Watauga’s latest research, the “2024 Attraction Visitor Report: Insights for Maximizing New & Repeat Guests,” is a game-changer for attraction marketing leaders at theme parks, zoos, aquariums, water parks, museums, and family entertainment centers. With findings derived from an extensive consumer attitudinal research study involving 3,590 participants, the report dives deep into the minds of attraction guests. This article summarizes one of the many key takeaways uncovered in the research.
Reach Seekers at Every Stage of Their Journey with a Full-Funnel Marketing Approach
Understanding the mindsets of current attraction visitors and potential guests is the first step toward developing strategies to activate and engage them. Focusing on the Seekers, it is imperative for attraction marketing leaders to convert Seekers into guests to maximize sales. Understanding the customer journey of Seekers is crucial to building an effective and impactful marketing plan. Our study revealed that social media sites, search engines, and advertisements are the primary sources Seekers turn to when discovering and educating themselves about attractions. To optimize your attraction’s reach and convert Seekers into loyal guests, adopting a Full-Funnel advertising strategy is paramount.
Understanding Visitor Mindsets, Seekers, and Doers
Our research study unveiled three distinct visitor mindsets. Passionate Visitors who prioritize meaningful moments with loved ones at attractions and consider the cost secondary. Intentional Visitors who value frugality and personal space, prioritizing their visits when it is financially affordable and when crowds are reduced. Passive Visitors who prefer familiar attractions close to home, find fulfillment in routines, and often lose interest after visiting an attraction several times.
Watauga applied two crucial audience lenses, “Seekers” and “Doers,” to closely analyze the data and the three mindsets of attraction visitors. Seekers are individuals who have not visited an attraction but express interest in doing so. Doers are individuals who have either visited an attraction in the past or are current attraction guests.
Build Awareness: Cast a Wide Net and Captivate the Seekers
Your initial goal is to create awareness and captivate Seekers with visually appealing brand content. Employ advertising targeting strategies that cast a wide net, reaching a broader audience across various channels such as television, out-of-home, radio, audio, video, and social media. This top-of-funnel approach aims to generate overall Seeker awareness , setting the stage for their customer journey.
Foster Interest: Guide Seekers Toward Decision
Focus on fostering Seekers’ curiosity and guiding them toward a decision. Utilize digital advertising channels, including video ads, social media, display ads, and native advertising, to provide in-depth information and personalized experiences. Leverage enhanced audience targeting and tracking capabilities to make this part of the Seeker’s journey more engaging and informative.
Consideration: Converting Intention into Action
As Seekers move into the consideration phase, tailor your advertising to those who are actively considering your attraction. Emphasize the value of their potential visit and facilitate their decision-making process. Deploy paid search advertising to reach high-intent potential guests actively searching for attractions, ensuring your attraction stands out in the crowded digital space.
Drive Decision: Seal the Deal with Urgency
The decision phase is critical, as Seekers who have interacted with your advertising and marketing content need that final push. Utilize audience and interest segmentation in your audience targeting to hone in on Seekers in this phase of their journey. Craft advertising that conveys urgency and answers the crucial question, ‘why now?’ Incorporate promotions or exclusive offers to sway them toward choosing your attraction. Deploy Seeker retargeting strategies to reinforce your attraction’s appeal and guide Seekers to the decision-making finish line.
Nurture Long-Term Relationships: From Guests to Advocates
Once you have converted a Seeker into a first-time visitor your focus should shift to nurturing a long-term relationship with your new guest. Start with building and prioritizing your attraction’s CRM database as it plays a pivotal role in fostering recurring visits and ensuring loyalty, especially with Seekers who are newcomers. Then utilize 1st party guest data, media retargeting, email marketing, and loyalty programs to foster loyalty and encourage repeat visits. By building a community of devoted advocates, your attraction can solidify its position as a go-to destination, ensuring sustained success in the competitive market.
Conclusion: A Full-Funnel Marketing Approach Fills Your Guest Funnel
A holistic Full-Funnel advertising strategy, seamlessly integrating top-of-funnel branding and bottom-of-funnel performance marketing tactics, is the key to unlocking success in the ever-evolving landscape of attraction marketing. By understanding and addressing the needs of Seekers at each stage, attraction marketing leaders at theme parks, zoos, aquariums, water parks, museums, and family entertainment centers can not only draw in new guests but also cultivate lasting relationships that stand the test of time.
To download a complimentary copy of Watauga’s 2024 Attraction Visitor Report and view an interactive visualization of the data, please visit https://wataugagroup.com/attraction-visitor-report.
