In this article, we'll walk you through how to report on first time customers by either purchase or attendance at an event, and suggest some strategies that you could use to turn first time bookers into repeat loyal customers.
Why finding first-time bookers is important
Across many different industries research has shown that customer retention is cheaper than acquiring new customers, and with the right retention strategy, return customers are likely to generate a greater lifetime value. Building customer loyalty takes time and consistent effort - delivering exceptional experiences, understanding their preferences, and showing genuine appreciation for their patronage. By using this report you can keep on top of new customers or entice those one-time visitors to return.
Creating a report of your first-time customers
First lets set up the basic report.
Head to Reports > Your Reports.
Then click Add new and select Report.
1. Enter your Report Title (for example 'First time customers 2023').
2. Select a folder.
3. Under Report Type select Line Item Facts. This will include all information relative to ticket information or ticket sales.
4. Add a description if necessary.
5. Click Save.
Filtering for customers who only placed one order
We first need to add a filter to find customers who have only ever placed one order with you.
1. Click Add New to add a filter.
2. Search for the filter Customer number of orders.
3. Select that is equal to and type 1 in the box.
4. Click Save.
Ticketsolve Tip
You may want to exclude comps from this report or just see customers with a concession-type ticket. To do this we can add a new filter of Ticket price type. We can then choose to exclude or include a price type such as comp tickets.
You now have two options. You can segment customers by the date that they first purchased (placed an order), or the date of the first event they attended.
Option 1: Customer first purchased date
If we want to see how many customers first bought a ticket in a month say after we had a new marketing campaign.
First lets add in the filter and date range:
1. Click Add New to find the filter.
2. Search for the filter called Customer first purchase on.
3. On the first drop down select is after or on and chose the start date , e.g. 01 Jan 2023.
4. Click Save.
Now lets add in a filter for our end date. If you do not add in an end date the report will run up until todays date.
1. Click Add New to find the filter.
2. Search for the filter called Customer first purchase on.
3. On the first drop down select is before or on and chose the end date , e.g. 31 May 2023
4. Click Save
Option 2: Customer first attended event date
If we want to obtain information on the event or event date of a first time customer, this can be useful in targeting customers for a similar event while also encouraging a return visit.
First lets add in the filter and date range:
1. Click Add New to find the filter.
2. Search for the filter called Customer first attended event date.
3. On the first drop down select is after or on and chose the start date , e.g. 01 Jan 2023.
4. Click Save.
Now lets add in a filter for our end date. If you do not add in an end date the report will run up until todays date.
1. Click Add New to find the filter.
2. Search for the filter called Customer first attended event date.
3. On the first drop down select is before or on and chose the end date , e.g. 31 May 2023.
4. Click Save.
Important
Customers must be opted in to email marketing for you to contact them outside of direct communication about the show they purchased tickets for.
Filtering for customers who opted in for email contact
If you're going to be using this first-time booker segment for marketing purposes (which is more than likely) we need to make sure we are only bringing in first-time customers who are opted in for email:
1. Click Add New to find the filter.
2. Search for the filter called Opted in for email.
3. Toggle this to On (blue) and click Save.
In this example we have filters selected to show us all the customers who purchased for the first time in from January to end of May 2023, who have only booked once, are opted in for email contact and who only have priced tickets.
Viewing the data
On the left hand side we have Reporting Views where you can explore the customer data for this segment of first-time bookers.
For example, you could go to the Geography tab to see customer locations - this can be useful after a marketing campaign to see where the most new customers came from. We'd recommend using Postcode or Postcode District for the UK and Region for Republic of Ireland.
We can also click the 3 dots (additional options icon) on the top right hand side to Download the customer data as a CSV, or go down to the Manage customers option to put the customers into Campaign or add a Tag to their records.
Reporting on first time customers will include customers who had inadvertently created a new second account.
What should I do next?
Each organisation will have its own strategy for customer retention, but to help get you started we've suggested some ideas below:
- Personalised follow-up - reach out to one-time customers with a more personalised email with recommendations, keep it shorter than a full newsletter and don’t bombard them with emails.
- Exclusive offers - a great way to entice repeat business is to provide discounts/promo codes or a free drink on their next visit. See our article on discounts
- Loyalty programme/membership - be clear about the rewards that loyalty brings in your venue with details on suitable membership schemes. See our Academy video on Memberships
- Collect feedback and act upon it - target first-time or lapsed customers with a short survey and really listen to the feedback. For more in-depth surveys you could offer a discount code on completion.
- Partner with complimentary businesses - collaborating with local restaurants or hotels in the area could entice customers to ‘make a weekend of it’. Dinner, a show and a hotel sounds like a great plan!
By implementing strategies like this, you can increase the likelihood of enticing one-time customers into a customer with two or three visits a year - then you're in business.
Want to know more?
Creating customer email lists and segmenting for Mailchimp
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