The right message to the right person – the all-in-one solution makes everyday life easier for Göteborgs Symfoniker.
80,000 customer contacts, 100 concerts and several genres. Yes, with an audience consisting of a large number of guests, came challenges for Göteborgs Symfoniker, where expensive systems and vulnerable working methods made it almost impossible to communicate relevant information to the visitors. So how did you manage to turn it around? Take a look at the customer story below where Teresa, Digital Marketing Manager, shares how Göteborgs Symfoniker went from messy to smooth, with relationship building in focus.
Göteborgs Symfoniker AB is owned by the Västra Götaland region and consists of around 160 employees, of which 109 are musicians. The company's name often brings to mind classical music, but there are also world music concerts, jazz, yoga concerts, children's and youth activities and the digital service GSOplay. As one of the region's leading music institutions and with Gothenburg's Concert Hall at their disposal, they have a primary responsibility for strengthening the importance of classical music to the region's residents.
– Many see the house as their interest club, as a social network where you meet other people interested in music. It's also a bit of a generational thing – you bring your children and grandchildren, says Teresa Vikstedt, Digital Marketing Manager at Göteborgs Symfoniker.
There are three main target groups here – Göteborgs Symfoniker's customers, GSOplay's viewers and Konserthuset's guests – where most visitors are aged 35 and over. As the ambition is to also attract a younger audience, they also work a lot towards the schools.
– We are constantly trying to build a relationship with the next generation, through sports holiday orchestras, family concerts and music camps. It is challenging to find the young people, even though this year we have had record-breaking interest, says Teresa.
Number of contacts: About 100,000 currently.
Number of concerts per year: Approximately 100.
Main target groups: Göteborgs Symfoniker, GSOplay and Konserthuset.
Offers: Classical music, world music, jazz, yoga concerts and children's and youth activities.
Ticket system: Tixly.
As a traditional business in a fast-moving and digital world, there are challenges. What attracts young people today? How should mailings be designed so that more people become interested in and dare to visit the magical world of classical music? And how can the dialogue with the international audience of millions on GSOplay be strengthened while maintaining the relationship with the most loyal guests? Putting the whole puzzle together is no easy match. When information has to be communicated to different target groups, CSV lists have to be moved manually between different systems, and email templates need to be hard-coded, it's natural to sigh. But when Teresa came in contact with MarketHype in 2021, she realized how much easier life was going to be. She explains:
– Previously, we needed to export and import contact lists for all concerts. It was both costly, vulnerable and cumbersome – digital is supposed to be easy and happen quickly! With MarketHype it is easy and we don't have to deal with exports, imports and static lists. It is clear that MarketHype has been responsive to and developed a product for the event and experience industry.
With the marketing tool provided by MarketHype, Göteborgs Symfoniker receives customer data, ticket purchase history and information on customer behaviour. Through the significant insights, different segments are then easily created, where 'subscribers', 'classical customers', 'world music', 'pop' and 'Christmas concert' are five of the approximately 15 tags used in the segmentation. In addition to analytics and segments, targeted newsletters and other mailings are set up directly in the MarketHype app. Everything is easily accessible in one single tool – easy peasy!
– The fact that the app is connected to Tixly and gathers many functions in one, makes everyday life so much easier! The dynamic segments, the possibility to talk about genres, the editing tool... At Göteborgs Symfoniker, we always strive to maintain world class in everything we do, and now that we have a more prosperous ecosystem and flow, it will be easier to get there. The cooperation with the ticket office has also improved because they now really understand the value of tagging up events, says Teresa.
Number of people in the department: 7 people – communicators, graphic designers, audience developers, editors and PR managers.
Teresa Vikstedt: Digital Marketing Manager. Began at the Gothenburg Symphony in 2015.
Teresa's areas of responsibility: Digital campaigns, newsletters, CRM, customer data & analysis, optimization of digital customer journey.
Could there be a feature that makes Teresa's heart beat faster? It does! One of her personal favorites is the filtering option, which provides the possibility to talk more directly and relevantly with the visitors – young as well as older.
– With the function, I can filter out, for example, everyone who has been here at least once in the past year, is of a certain age and lives in Gothenburg and the surrounding area. I can also exclude those who have already received a specific email, which is great! I can then use the segment for addressed direct mail and personal communication, but also export into Facebook Ads Manager and create twins, says Teresa.
Another function that is used extensively by Göteborgs Symfoniker, is automation. These can both save time, drive sales and build stronger relationships, and at Göteborgs Symfoniker they have around 15 automations running. Before the visit, the automations inform about opening hours, availability and food sales, while after the visit, the automations thank the guests for the visit. Teresa believes that the automatic mailings are a win-win for both visitors and employees – they are easy for the visitors to understand and easy for the marketing department to handle.
Filtering and automation thus improve and simplify relationship building. But, there are more aspects that are personal in working with MarketHype. When asked if the collaboration has given Göteborgs Symfoniker something unexpected, Teresa answers the following:
– The support! MarketHype is genuinely responsive to our development needs, which is a very good thing. I haven't experienced that anywhere else - it's really a huge plus that you are so personal and customer-oriented.
Let's look back. The year was 2020 and Göteborgs Symfoniker had 80,000 contacts, 100 concerts and several genres – and a heavy-handed way of working. Did it work out? No, it didn't. But with a new marketing tool and way of working, it works today. In addition, the number has gone from 80,000 to 100,000 contacts.
– Previously, one and the same guest could receive five identical emails from us because the guest was included in several different static lists and we had no idea which people were in the lists. Now there is no risk of something similar happening, Teresa explains.
Now, all customer data from Göteborgs Symfoniker’s ticket system is automatically entered into the MarketHype app. Data is kept up to date, customer insights are delivered and segments are created. With the ability to include and exclude tags, marketing activities and opt-ins, Teresa with the box office and the rest of the marketing department creates relevant newsletters, campaigns and automations. The right message simply goes to the right person – whether the recipient is a school, a regular customer or a jazz fan.
– With personal support and a system built for the industry, you can't go wrong. The tool is really flexible and makes everyday life a lot easier. If MarketHype were to end, we would have had to backtrack in our way of working and that would have been very sad, concludes Teresa.
Wanna check out Göteborgs Symfoniker's homepage? You find it here.