Visitor experience is everything when it comes to running a successful attractions venue. Considering 88% of consumers say they trust recommendations from people they know above all other forms of marketing - a positive visitor experience can help grow your business and give you a competitive advantage.
Are you looking to optimize your visitor experience? Join ROLLER for a rundown of 10 strategies that will elevate your visitor experience, delight guests, and set you up for success in 2024.
Strategy 1: Crafting a seamless entry process
Waiting in line is not exactly the cornerstone of a successful visitor experience. Modern guests are happy to serve themselves and go at their own pace. In fact, 67% of customers prefer self-service to interacting with a team member. Here are techniques for crafting a better entry process and improving visitor experience.
- Use online ticketing systems to reduce queue times by allowing guests to arrive with pre-purchased tickets and pre-signed waivers.
- Install self-service kiosks and make it easier for guests to serve themselves.
- Adopt a party booking feature that saves guests (and staff) time by streamlining large group bookings, check-ins, and food orders.
Booking birthday parties online with ROLLER is a seamless process. There’s no reason for us to walk through it on the phone; the guest can do it all online in their own time.
Brian Link
Co-Founder & Managing Partner, Amp Up
Read this next: Five-Minute Training and Two-Minute Party Check-Ins: Paqua Park Saves Time with ROLLER
Strategy 2: Personalization beyond expectations to drive repeat visitation
A personalized approach to visitor experiences will make every guest feel like a VIP and help you turn visitors into regulars. In fact, 80% of customers are more likely to purchase when offered a personalized experience. Here’s how you can up your personalization game.
- Offer memberships to reward loyalty and keep guests coming back through exclusive offers and incentives.
- Adopt a CRM and manage your communications and audience segments all in one place – all based on visitor’s likes and habits.
- Increase return visits with discount codes based on customer preferences.
Since launching our membership program 12 months ago, we have almost 12,000 active members, generating close to $2m in revenue. We’re also successfully retaining members well beyond the three-month minimum term.
Austin Barnes
Director of Marketing, Elevate Trampoline Parks
Read this next: How Elevate Generated $2 Million in Membership Revenue in 12 Months
Strategy 3: Harnessing the power of technology
Adopting the right technology is a surefire way to improve visitor experiences and alleviate pain points in your attraction or venue. That said, there are a lot of technology companies out there, and choosing the right one can be difficult. Here’s how to find the right tech partner for your business.
- Look for products, services, and brands that can scale alongside your business to ensure you constantly receive quality-of-life updates and the support you need.
- Don’t look for trends. Look for data – proven records of growth and adoption are a must and an indicator of how the right tech partner can fuel business success.
- List your pain points and find tech that removes these barriers by streamlining your processes and elevating guest experiences.
- Look to partner with one company that offers multiple services rather than bloating your tech stack with numerous providers.
We undertook a thorough research process to see which software platform was best for us. Based on our research, the best software platform in the market was ROLLER.
Daniel Marr
IT and Marketing Manager, Chipmunks
Read this next: Chipmunks Soars to New Heights with ROLLER
Strategy 4: Designing inviting spaces
Creating inviting spaces is critical to a better visitor experience. Here’s how to master the look and feel of your venue’s spaces to delight visitors.
- Create a spectacular entry to make a strong first impression.
- Think of your spaces as a way to extend your brand and create a cohesive experience.
- Add ease of use to your spaces with mobile food and drink ordering and payment technology. Plus, you’ll enjoy a 33% increase in spend per head.
- Highlight your beautiful spaces in marketing material and on your social media profiles.
Did you know? Guest spending can increase by up to 140% from a positive experience.
Strategy 5: Continuous improvement through feedback loops
Ongoing improvement is how a business can meet and exceed customer expectations and constantly provide an enjoyable visitor experience. Here’s how to capture this data.
- Collect, analyze, and action your guests' feedback with a guest feedback tool.
- Monitor online reviews and quickly reply to address concerns and show you care.
- Use data and analytics to track progress and take the guesswork out of decisions.
Did you know? ROLLER offers a free guest feedback tool. Get access now.
Strategy 6: Hyper-personalized engagement
Hyper-personalization is a strategy that involves tailoring products, services, and experiences to meet individual customers' specific needs and preferences. This can create a more engaging and memorable visitor experience for visitors. Here’s how to adopt this strategy.
- Analyze guest data to create customized moments and enhance the visitor experience by showing them the things they actually care about.
- Use a CRM to deliver personalized product recommendations, content suggestions, or targeted marketing messages.
- Build audience personas and segments to make targeted marketing easier and more effective.
With our entire business on the ROLLER platform, we now truly understand who our guests are. This is critical to creating effective outreach and retargeting campaigns, as we can tailor the messaging to ensure we really connect with the guests.
Luke Schueler
Co-Founder, Flying Squirrel
Read more: How Flying Squirrel Saves Time & Resources By Collecting Feedback
Strategy 7: Immersive multimedia experiences
Consumers now expect experiences when they spend money, which is why incorporating these immersive multimedia strategies could be vital to improving your visitor experience.
- Introduce VR and AR tech for immersive experiences in your venue or attraction.
- Add a sense of spectacle to your venue – such as themed events or spaces.
- Enhance your spaces with interactive elements and multisensory features.
- Develop personalized multimedia content that caters to individual preferences, enhancing the overall visitor experience.
Did you know? Experiences are especially popular with Gen Y and Gen Z. A survey of 18-34-year-olds found 66% of respondents saying they felt ‘more fulfilled by live experiences than purchasing an item of the same value’.
Strategy 8: Sustainability initiatives for enhanced experience
Data shows us that 78% of consumers feel that sustainability is essential, and 84% of customers say that poor environmental practices will alienate them from a brand. With this in mind, here’s how to adopt sustainability initiatives to improve visitor experiences.
- Reduce single-use plastic packaging, products, and items.
- Encourage recycling in your venue and make green choices more accessible for customers.
- Include proven sustainability messaging and initiatives on your website and weave them into your identity.
- Don’t be disingenuous about it. Consumers can sense greenwashing from a mile away!
Did you know? Global Google searches for topics related to sustainable products increased by around 130% between 2017 and 2022.
Strategy 9: Social media integration for amplified engagement
Reach your customers where they spend their time and look to social media to improve visitor experience. Here’s how to use socials in your visitor experience strategy.
- Monitor and respond to visitor sentiments on social media and use feedback to enhance the overall visitor experience.
- Create branded hashtags and challenges for user-generated content.
- Create appealing spaces for content capturing.
- Share live updates and behind-the-scenes content to keep customers interested in your brand.
Did you know? Internet users spend 151 minutes per day on social media. Use that window to capture your audience’s attention!
Strategy 10: Real-time analytics for dynamic adaptation
Adapting your operations in real-time is a great way to improve visitor experiences. Here’s how you can use analytics and dynamic adaptation strategies
- Manage capacity through live data to ensure visitors are comfortable and safe.
- Have processes in place to adapt service models based on visitor numbers. For example, rely on mobile food and drink orders during peak times to free up staff.
- Use cloud-based reporting tech to access data on the go.
It’s quick and easy for me to access ROLLER systems from anywhere to make changes on the go. I can be on an airplane wifi and log in - it's just that simple.
Philip Shoffner
VP of Internal Operations, Alpha Group Altitude franchise
So, there you have it! These strategies can help you enhance your visitor experience and position your business for growth in 2024.
If you’d like to discuss implementing ROLLER in your venue to take visitor experiences to the next level, please complete this form to get started.
