It isn’t just about the price

In the arts administration world, there is always a lot of talk about things that relate to the cost of admission. Are prices too high that they are preventing people from attending? Should we offer free events to bring new people in the doors? Quick, let’s do a discount to sell some last-minute tickets!

There is a host of data that shows that discounting and offering free events alone with the aim of reaching new/underserved/low income audiences doesn’t work. (Here is an example, and another, and another for your perusal.) Beyond this data, we know that offering frequent discounts brings the danger of training patrons to wait for a discount, or *gasp* cannibalizing ticket sales with patrons who would usually pay full price take advantage of a discount.

You guys, it isn’t just about the price! Price is not the only thing that determines whether someone is going to attend the opera or visit a museum. There are a host of things that go into that decision, many of which occur days, months, and years before you ever get to the point where you have enough of a relationship with a person to offer them a discount in the first place.

So, what is it about? It is about communicating to your target groups with a narrative that uses compelling messaging and imagery about your organization (and its events) that creates a relationship with them that, over time, becomes strong enough that they take action.

Authentic communication creates value for your product (yes, symphony tickets are products…