Best Practice - Case Study: The Deep, Hull

Case Study: The Deep, Hull A multi-award winning large visitor attraction, achieving 500,000 day-time visitors annually, high staff retention, positive customer reviews and many repeat visitors.

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The Deep, Hull A multi-award winning large visitor attraction, achieving 500,000 day-time visitors annually, high staff retention, positive customer reviews and many repeat visitors.

Setting the scene Opened in 2002, The Deep in Hull is one of the UK’s largest aquariums and a multi-award winning visitor attraction, boasting around 500,000 day-time visitors annually.

Fully-funded at launch as one of the Millennium Projects, the city centre attraction is now an educational, environmental and conservation charity and a self-sustaining business, which has been at the forefront of the regeneration of Hull - City of Culture in 2017. The Deep

successfully combines live displays with hands-on activities and science, its showcase is a 10-metre deep tank which is home to sharks and other fish and features an acrylic lift ride.

The attraction’s latest residents are the Gentoo penguins, which are a big focus from a commercial and marketing perspective and have led to a strong growth in visitors numbers in 2014.

Alongside its charitable concerns for sustainability, The

Deep’s business ethos is centred on people as it strives to deliver excellence in customer service, enjoying in return, high staff retention, positive customer reviews, industry recognition and an increase in repeat visitors.

Faced by challenges posed by its charitable status, seasonality and customer service, The Deep has adapted to a changing environment and become a commercially viable business with its customers, staff and community at its very heart.

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Case Study: The Deep, Hull

Background In the past, Hull was a destination that did not attract many visitors. Those that did venture into the city were however positive about their experiences. Hull was in need of a big attraction that would put it on the map and act as the main draw for visitors. Recognising this, the now Chief Executive, Colin Brown and Chairman, David Gemmell created The Deep and attracted an impressive 800,000 visitors in its first year.

1st Year Visits: 800,000

Getting the core product right early on was vital for the long-term success of the business. As the operation progressed and challenges were identified, the need for diversification became clear.

Visitors in 2014: 500,000 (approx)

Thirteen years on, The Deep has around half a million day-time visitors (2014) and plays host to a range of corporate, evening and wedding events, as well as a thriving restaurant and shop. The average dwell time at the attraction is 2.5 - 3 hours, while some visitors stay the whole day. As a charity, The Deep offers free repeat visits for the year and many people take advantage of this annual pass, returning numerous times.

Avg. Dwell Time: 2.5 - 3 hours

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Approach BUILDING AND RETAINING A STRONG TEAM Right from the outset, The Deep identified its staff as one of its most important assets and set about establishing a supportive environment in which team members were listened to and appreciated. The high standard of employer/ employee relationship was highlighted almost immediately when the attraction was awarded the 2003 Springboard Leisure and Tourism Best Employer award. Ten years after opening, 30 original staff members were still employed at The Deep, demonstrating the positive impact of the attraction’s long-term investment in its team. It is thanks to the strength and attitude of its staff that the business is able to deliver on its promise of excellent customer service.

“Don’t underestimate how difficult managing success can be. Make sure you have the right team on-board, and don’t forget to say thank you!”

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Case Study: The Deep, Hull

SUPPORTING THE WIDER COMMUNITY The key to The Deep’s success as a large visitor attraction and that of Hull as a whole - has been the organisation’s commitment to the wider community. From an operational perspective it would have been much easier to locate The Deep on a large plot outside the main centre, but in order to help establish Hull as a visitor destination and draw more people into the city, a central plot was essential.

Demonstrating to visitors that they should stay longer and explore the city, not only boosts the Hull economy, but also encourages people to travel from further to visit, growing The Deep’s catchment area, which is vital to its own sustainability.

Staying mindful of the mutual benefits of promoting the wider visitor offer in Hull, The Deep sees opportunities with its fellow attractions, joining forces to create packages and communicate the destination’s offer to visitors. It regularly leaflets its often long queue, sharing information about other places to visit, recommending restaurants and shops and encouraging people to explore the city before returning later in the day at less busier times. The result - visitors get a better overall experience and there is increased footfall and spend per head in the city.

Beyond its local links, The Deep works closely with regional visitor attractions through initiatives such as the Yorkshire Attractions Group. Instead of considering other similar businesses as competition, The Deep views these relationships as strength in numbers, with everyone working towards the common goal of growing visitor numbers to the region. As members of such groups, The Deep is able to join forces with other organisations and take advantage of shared marketing spend, for example to participate in the Great Yorkshire Show or secure television advertising, activity that could not be achieved with its budget alone.

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“Do not be scared of working with other businesses that are similar to your own, instead of competition, see this as strength in numbers for getting visitors to your region or destination.”

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CREATING AMBASSADORS Whether working at a local, regional or national level – The Deep recognises the importance of creating ambassadors for the business. This could be staff, customers, neighbours or social networks.

The more people that talk positively about the business, the greater the word-of-mouth and the wider the market reach. Shortly after launching, The Deep invited all the local taxi drivers to visit free of charge with the aim of spreading awareness of the attraction to residents and visitors alike.

“The more people that talk positively about your business the greater the word-of-mouth and the wider your market reach.”

MEASURING ITS SUCCESS The Deep strives to monitor and measure its success and recognises that visitor satisfaction must nowadays be gauged via a multitude of channels including feedback forms, TripAdvisor rankings, Facebook comments, Tweets, sleepover evaluations and thank you cards from wedding couples. The importance of sharing this feedback with its staff is never underestimated.

Entering - and winning - awards is another way that The Deep benchmarks its success, particularly if it has been focusing on an area of development within the business. Awards can help drive certain marketing initiatives; they can provide a way into discussions with specific people; and of course they look fantastic on the website. Although people are not necessarily going to choose to visit an attraction just because of an award, it does give visitors reassurance about what they can expect and shows that the business has been measured against others.

Awards for specific areas such as accessibility prove that the attraction has achieved a professional standard for its facilities.

Aside from traditional accolades from national or regional bodies, there are an increasing number of awards from social channels such as TripAdvisor, or organisations like Mumsnet, that can be important to businesses. Recognition from its target audience, based on their actual experiences is a very powerful marketing tool.

“Just preparing an award entry can be beneficial to the attraction, as it helps it to recognise what it has achieved and what it wants to go onto improve.”

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Case Study: The Deep, Hull

Results

500,000

Approximate day-time visitors in 2014

=

z z z 7,500

Children took part in sleepovers

35%

Above target for 2014

Making 2014 the busiest year so far

In 2014 recognising the free tickets importance of given to accessibility, up carers 15% year-on-year

8,000

2.5 - 3 Hours

Average visitor dwell time

A High number of repeat visitors

150 Staff

80-85 Full time

Approximately 150 employees equating to 80-85 full time equivalents

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CONGRATULATIONS!!

Winners of numerous awards for sustainability, accessibility and customer experience, including the Welcome to Yorkshire White Rose Award in 2014

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Members of staff have worked for The Deep for 10 years or more!

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Challenges and lessons learnt

RECOGNISING ITS CHARITABLE STATUS As a charity, any profits are reinvested into The Deep and therefore the attraction has to operate on a commercial basis in order to survive. Spend per head must be generated through its café and shop. Occasionally however the business is forced to make decisions that are not purely commercially driven and instead support the charity’s ethos. The Catering Manager for example is on the one hand charged with running a commercially viable and profitable catering experience, but on the other is responsible for ensuring products, particularly fish, are sustainably sourced. The ethical stance of the charity can sometimes mean that customer demand and commercial logics cannot be met. This is an enviable and unavoidable consequence that has to be accepted and worked around.

MANAGING INEVITABLE SEASONALITY Employing approximately 150 staff equating to 80-85 full time equivalents, The Deep operates year-round, but does experience some seasonality in day-time visitors, with busy periods at weekends and during school holidays, and quieter times around Christmas. The initial focus for the business on launch was to get the core product right, however it quickly became clear that to counteract its seasonality, the attraction would need to diversify its product to appeal to as many people as possible.

In 2004, The Deep introduced sleepovers which targeted its existing family and school market and established a new way for them to experience the attraction.

Still going strong in 2014 the sleepovers achieved their busiest year yet with 7,500 children taking part. Shortly after this introduction, The Deep began utilising its existing restaurant, which employs a team including a head chef, to offer adults the opportunity of evening dining set to the backdrop of the aquarium tanks. The decision to open the building up to Christmas parties has proved very popular and allowed staff to work extra hours during what used to be downtime for the attraction. Presenting The Deep as a venue for weddings and corporate events has furthered its appeal and widened its target audience.

The importance of patience has been demonstrated as it’s only in the last few years that this diversification has started to pay off both commercially and through growing support for The Deep from different parts of the community who recommend the attraction to others and increase awareness of the products and services on offer.

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Case Study: The Deep, Hull

“Do not underestimate what you have in terms of facilities, and do not be scared to look at other ways you can use them.�

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TREATING CUSTOMERS AS INDIVIDUALS The challenges of working with large numbers of customers means it is often hard to see them as individuals - all with their own specific needs. To overcome this, The Deep has invested in staff training to help the team address people as individuals, recognising and listening to their needs, for example through disability or cultural awareness. Working with the Hull Dementia Academy Action Alliance, staff learnt how to create a better welcome for people with dementia and their carers.

A long-term and ongoing commitment to improve customer service has enabled The Deep to identify and remove elements of visitor and staff frustration. For example, recognising that the small income generated by charging customers for withdrawals from the cash machine did not outweigh the number of complaints received from visitors and as a result, replacing the machine with one that did not charge, instantly removed the reason for concern. A simple change that enabled staff to focus their time elsewhere.

“Working with large numbers of customers, it can become hard to see them as individuals.�

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Case Study: The Deep, Hull

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Listen to your customers and your staff, and importantly, treat them both well.

Build relationships with people and organisations in your sector and/or your region. Do not look at others as competition, even if on paper your businesses are similar, there are lots of people you can learn from and work with.

Look for diversity in your product - think about what you offer and how to appeal to various audiences at different times. Consider how you can grow your downtime or offpeak markets to be accessible to as many people as you can.

Recruit staff for their attitude, not just their skills - working in a service delivery sector, your staff are always going to be making decisions about what is best for customers, regardless of their role within the business. Ensure your team have the right attitude, and are willing to learn and adapt to the needs of your customers to maximise business success.

Create ambassadors for your business - this could be your staff, customers, neighbours or social network. By encouraging people to talk positively about your business, you can establish word-of-mouth and grow your reach.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE DEEP Contact: Louise Kirby Operations and Personnel Manager Email: Louise.Kirby@thedeep.co.uk Website: www.thedeep.co.uk

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