APPENDIX IV: BUILDING PATRON LOYALTY

WMS’s audience development program includes regular, systematic prospecting for new customers. One of the biggest weaknesses facing WMS in the past decade has been the size of its single ticket buyer pool, which until recently has been too small even to replenish normal subscriber attrition. Now that this has been addressed, we must still continue to attract new ticket buyers through brand awareness advertising and prospecting.

However, marketing to new audiences is costly, and this investment is largely wasted without audience development practices that work at all levels to maximize patron retention through building their loyalty to the organization.

Increasing patrons’ loyalty is the best way to ensure long-term, sustainable audiences and revenue. Through data, WMS strives to follow every step on the patron’s journey, from first time attendee to advocate/investor. With the help of our TRG counsel, we create and implement strategies to make patron engagement stronger, longer, and lasting.

Exposure to great music leads to involvement; involvement to engagement; engagement to passion; passion to philanthropy.

Bruce Coppock