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How Storyhouse Built a Fully Integrated Tech Stack with Spektrix

With Spektrix at the heart of your technology solution, unlock an effective, fully integrated tech stack that meets all your needs.

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Chester, UK

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Arts Centre

Storyhouse is a community and creative space in Chester, UK that houses two theatres, an independent cinema, a library, and a restaurant. They also run a summertime outdoor season of shows and films, and are a charity.

Storyhouse planned and purchased a CRM system and surrounding technology before they opened their building in 2017. While this was a good idea in theory, as they began operations and saw how customers actually interacted with their space, they learned that their system couldn’t adequately meet their technology needs. 

Fiona, a woman with red hair, blue eyes, and bangs, stands against an orange background.
“We had two overarching goals. The first was to create easier and smoother journeys for our customers and staff. The second was to better understand who our customers are and how they engage with us.”
Fiona Yates-Dutton
Box Office Manager

Fragmented systems that caused frustration

In an attempt to access the functionality they needed, Storyhouse used multiple add-ons to their central CRM. However, these systems did not work together in a joined-up way, which created fragmented journeys for customers and staff, and meant that Storyhouse wasn’t able to access holistic data insights on customer behaviour.

 

For example, their old box office system was unable to offer the subscription scheme they wanted. So, they added a website plugin to handle memberships – but that plugin didn’t talk to any of their other systems. This created three problems:

  • Customers had to have two separate log-ins, one for Storyhouse’s website to manage their membership, and a login to the box office to complete ticket purchases. If they didn’t log in in both places, they were locked out of membership discounts.
  • Membership discounts could only be redeemed online, because the box office staff had no access to membership information.
  • They had no way to look at any data – including payment and expiry information – related to membership. This made reporting on membership related data like booking behaviour and retention impossible.

The gap in membership reporting and customer journeys was just one of the challenges Storyhouse faced. A big problem for the programming team was the lack of integration between the box office and venue management system, which meant that their team had to build every event twice, which, in addition to taking double the amount of time, created room for error.

 

Spektrix at the heart of a new, integrated tech stack

Storyhouse knew what they wanted to achieve, but they needed the right technology to do it – and a way to integrate these systems so that their data, customer journeys, and team management functionality were all seamless and connected. Plus, they needed a system that was flexible enough to grow with them and deliver on evolving priorities. 

Storyhouse went live with Spektrix in 2023. Not only did they gain powerful ticketing, marketing, fundraising and CRM technology, but they also unlocked access to a robust network of integrated partner solutions that connect seamlessly with Spektrix.

With Spektrix at the heart of their technology solution, they began working with partners which enabled them to best meet all their specific needs. With their venue management system, Artifax, Storyhouse only needs to build each event once, as they can import events straight into Spektrix, which means less work for programmers, less work for the box office team, and less opportunity for human error.

Storyhouse now works with our partner VisitOne to provide guests with digital membership cards stored directly on their smartphones. The old, clunky membership process involving multiple log-ins has been replaced with a seamless, integrated process in which customers can purchase their memberships through Spektrix and easily access benefits with one login. Plus, in VisitOne, card expiry and renewal dates update automatically. The integration means that Storyhouse can now easily report on all things membership without added manual data collecting.

Perhaps the most exciting opportunity Storyhouse has unlocked is the ability to use self-serve ticket kiosks, powered by mtc Media. In addition to delighting their customers, these kiosks serve as a valuable source of information and point of purchase. 

Upcoming events automatically populate in the kiosks, so customers can browse and book events at their leisure. Members can also access benefits via kiosk by logging in. The kiosks mimic the online journey customers have on Storyhouse’s website, so customers benefit from a familiar, cohesively branded experience. Kiosks also make it easy to upsell donations and add-ons. Whenever Storyhouse is open, no matter how many staff members are working in the Box Office, they can still confidently serve the needs of visiting patrons.

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Kiosks in use at Storyhouse.

Fiona, a woman with red hair, blue eyes, and bangs, stands against an orange background.
“Now, with Spektrix, we can see all of our booking, membership, and engagement data, plus all of the information on trusts, foundations, and donors, in a joined-up way."
Fiona Yates-Dutton
Box Office Manager

Powerful, comprehensive insights on customer behavior

Storyhouse is now using the right technology to achieve their needs. And with Spektrix, all the systems they use are integrated seamlessly together. They’ve unlocked powerful insights into customer behaviour, and they’ve achieved smoother journeys for customers. 

Storyhouse can now understand, in detail, how patrons are using the building and interacting with their different offers. They’re able to see, for example, if a customer first interacted with their youth programming before becoming a ticket buyer and maybe even a donor. This empowers them to understand what customers value and are looking for, and what offers customers at different stages of their relationship with Storyhouse might find appealing.

One learning Storyhouse has unlocked with integrated data insights is that some of their members never actually attend any performances. It's likely that these people either view their membership as a donation to an organisation, or are patrons of their restaurant and enjoy their 10% discount. Storyhouse is able to reach these patrons with targeted communications suggesting offers that might better suit their needs. 

What you can achieve with partner integrations?

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