Currents
Two-Way Street flag to me: the organization is violating a relationship tenet at its core. The next thing that comes to my mind is, “Whoa, how many of them are there like this? Are we executing any specific programs to help solve this problem?” David Snead: Is this two-way mechanism an important relationship idea? Susan Fournier: Very. Sometimes a company acts one way when the consumer is thinking about things very differently. In the extreme, the company can end up doing things that actually hurt the relationship. David Snead: Why is it hard not just for orchestras, but for many organizations, to have a two-way relationship? Why does it default to a one-way relationship? Susan Fournier: On one level, it’s fear of the customer. We have a perception that we are “managers”—we control, we
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ne of the best-attended sessions at the League of American Orchestras’ National Conference in Atlanta last June was “Knowing Your Customers and Not Just Their Pocketbooks: Getting Inside the ‘R’ in Customer Relationship Management.” In it, New York Philharmonic Vice President for Marketing David Snead and Boston University Associate Professor of Marketing Susan Fournier discussed orchestras’ relationships with audience and community—and the unexpected ways that orchestras could better connect with concertgoers and use that to build sustained support. The two marketing gurus recently met to share their insights about how orchestras can relate to audiences; highlights of their conversation are below, and you can watch the full discussion at the League’s YouTube channel; just look for “Fournier Interview.” David Snead: Susan, you have written about 70 articles and case studies on marketing and consumers and brands, and consulted with something like 20 firms including Zildjian Cymbals and HarleyDavidson. Before you were at Boston University, you were at Dartmouth, Harvard. So when Susan talks, people listen. Keeping customers, getting more from the people you already have coming in the door, is the number-one thing we can do to build sustainable revenue streams for orchestras. At the New York Philharmonic, we learned that if we could increase
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our renewal rate of current subscribers by five percentage points, that would lead to more than $7 million of revenue over a five-year period. For any orchestra, that’s real money. Does this idea of building relationships for improved retention only apply to big orchestras? How can smaller ones do this? Arts marketing consultant Kate Prescott is working on a research project for a number of large orchestras, and part of the research is asking customers how they feel about their local orchestra. In one response about a major, householdname orchestra, a customer said, “The orchestra is reminiscent of my first wife: beautiful but haughty, does what she pleases with no regard for my opinion and freely spends my money without asking.” That’s one customer talking about how they feel about their really, really good orchestra. What does this comment say to you? Susan Fournier: This quote provides invaluable insight into the customers that you have or, in this case, may not have much longer. We can understand our customers, or we can really understand them, and if you tell me that the analogy is a divorced couple, then I’m getting a deep understanding about what kind of relationship is going on and what I might need to do to manage it. When you’re in a relationship, it’s two-way: someone speaks, someone listens; someone acts, someone responds. This person is saying, “The organization operates without regard for me.” This quote raises a huge red
Jeff Roffman Photography
There’s more to marketing than placing ads, and more to branding than a logo. Two marketing experts share their secrets, and ask the question: how can orchestras be like Harley-Davidson?
Susan Fournier and David Snead at the “Knowing Your Customers and Not Just Their Pocketbooks: Getting Inside the ‘R’ in Customer Relationship Management” session at the League of American Orchestras’ 2010 National Conference.
have the power—as opposed to thinking that relationships are co-owned, reciprocating engagements. A lot of us are afraid of what happens when we release that control. What are the customers going to do? What are they going to say? David Snead: Is there a company that you think is really good at two-way relationships? symphony
november–december 2010