When is the right time to do a Pricing Study?
Jamie Alexander
Director, JCA Arts Marketing
You may be considering a Pricing Study, and you’d be right to do so given the shift in consumer behavior and inflation that we’ve witnessed in the past couple years. A Pricing Study will help you:
- Chart demand by series, production, performance, zone, and seat, and forecast future demand.
- Re-align your theatre’s scaling (price tiers) with demand.
- Determine optimal starting prices for subscriptions/memberships and single tickets.
- Create a dynamic pricing strategy that allows you to shift prices with demand.
- Develop a radical pricing structure that supports your inclusivity goals.
The results are a complete pricing strategy—from house scaling to dynamic pricing to discount tickets and more—that allows you to reach your goals, whether they be around revenue, attendance, or community access.
But when is the right time to complete a Pricing Study?
If you’re looking to refresh your pricing strategy for the 2024-25 season, you should start sometime between now and August 1, 2023.
Let’s back this out. Most organizations start building the next season in their ticketing systems in December, to be prepared to sell subscriptions or memberships by the time of season announce in the spring. Pricing Studies usually take 2–3 months, plus you may need to build in time for internal discussion and approvals on pricing. That means, the latest you should start a Pricing Study to be ready for the 2024-25 season is August 1, 2023.
If you’re interested in learning more about how a Pricing Study can benefit your organization, let’s talk. We’re the industry leaders in pricing for arts and culture organizations, and our clients see ROI of a least 2:1 in the first year.