Film-Tech Cinema Systems
Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE


  
my profile | my password | search | faq & rules | forum home
  next oldest topic   next newest topic
» Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE   » Operations   » Ground Level   » Boosting business (Page 1)

 
This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3 
 
Author Topic: Boosting business
Matt Kerekes
Film Handler

Posts: 73
From: Rio Rancho, NM
Registered: Oct 2004


 - posted 06-13-2006 10:33 AM      Profile for Matt Kerekes   Email Matt Kerekes   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
What recommendations do people have to boost business at a theatre without putting a ton of money into marketing and/or upgrades?

[ 07-25-2006, 08:29 AM: Message edited by: Matt Kerekes ]

 |  IP: Logged

Mike Spaeth
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1129
From: Marietta, GA
Registered: Jul 2000


 - posted 06-13-2006 11:01 AM      Profile for Mike Spaeth   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Spaeth   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Go subrun. $1.00 all shows, $0.50 Tuesdays.

 |  IP: Logged

Aaron Mehocic
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 804
From: New Castle, PA, USA
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-13-2006 11:06 AM      Profile for Aaron Mehocic   Email Aaron Mehocic   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
That might be a good idea if your town is overscreened. My question is where exactly did the new theatre open up and what kind of product are they receiving? You're in a cycle . . . it will improve over time.

 |  IP: Logged

Paul Goulet
Master Film Handler

Posts: 347
From: Rhode Island
Registered: Jan 2000


 - posted 06-13-2006 11:25 AM      Profile for Paul Goulet   Author's Homepage   Email Paul Goulet   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Pray for lots of rain...

 |  IP: Logged

Lyle Romer
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1400
From: Davie, FL, USA
Registered: May 2002


 - posted 06-13-2006 11:45 AM      Profile for Lyle Romer   Email Lyle Romer   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Matt,

Although the total box office is up this year, is it possible that the types of films your audience goes to aren't as good this year as last? In your market I can only assume that the X-men popcorn crowd goes to Muvico. It may be that combined with a "season" thing. Maybe the snowbirds headed north early this year?

Maybe lower ticket prices? You are the same price as Muvico for kids, only $0.25 cheaper for seniors, $0.75 cheaper for Adults and $0.50 cheaper for matinee. That's not enough price difference to entice me to skip the stadium seating, comfortable chairs and atmosphere of Muvico.

 |  IP: Logged

Matt Kerekes
Film Handler

Posts: 73
From: Rio Rancho, NM
Registered: Oct 2004


 - posted 06-13-2006 12:11 PM      Profile for Matt Kerekes   Email Matt Kerekes   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Ok, in addition to my original question, if there were being money spent on things to boost business what would be some suggestions?

 |  IP: Logged

Mike Blakesley
Film God

Posts: 12767
From: Forsyth, Montana
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-13-2006 12:24 PM      Profile for Mike Blakesley   Author's Homepage   Email Mike Blakesley   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Have you heard from anyone why attendance is down so much? (Ask your concession staff.) I would try to research the reason for the downturn and work from there.

What percentage of the usual total is this 20,000? If you annually get a couple of million people it wouldn't be so bad but if you are used to 60,000 then you've got a real problem.

 |  IP: Logged

Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000


 - posted 06-13-2006 03:28 PM      Profile for Jesse Skeen   Email Jesse Skeen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Matt Kerekes
the operations are the best they've been in years.
But are they PERFECT? Were there any problems with the presentation beforehand? If so some people may have given up on it already, and might need some assurance that things have improved.

 |  IP: Logged

Brad Allen
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 688
From: Evansville, IN, USA
Registered: May 2000


 - posted 06-13-2006 04:07 PM      Profile for Brad Allen   Email Brad Allen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
If you've had past problems that drove people away, be it, rowdy kids, poor presentation etc. it will take years to recover. People don't forget bad experiences quickly.
And I'm not inferring you've done anything to drive away folks. It's just a comment.

 |  IP: Logged

Jonathan M. Crist
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 531
From: Hershey, PA, USA
Registered: Apr 2000


 - posted 06-13-2006 04:13 PM      Profile for Jonathan M. Crist   Email Jonathan M. Crist   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Everyone I know in the Boca area has a deluxe home theatre.

 |  IP: Logged

Dennis Benjamin
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1445
From: Denton, MD
Registered: Feb 2002


 - posted 06-13-2006 05:20 PM      Profile for Dennis Benjamin   Author's Homepage   Email Dennis Benjamin   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Matt,

You need to do the following things:

1) Buy a map of the area your theatre is in that shows zip codes and tack up on your office wall.

2) Establish where your current customers are coming from. You can do this by conducting a zip code survey. If you have Radiant Box Computers, they have a program that allows you to input each customers zip code into the system. Or just have your cashiers ask and write them down.

3) Once you know where they are coming from, you can use that information to (a) look to other areas to market to or (b) go into the zip codes you are drawing from to get more people.

4) Start a grass roots advertising campaign. What I mean by 'grass roots' is cheap. Instead of taking out an ad in a paper, go to all the apartment and condo complexes in the area (hence the zip code survey) and strike up a deal with them. New tenants can get a two for one admission coupon included in their move-in packet. Put up ads on local bulletin boards and the colleges around in the area.

5) Start relationships with your local Chamber of Commerce, Senior Citizen Groups, and Youth Clubs. Market to them exclusively and give them special coupons and deals.

6) Cold Call Day Cares, schools, and companies with large amounts employees to sell VIP or discount tickets to.

7) Once you have done all the above items, GO BACK TO ITEM #1 and start over. This time pick a different area on the map to market to.

I have used this system in Miami, Florida and Las Vegas, Nevada. Both locations were in saturated markets (overscreened). I was able to improve business tremendously at both locations. Ask your boss about it.

Oh yeah - one more thing: Frequently visit your closest competition theatres. Whatever they are screwing up on - make it better at your theatre.

 |  IP: Logged

Eric Hooper
Jedi Master Film Handler

Posts: 532
From: Fort Worth, TX, USA
Registered: May 2003


 - posted 06-14-2006 04:50 PM      Profile for Eric Hooper   Email Eric Hooper   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
Widen that DVD release window. [Razz]

 |  IP: Logged

Jesse Skeen
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1517
From: Sacramento, CA
Registered: Aug 2000


 - posted 06-14-2006 06:05 PM      Profile for Jesse Skeen   Email Jesse Skeen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
...And give your audience what they CAN'T get with DVD.

 |  IP: Logged

Mark Gulbrandsen
Resident Trollmaster

Posts: 16657
From: Music City
Registered: Jun 99


 - posted 06-18-2006 07:22 AM      Profile for Mark Gulbrandsen   Email Mark Gulbrandsen   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
quote: Matt Kerekes
A theatre is down 20,000 people in attendance so far compared to last year
I wonder if it has anything to do with Hurricanes?

Mark

 |  IP: Logged

Scott Jentsch
Phenomenal Film Handler

Posts: 1061
From: New Berlin, WI, USA
Registered: Apr 2003


 - posted 06-19-2006 11:46 AM      Profile for Scott Jentsch   Author's Homepage   Email Scott Jentsch   Send New Private Message       Edit/Delete Post 
I like Dennis' ideas, as they are methodical and measurable, with most of the cost in your time rather than mailing and printing costs.

Another idea is to work with nearby hotels to see if you can supply them with a showtimes list that they can post at their front desk or on a bulletin board. This will attract people looking for something to do on the spur of the moment. When I travelled for business in the past, it was nice to be able to ask the front desk what was nearby to grab a bite to eat at night and if there was anything within a short distance to do.

Also, evaluate any money being spent on advertising, especially newspaper. Many theaters are dumping their newspaper ads, or at the very least reducing them to the minimum, and moving those expenses into other media or realizing the cost savings by eliminating that particular marketing expense. If possible, find a way to measure the response rate of any advertising that you're doing to see what's drawing the audiences, and what's not.

I took a look at your web site to see if there are any clues there for room for improvement.

On the main page, it's nice that you have a list of all the movies playing at the various locations, but there isn't an easy way to find a location if you're not already familiar with the theater's names along the left side. I think that showing a map of Florida with each location push-pinned and clickable would make it easy for people to find the theater nearest them. A likely scenario would be tourists/out-of-town visitors looking for something to do when the weather isn't cooperating. If they do a Google search and land on your web site, are they going to know which theater is close by?

Using your Mizner Park location as a sample, the showtimes are pretty easy to find, but the ability for your customers to leave feedback is not. I think it would be nice to have a link to a feedback form on every theater's page to make it easy for your customers to provide you with valuable information on their experiences.

The message board is non-functional, as all of the forums say they are closed when you try to go into them. The last posts as shown by the main page are from September of 2005. That gives your web site visitors the impression that the web site is outdated and/or poorly managed. Providing a venue to build community but closing that venue off to those actually interested in what it has to offer is a bad move. If the closure is temporary (such as needing to update the phpBB software, which is many versions behind current), then something should be placed there to explain the situation.

While it may not seem that something like the web site can impact an individual theater, it creates an impression on your prospective customers. Anything that touches your customers is part of the movie-going experience, and is worthy of your attention when you're looking to boost business.

Lastly, I'll put in a plug for The BigScreen Cinema Guide. We aren't listing showtimes and enhanced information for any Sunrise Cinema locations yet. According to a quick report, there were 977 visits to the pages related to your theaters in the past four weeks, with very little to be found in the way of information and showtimes. That 977 number represents quite a few people that couldn't find what they were looking for, plus in some cases, it was half the number that some other locations within 10 miles of your theaters were getting.

Take a look at what we do have, and please feel free to send me any corrections to the basic info (address, phone #'s, etc.).

I think you will find that signing up for our Featured Theater Service is a very economical way to build traffic to your theaters. I don't want to use this forum to stump (too blatantly) for my services, so please send me an E-Mail or PM and I'd be happy to send you some details.

 |  IP: Logged



All times are Central (GMT -6:00)
This topic comprises 3 pages: 1  2  3 
 
   Close Topic    Move Topic    Delete Topic    next oldest topic   next newest topic
 - Printer-friendly view of this topic
Hop To:



Powered by Infopop Corporation
UBB.classicTM 6.3.1.2

The Film-Tech Forums are designed for various members related to the cinema industry to express their opinions, viewpoints and testimonials on various products, services and events based upon speculation, personal knowledge and factual information through use, therefore all views represented here allow no liability upon the publishers of this web site and the owners of said views assume no liability for any ill will resulting from these postings. The posts made here are for educational as well as entertainment purposes and as such anyone viewing this portion of the website must accept these views as statements of the author of that opinion and agrees to release the authors from any and all liability.

© 1999-2020 Film-Tech Cinema Systems, LLC. All rights reserved.