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Innovative Ways Your Institution Can Drive Revenue During COVID-19

Innovative Ways Your Institution Can Drive Revenue During Coronavirus Closures
Finding new visitors during coronavirus museum and zoo closures

Innovative Ways Your Institution Can Drive Revenue During COVID-19

By now, we’ve all felt the adverse effects of the Coronavirus (COVID-19). Tourist destinations and cultural institutions will especially feel the impact of this epidemic with the loss of visitors who are following CDC recommendations by self-quarantining, and generally avoiding contact with the outside world. We know how devastating this is for your  businesses, and wanted to offer a few creative ways that your institution can continue to attract future visitors and drive revenue during this trying time.

March 18, 2020

Innovative Ways to Attract “Visitors” During Downtime, Closures and Interruptions to Regular Operations

To help mitigate against any potential down seasons, here are a few creative ideas you can try implementing at your institution. Take advantage of the current situation – modernize and transform the visitor experience.

Virtual Tours

With the current environment, businesses are putting the health and safety of their employees first,  and they are emphasizing and even requiring remote work. Your institution can do something similar by offering an immersive experience by way of virtual tours, all at a discounted rate. Incentivize them to join this technological experience by offering the virtual tour at a lower cost than a general ticket price. This will actually allow your visitors to go to impossible places, like journeying to the depths of the ocean, the far edges of outer space or even back in time.

Tips for creating virtual tours:

  • When building your virtual tour, make sure to use high quality video and audio.
  • Try creating multiple tours based on interests such as artists, art periods, animal species, etc.
  • Make sure to add additional details or information for virtual tourists to learn more about specific exhibits

Focus on Social Media

During this down time, you have the opportunity to engage your audience and people that are interested in your institution by leveraging social media. You can tie this in with a virtual tour strategy, or simply by building up your following for when things get back to normal.

We love what Shedd Aquarium in Chicago did by letting their penguins loose in the aquarium to freely roam the grounds on their very own aquarium tour so they could go meet other animals.

Check it out here!

This was a great way that they generated a groundswell of interest and publicity for their institution despite current setbacks.

Start a Youtube Channel

If you find your employees have more time on their hands with the slowing operations, start creating a library of youtube videos about the different attractions and exhibits at your institution. This is a great way to promote online learning classes, virtual tours, and to keep your employees motivated.

Parents with children at home will greatly appreciate this!

Discounted Memberships + Perks

While ticket sales are down, you can offer discounted memberships to boost revenue. During this time, members may not be able to visit your institution, but that doesn’t mean they won’t take advantage of a great deal on memberships. Buying now at a low price can save them in the long run.

You can also add membership perks like a “re-opening party”, something exciting and exclusive for them to look forward to when business is back to normal.

Offer Perks and Rewards for Donations

Similar to crowdfunding and kickstarter campaigns, you can ask for donations to keep your institution running, and offer perks for different levels of donations.

For example:

  • If they donate $20 maybe they get a free 1 day pass that can be redeemed at any time.
  • For $50, they get a free 1 day pass and one of your most sought after souvenirs.
  • And for $100, maybe their name can be listed on a plaque highlighting their donation.

ACME ticketing offers built-in functionality to support and manage donations to your institution.

Interactive Learning for Kids

With schools currently out, parents are looking for ways to keep their children engaged in active learning activities. Get ahead of the curve and offer online learning classes to teach children about the various exhibits you have at your institution. This is a great way to keep your employees and audience actively engaged.

Final Thoughts: Driving Revenue During Downtimes and Interruptions to Operations

During downtimes and interruptions to regular operations, you may see a decrease in visitors. However, this is an opportunity to build and focus on other areas of your institution. We recommend using the above strategies to find new ways to generate revenue. Make sure to see a demo of ACME today to learn how our best-in-class platform can help your institution easily manage ticketing, memberships, and donations.



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