Uniting Teams to Improve Theatre Management

IN BRIEF

• A successful CRM strategy looks beyond marketing and ticketing to build connections with audiences at every touchpoint.
  
  
• A genuine technology partner will work as an extension of your team, helping you use digital tools to support both day-to-day growth and strategic development.
  
  
• Ask for references and seek impartial advice when choosing a system, to guarantee that existing users are seeing all the benefits you’ve been promised.

The technology already in use required substantial IT support, and team members struggled to navigate its complex interface. They quickly saw that Spektrix could bring more intuitive tools and insight, supporting KPIs and shared strategic goals across the theatre, and by September, they were live.

The benefit for audiences lay in a more streamlined online experience, clearer guidance for seating options in the Exchange’s unique auditorium, and more personalised communications, rewarding loyalty, targeting potential members and making personalised donation asks based on patrons’ interests and giving history.

The Royal Exchange team, meanwhile, were excited about streamlining their internal processes. Their ambitions include:

• Combining front of house and box office into a multi-skilled Visitor Experience team
• Creating efficiencies and increasing system access across the theatre’s marketing and development teams, producing and engagement work
• Increasing online sales, season ticket subscribers and overall revenue

Decision making based on honesty and transparency

Director of Business and Operations, Sheralee Lockhart, led the Royal Exchange’s review of its theatre management systems and the choice of Spektrix. She began by talking to colleagues at Leeds Playhouse and Contact Theatre, finding out how organisations already using Spektrix benefitted from its ease of use, powerful features and comprehensive support.

Inspired by those conversations, she got in touch with Spektrix and spoke to the business development team. Unlike some other sales teams she’d encountered, Sheralee was pleased to find that the people she spoke to were patient and thorough, taking time to explain both technical features and strategic impact and to honestly critique the system’s fit with her team’s priorities. That integrity, along with a clear pricing structure without additional licences or hidden costs, helped her answer colleagues’ questions and bring the whole team on board. 

A genuine partnership

Before the end of 2020 Spektrix was in active use across the Royal Exchange, even though tickets weren’t back on sale right away. The team are building a strong relationship with Spektrix, first through their implementation project manager and later with the support, training and consultancy team, who were happy to adapt training sessions to their specific needs and help them focus on CRM strategy, simplifying tags and attributes and better reflecting the importance of learning within the organisation.

Next, Sheralee plans to bring together Spektrix users across Manchester to form a ‘hive’ including HOME, Contact Theatre, The Stoller Hall, Hope Mill Theatre and more. With previous systems, she’s relied on user groups like this to fill gaps in system knowledge and support; here she sees it as an opportunity to explore strategic collaboration and compare notes on theatre management best practice, directly supported by the Spektrix team.