improvements will follow. As you look at the information you’ve compiled, you will see new ideas, opportunities, and challenges. Each discovery will cause you to ask even more questions. More than likely the most common question will be why?
Want to learn more about marketing research? Attend the marketing workshops at the IAAPA Orlando 2004 Convention and Trade Show (November 15-20). The IAAPA Marketing Committee will host a series of workshops and roundtable discussions featuring
marketing experts who will be speaking on a range of topics covering a variety of marketing disciplines with practical applications. The programs are designed to allow participants to ask specific questions and exchange information while networking with the best of the best in the world of attractions marketing.
