It’s no easy task to get customers coming back year after year.  As a family entertainment center, amusement park or attraction, you need fresh activities and exciting marketing to compete for customers’ entertainment budget.  But what do you do if you don’t have new capital this year?  Let’s explore some ideas to help increase season pass sales.

Drive Urgency

Whether you’re doing direct mail, email, digital ad buys, tv spots or a combination, be sure the message is clear.  Buy Now!  Remind them early in the year that this is the best price and that it won’t last forever.  Make sure every touchpoint is consistent including your website.

Use Lookalike Audiences

Chances are you have a database full of emails and basic information about your past guests.  Utilize this information to target prospects that fit the same profile.  You can buy email lists or target lookalikes using a programatic ad service or even for Facebook Ads.  This is a powerful way to find prospects and increase season pass sales.

Winter Activities

At the 2017 IAAPA Leadership Conference, we heard a lot of executives talk about adding more year round activities.  Adding a winter festival can be a good way to drive sales.  It’s a great added value to the pass and gives renewals something to be excited about.  Plus you’re deepening your connection with your customers through holiday memories.

Stand Out in the Mailbox

Are your mailers out of date?  Are they not getting the responses you want?  Maybe it’s time to change things up.  Spring for an oversized postcard that they can’t miss.  Get some fresh photos of smiling happy people with a clean design that says “you don’t want to miss this.”  Put a rough calendar of events for the year so they can stick it to their fridge and keep you top of mind.

Provide Value

Our research early this year confirmed that people want value.  Their relationship with your brand is special and should be treated as such.  They opted to spend a whole season with you and deserve to be in the “in-crowd.”  That means they should get special passholder events and perks that makes the season pass worth it.

“In this volatile business of ours, we can ill afford to rest on our laurels, even to pause in retrospect. Times and conditions change so rapidly that we must keep our aim constantly focused on the future.” —Walt Disney