Braced for the challenges ahead

When the Belgrade’s previous box office system was selected over five years ago, systems like Spektrix were still in their infancy and certainly not ready for an organisation of our scale to consider using. Today we’re all aware of how rapidly technology is evolving and how important it is for theatre marketing to embrace these changes and stay ahead of the game, so looking at the business models available with these new hosted box office systems made complete sense.

Keeping up with the latest technological advances was key to our decision making process. Spektrix reduces the need for the Belgrade to have its own technical experts and complex equipment or expensive software on site. It provide an unsurpassed level of service as well as a comprehensive and fully functional box office booking system, all accessed on-line.

What’s different about Spektrix is how it is constantly being developed in response to all the theatres that use it daily and feedback their experiences and needs. The company is committed to making sure it’s the best system for users’ needs and new functionality is constantly being added. The more successful the Belgrade is the more successful Spektrix is, so it’s in everyone’s interest to work together effectively. It’s a refreshing change from the traditional systems, which often fell behind the times almost as soon as they had been launched and relied on expensive upgrades to be up to date.

Like many theatre box office teams we have some staff who only use the system every few weeks, and some customers who are resistant to booking online. A system that is intuitive and simple to use was essential. The training for Spektrix just took a morning – it’s that simple. Box office staff are able to pick it up easily even if they only work one shift a month. Also, our online bookings have increased from an average of 30% to over 50% in just a few months, with far fewer complaints or queries. Crazily, we chose to launch Spektrix, alongside a new website, new season and new pricing structure, all on the same day last July 2011. It made sense at the time and thankfully all went amazingly smoothly. Integration with the new website was fairly seamless.

Spektrix enables the Belgrade to offer different pricing models such as 20% multi purchase packages and discounted online tickets whilst allowing the customer to see which package provides the best price for them. Belgrade Friends are even allowed priority booking because the system recognises who they are and allocates them the relevant discounts. Memberships, donations, programmes and drinks vouchers are all now available for purchase through the system and the fundraising capabilities are much improved – essential in today’s economic climate. We are now just starting on segmenting our audiences into different strands for more ambitious marketing strategies. Being able to pull reports, and to segment and analyse with confidence and ease, makes Spektrix a real pleasure to work with and puts us in a much stronger position to face the many challenges that lie ahead.

Nicola Young is Communications Director at Belgrade Theatre.
www.belgrade.co.uk