How to Leverage Your Membership Program During the Off-Season

Everyone deserves a break now and again, whether you’re heading a community theatre, school program, professional non-equity theatre, or something in between. And we’re all for it – kick your feet up and relax!

That said, your off-season doesn’t have to be a complete wash when it comes to engaging your patrons, nurturing your relationships, and building new ones. In fact, off-season engagement matters quite a lot to the success of your theatre, and when you work diligently to build memberships during the season, the off-season presents a great opportunity for you to create new relationships, too.

On The Stage is here to help in that journey, no matter how big or small your goals are. We present several ways to leverage your theatre membership program during the off-season to set up your fall offerings for even greater success. 

Leveraging Your Membership Program in the Off-Season

Check In Consistently 

Whether you have a teeny-tiny patron base or a massive one, don’t forget to check in with your patrons during the off-season to see how things are going for them. After all, you want your theatre to be top-of-mind no matter the time of year! A few engaging, organic, and fun ways to check in with your patrons include:

• ‘Behind the Curtain’ emails: Check in with your patrons, let them know what your theatre is up to this summer, present spotlights on cast and crew members, or showcase backstage secrets or funny bloopers from your last productions.
• Personalized postcards or letters: Consider hand-written or well-designed postcards sent to your patrons during the summer months. Let your patrons know you’re thinking of them, and can’t wait for them to see what you have in store for next season. 
• Host photo or fan art contests: Invite your patrons to submit drawings or digital fan art from past productions, or dress up as a character from a recent show. Winners can get fun VIP prizes.
• Consider a summer open house: If you want to do in-person check-ins, an open house at your theatre is a great idea. This is a way to reconnect with your audiences, network, and form new connections without the added stress of putting on a show. 

Present Value to Existing Members

A great way to leverage your memberships during the off-season is by presenting value to existing members, even when there’s not a show on the horizon. By keeping the perks coming all year long, you cement your theatre front and center in patron’s minds and also entice new people to join your program. 

A few ways to present value to your existing members during the office season include:

• Partnering with local businesses and allowing patrons to present a membership card for discounts – whether that’s for food, clothing, services, or other wares. In exchange, you can promote these partner businesses on your socials, in your weekly email updates, or in your show program next season.
• Allowing existing members to renew or upgrade their membership at a discounted rate. 
• Offering VIP perks, like priority seating at next season’s showcases, “members only,” early-bird ticket sales, or sneak peeks at the new season before the general public. This not only builds urgency to lock in another year of membership, but it also locks in revenue earlier than anticipated. 
• Granting access to members-only summer events, whether they’re bingo nights, galas, or educational workshops.
• Shouting out specific members on social media all summer long. Consider a “Patron of the Month” designation as well, which comes with perks of its own.

Focus on Growing Your Base 

Just as fostering your existing membership relationships is important, so too is your effort to grow your base and appeal to more members. You can grow that base through fairly simple marketing strategies, including:

• Showcase membership testimonials online and in other tangible marketing materials. After all, the best way to entice more folks and bolster your community reputation is by allowing your patrons to speak (positively) on your behalf. 
• Offer referral incentives that help both your existing members and your target demographics. With these referral discounts, you’re incentivizing both parties to participate, which will lead to higher engagement and more members in the long run.
• Present discounts for new members during the quieter months. While discounts aren’t necessarily the best way to pad your bottom line, they can lure in more members who are looking for entertainment but may not have the budget for it. Accessibility for the win!
• Present new-member perks to those who sign up within a certain timeframe, whether those perks are early-bird discounts, exclusive merchandise, or free digital content.
• Grow and focus on your email list, and make your digital communications compelling. Consider advertising a summer giveaway, where people have to sign up for a theatre membership – or even just your mailing list – to be entered. Rewards can be as simple as a free download of an eBook or exclusive, behind-the-scenes content. 

Prove That You Listen

This point is appealing to both members and non-members alike. After all, proving that you listen to your patrons’ feedback helps them feel seen, appreciated, and valued, and shows the community at large that you hear your customer base and tailor your offerings to better suit their needs. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of that type of organization? 

Ways to prove you listen to your patrons’ feedback is by:

• Offer multiple avenues to provide said feedback –surveys, one-on-one meetings, committees, board meetings, and social media comments are just the tip of the iceberg. 
• Lay out exactly what feedback you heard and how you implemented it. Perhaps your patrons wanted more family-friendly programming. In your marketing materials, state that you’ve heard your members’ requests – “You asked, we answered!” – and let them know what changes you’ve made.
• Feature feedback in your later marketing content, with direct quotes from patrons, or direct acknowledgment of the patron that gave you the idea in the first place. 
• Consider hosting focus groups, talkbacks, or even forming a patron advisory board to prove you’re serious about including patron input in your theatre’s strategies.

Work On Internal Tune-Ups

While you may be spending a lot of time looking outward during the off-season to cultivate strong working relationships and build up your patron base, it’s also a great time to look inward and focus on internal tune-ups. While each theatre is its unique ecosystem, there are a few things that can always improve a theatre across the board. Some ideas for internal tune-ups include: 

• Work on your fall marketing strategy or getting a jump on choosing your shows for the future.
• Consult the data and the feedback from your patrons to rework certain facets of your theatre.
• Implement automated emailing to streamline your communications.
• Review your tier structures for memberships and ticketing.
• Audit the patron experience and make improvements to accessibility, concession flow, lobby comfort, and other facets outside the actual production.
• Update your show site and ticketing system, ensure your fall season information is front and center, and your ticketing process is as simple as possible from start to finish. (Psst – We can help with that!)
• Work closely with your front-of-house team to smooth out any glitches with customer service, whether that’s through a summer usher orientation, a box office refresher, or volunteer training.

Don’t Neglect Your Content Creation

A great way to keep members engaged and entice new members into the fold is through the production of bold, captivating digital content. After all, giving your members new things to consume digitally – even if you don’t have a show in the works – is crucial to member retention. 

A few ideas for content creation that will engage members include: 

• Host digital master classes or workshops that are members-only
• Offer downloadable resources, like templates, guides, and tutorials
• Create a full digital content hub that allows members access to archived performances, actor/director interviews, mini-tutorials, or other content that adds tangible digital value to a membership 

How On The Stage Can Help

Leveraging your crucial memberships during the off-season can be tough. After all, without a show to promote that brings in buzz, you may be searching for ways to keep people engaged and welcome new members into your theatre at the same time. If you’re looking for a partner in the journey towards member retention and addition, On The Stage can help.

With OTS’ many best-in-class tools, you’ll be able to:

• Sell and manage memberships with ease 
• Simplify ticketing and the patron experience at large
• Run targeted, precise, and dynamic marketing campaigns 
• Create a branded, professional website
• Enable professional donation and fundraising campaigns
• Sell merchandise 
• Gather and use patron data to deliver a more optimized experience for all
• And more!

If you’re ready to get started, book a personalized demo with On The Stage today.