Future Survival is an entertainment venue in Gravesend, UK, offering a range of futuristic activities, including laser tag, Airsoft, and escape rooms, as well as retro arcade games. Faced with the pressing need for a reliable and efficient venue management solution, Co-Owner Graham Broadbent moved the venue to ROLLER in 2023 and has seen significant revenue and operational efficiency improvements. 

Initially, the venue trialed two other systems, Peak and BookNow, each presenting its own complications that hindered growth. Although both seemed promising initially, they discovered after signing up that Peak could only support American customers. 

We spent literally nine months getting the system set up with BookNow. I feel like we wasted a hell of a lot of time that we could have been spending on other things, like experimenting with ticket types and digital marketing.

Graham Broadbent

Co-Owner

BookNow created "a lot of manual work, which was causing us a lot of stress and losing us a lot of time,” says Graham. “We spent literally nine months getting the system set up with BookNow. I feel like we wasted a hell of a lot of time that we could have been spending on other things, like experimenting with ticket types and digital marketing.”

Saving 20 hours per week 

Graham got up and running with ROLLER in just a few weeks thanks to ROLLER’s support, sales, and training teams. "They would answer every question I had. They'd go and find out anything I needed." ROLLER's representatives' proactive and supportive approach was a breath of fresh air for Graham and his team and sped up the onboarding process.

The time saving alone has made ROLLER worth it. We’re saving approximately 20 hours per week with ROLLER.

Graham Broadbent

Co-Owner

Post-implementation, Graham has found ROLLER incredibly easy to use, eliminating the frustrating admin time he had to invest in other platforms and saving him valuable time that he can now dedicate to growing the business. "The time saving alone has made ROLLER worth it. We haven’t questioned it once,” Graham states. “We’re saving approximately 20 hours per week with ROLLER.”

Graham and his business partner Tim now have more time to attend industry events, engage with fellow operators, and seek inspiration on what’s next for the business. “ROLLER has played a part in the fact that we are now able to start working on the business, not just in the business,” says Graham.

Increasing average spend per head by 6%

With that extra time back in his day, Graham has implemented some significant changes that have boosted revenue per guest. “We've been able to experiment and test things to improve ticket values,” Graham comments.  “We've introduced party bundles where there are two activities included instead of just one, which has meant that we’re making an extra £3-7 per party guest.”

In a tough economic climate and a town with plenty of local competition, bundling products has been a great way to increase average order value without raising standalone ticket prices, allowing Future Survival to cater to varying customer budgets.

Moving the needle on average spend per guest can be challenging, but Future Survival has made a notable shift in a short time with the support of ROLLER. They’ve already increased average spend from approximately £21 to £22.20, a 6% increase. “Revenue has increased by roughly £1.20 per customer. For every 1,000 customers, that’s more than £1,000 extra through the till,” states Graham.

Revenue has increased by roughly £1.20 per customer. For every 1,000 customers, that’s more than £1,000 extra through the till.

Graham Broadbent

Co-Owner

Segmentation and the Campaign Monitor integration 

Future Survival has utilized ROLLER's integration with Campaign Monitor to elevate its digital marketing efforts. ROLLER’s advanced segmentation capabilities have enabled Future Survival to deliver personalized content to different segments of its audience, significantly enhancing open rates and engagement. They now run specific email campaigns for their various target audiences, from reminders about upcoming events to special discounts. “Being able to send specific emails to different groups, our open and click-through rates are so much higher,” says Graham. “I just sent out one for the February half term with a 10% discount, which has now become my most opened email.”

By embedding direct links to the relevant products or offerings advertised in that email, Future Survival ensures that potential customers land precisely where they need to be to make a purchase. This direct approach minimizes friction in the buying process, making it easier for customers to take action immediately upon receiving a compelling offer.

Fostering community engagement

Looking beyond the day-to-day operations, Future Survival has a strong ethos of giving back to the local community. They work with organizations like Autism South East and Carers Choice, as well as providing a space where at-risk children enjoy the venue’s activities, and have a hot meal.  “We do a lot of community group work. We’ve won a couple of awards, including a Mayor’s Award. We’re not just out to make money,” says Graham. This is a testament to the critical role that leisure and attraction businesses play as a hub for the local community.

Future Survival's journey with ROLLER underscores the profound impact a comprehensive and user-friendly venue management system can have on a leisure and attraction business. By addressing critical operational challenges, ROLLER has empowered Graham and his team to focus on growth areas like enhancing customer spend, deepening community ties, and increasing email marketing engagement. 

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