Archive for November, 2011
OK, do we finally have a RoI for CRM?
No, I am not having an annoying acronym attack, maybe a bit of alliteration though 
This is the headline that got my attention: CRM Returns $5.60 for Every Dollar Invested.
With “an average benefit of $5.60 returned for every dollar spent” investing in CRM as they say is a “no-brainer”.
They also suggest that if other capabilities like social, analytics and mobile access are added there is a further multiplier and sustainability.
The full RESEARCH NOTE is available online CRM PAYS BACK $5.60 FOR EVERY DOLLAR SPENT
29 November, 2011 at 6:00 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Isn’t it time you looked at integrating ticketing on Facebook?
Rob Martin, Digital Marketing Manager at The Lowry, Salford explains the implementation of Facebook ticketing at their venue as reported on the AMA COMMONS. Of note is the fact that at a cost of just £500 to integrate the new service, it paid for itself in the first month!
According to Rob “On average we sell around 50% of our tickets online, with the percentages rising for music and comedy.” Google Analytics revealed how important their Facebook page was for referring traffic, so logically they explored the option of selling tickets directly from Facebook.
“Live performances and ticket inventory taken from the Box office system into the … CMS now allows the website to share that information with Facebook users. The Facebook Events Page is a web application that … retrieves the current event information from the website via an exposed web service.“
Read more about the solution that paid for itself in a month: Lowry’s portrait of a Facebook ticketing operation
29 November, 2011 at 9:38 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 4 comments
Things database marketers can learn from farming …
A nice analogy from Ricky Bryan in his blog mARTsketing, Things database marketers can learn from farming.
The topics Ricky addresses make a lot of sense:
- Divide your database into paddocks
- Not all paddocks are the same
- Rotate your crops
- Don’t over crop the one paddock
- Tend to your paddocks
- Do your maintenance – mend fences so the sheep don’t escape.
- Sow a test crop
- Talk to your neighbours – what are they doing?
Of course the term ‘yield’ makes an appearance, but not without relevance.
Ricky’s final tip: “So if you aren’t getting the best out of your database, … go and have a yarn with a farmer. You could do a lot worse!“
27 November, 2011 at 3:59 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Will online tools really turn fans into promoters?
FanFueled is one such ‘promoter management tool’. The “ticketing platform tracks the transactional impact of fan sharing–and lets fans earn rebates on their service fee if their promotional activities yield additional ticket sales.“
“According to Founder and CEO Anderson Bell, the sharing rate for FanFueled events is 20% — 1 in 5 ticket buyers share information with their peers — which is double the sharing rate for a ticketing platform such as Eventbrite.“
Social Event Ticketing Platform Rewards Fans for Influencing Sales
25 November, 2011 at 11:35 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Who are the Big 3 in the War in the cloud?
A quick primer to the main providers of CRM in the cloud and currently battling it out:
1. Microsoft Dynamics CRM
“If you are an Outlook shop, Microsoft Dynamics CRM is a no brainer. The application’s core offering is your standard fare CRM feature set, but it is adding social media functionality as fast as it can.“
2. Oracle Public Cloud
“brings its formidable database and business application bona fides — of which CRM is just one part — to the cloud.“
3. Salesforce.com
Just need someone to solve that issue of integrating external ticketing software/service transactions for those stuck in venues with exclsuive ticketing contracts …
17 November, 2011 at 12:04 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Do you know of any other successful integrations of CRM with ticketing solutions?
I was contacted by Lauren Carlson a CRM Analyst with Software Advice.
Lauren introduced me to a review she wrote on five CRM alternatives to consider other than Salesforce, namely:
- Microsoft Dynamics CRM
- NetSuite OneWorld CRM
- Oracle CRM On Demand
- Sage SalesLogix
- SugarCRM
The review is Salesforce Alternatives | 5 Cloud CRM Systems to Consider
I recommend having a browse, not because I have a problem with Salesforce. However, I do think that comparison is always useful, as is competition. I would also suggest that the needs of entertainment wrt CRM are specific and the major requirement that is not addressed by any of these is integration with transaction capability, such as ticketing, memberships or donations.
There is are only two such integrations I know of currently:
- Patron Manager is built on a Salesforce platform and incorporates a variety of transaction types (including: Ticketing, Subscriptions and Donations) within the web-based service developed by Patron technology in New York.
- Event2CRM is an integration of Microsoft Dynamics and Eventbrite online ticketing developed by CRM Innovation in Kansas.
Do you know of any other integrations of CRM with ticketing solutions? Let us know by all means by adding a comment to this blog.
There is a short common sense summary available from Software Advice: Ten Steps to Selecting the Right CRM Software that you can download after registering.
14 November, 2011 at 5:38 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia 6 comments
Will you be stumbling around with Yumbling as your Entertainment Concierge?
I am not so sure about the name Yumbling, but it is an interesting development nonetheless.
“a free mobile app that recommends local entertainment options based on the user’s current location and preferences.“
This appears to be more than other apps like Urbanspoon which is more like a location based directory and in their words a “provider of time-critical dining data“. This covers a growing selection of entertainment options. They fine tune (or increase relevance of) recommendations by using what they call a “social DNA” algorithm.
“it factors in not only the user’s location, but also what it has learned of their tastes, and reportedly even contextual factors such as the time of day. Users who download the app … begin by creating a basic profile that includes some of their personal likes and dislikes. Yumbling logs this information, but also refines its understanding of the user over time based on their use of the app.“
It is device agnostic, available for iPhone, BlackBerry and Nokia devices.
7 November, 2011 at 1:47 pm Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Arts Marketing Standards Are Now Available – updated
Some very useful resources have been developed by the UK Arts Marketing Association (AMA) in response to the National Occupational Standards .
National Occupational Standards (NOS) specify the standards of performance that people are expected to achieve in their work, and the knowledge and skills they need to perform effectively. The marketing NOS were adapted by the AMA for those working in the arts and cultural sector.
The result is a set of standards which explain what skills and knowledge marketers should have at each stage of their arts marketing career.
You can access the Full Standards online and they are also available as relevant to four levels of marketing roles:
Level 1 – Assistant – officer
Level 2 – Senior Officer – new manager
Level 3 – Manager
Level 4 – Head of department/director
The AMA have also produced some ‘toolkits’ to outline how the standards might be used by those in marketing roles, by their employers and by arts marketing trainers.
3 November, 2011 at 11:02 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
Beyond Bums on Seats: Participatory Arts Practices
On his blog, The Artful Manager, Andrew Taylor has looked at the recent publication released by the James Irvine Foundation Getting In On the Act: How Arts Groups are Creating Opportunities for Active Participation
The research includes a model developed by authors Alan Brown and Jennifer Novak-Leonard (in partnership with Shelly Gilbride) of WolfBrown. Part of a larger five stage model, the three participatory stages are detailed to the right. The participatory stages includes: ‘crowd sourcing’ to ‘co-creation’ to ‘audience-as-artist’ .
The report also includes some instructive case studies sourced from around the world.
As the report suggests, we need to be exploring new ways to connect with an ever evolving audience.
1 November, 2011 at 10:18 am Tim Roberts ARTS Australia Leave a comment
