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Showmasters Loyalty Program Idea


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I'm aware that this is extremely random, but this idea just came into my head and I thought I might as well post it here and see what people think.


I think Showmasters should invest money into revamping their online store and creating a loyalty points program which I'm calling “Priority Points" (or PP for short :smile: ).


It's been mentioned that Showmasters are considering pay-in-advance autograph tickets/packages and there's been a lot of debate about how that would work in a fair way and this is just a way that I thought might work well.


So picture this, you log into the new SM store with a username and password, from here you can see your open event orders (so you can add tickets to that order), updates and any pending refunds etc. You can also see how many Priority Points you have saved up.


Every £1 spent in the store earns you 1pp. So a £15 entry ticket and two £20 photoshoots earns you 55pp for example.


When a huge Stan Lee sized guest is announced for an event, priority autograph tickets are made available, first come first served for £45 + 100pp (just a rough example). Obviously it would take some calculating to work out how many priority points a guest would cost, with many elements taken into account.


This way is fairer than just first come first serve or making the guests more expensive, as it prioritises the people who spend the most money but also puts limits in place. If multiple huge guests are announced, even the biggest spenders won't have unlimited reward points.


The average convention goer wouldn't be effected all that much, as their entry tickets, shoots and talk tickets will still give them enough points to see someone big and go home happy.

But you won't get people turning up on the day expecting to see the big guests as it would be made clear that they would be pre-booked tickets only.


This rewards the most loyal customers. As every event's shop would be under one portal/system, it would be possible to go to some smaller SM events whilst saving up points for that epic guest announcement that the next event may bring. You'd have people that instead of sitting on the fence for that photo-shoot they are thinking about, being enticed as it adds points so they can see X guest for an autograph. You'll have people going to LFCC winter to accumulate points in preparation for the summer LFCC for example.


The only people I see effected by this in a negative way is the people that turn up, want to meet the Stan Lee sized guest and then go home. The fact is, LFCC is now big enough that most people won't get to see the biggest guests. My thoughts are just that priority should be given to the people that go to the most SM events and do the most while they are there.


One of the fears with autograph tickets is that people will snap them all up and then sell them on for more money. This is something this system fights against, especially if the autograph tickets themselves don't earn you points. Points could be reserved for entry/talk/photo-shoot ticket purchases. That way only actual customers would be able to buy them. Ticket scalpers wouldn't want to buy multiple other tickets for every one autograph ticket, it would take the profit away.


Obviously the cost of building such a site with logins and a reward system and an efficient back-end for SM to be able to keep track of everything, would cost a large sum to be built. But I just thought that if SM are going to be expanding their ticketing system, I'd just put my idea forward. :smile:


Thanks

Edited by LogicTheory
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One obvious fault in your idea is having only entry/talk & photo tickets qualifying. Many people are only interested in autographs, they don't want a photo shoot and aren't interested in the talks so their only way to get points is via the entry ticket, they would therefore have fewer points so would not be able to get the autographs from the big names even though they are most interested in said autograph. Alternatively, there are just as many people who only get photo shoots and/or attend talks, they would accrue more points but would not be interested in the benefits that arise.

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This is not a bad idea (I love points programs) but I have a few questions about it.

 

Firstly, there are some people who can only come to one SM convention a year because of money, work, living abroad ect? Does this not effect them in a bad way?

 

Secondly, if you get points for photoshoots but not for autographs how will this effect the many people who are autograph collecters who don't like or get photoshoots?

 

Thirdly, will SM/guests lose money with something like this? If you have 4 or 5 big guests but most people only have enough points for one of them will they bother to come to the event? This year I managed to see all the guests I wanted on EB tickets including Stan Lee. If I was only able to see one of the guests I really wanted to see because I didn't have enough points then I am not sure I could justify the cost of a hotel and travel.

 

Lastly, tieing in with the last point, how many people turned up on the day and ended up seeing guests they had no intention of seeing? I saw 4 people I hadn't planned on seeing, some of those were fairly big guests. I only realised I wanted to see them when I got there. How much money was made of those kinds of last minute decisions?

 

I think if something like this was implemented you would still have to have in place the same systems as before so that people could turn up, look at the situation and make an informed decision about what to do. I also think it would be a nightmare in concerns to refunding money and points when guests cancel. It doesn't sound like much but that is a lot of extra man power making sure points go back to the right people, then if the refund didn't come through before the show those points, that you could have used on someone else, will not be avalible.

 

I am not saying your idea is a bad one at all, I think some type of points system would be cool but I would just change it up a little. :smile:

 

Edited to add: 'Most loyal customers' is subjective. Is someone who can only afford one show a year and saves up through the year to go to that one show and make the most of it less loyal than someone with a more disposable income who can afford multiple shows in a year?

Edited by Starbuck17
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The only people I see effected by this in a negative way is the people that turn up, want to meet the Stan Lee sized guest and then go home. The fact is, LFCC is now big enough that most people won't get to see the biggest guests. My thoughts are just that priority should be given to the people that go to the most SM events and do the most while they are there.

 

I'm going to be blunt here, but I do not like your suggestion based upon the above.

 

I have met maybe 30-40 guests in my 6 years of going to Showmasters events. I would call myself far more discerning than many regarding who I spend my money on and autographs are my focus. I've done less than 20 photo shoots and I do not do paid talks.

 

I spend A LOT of disposable income on these events and the associated travel expenses/time off work etc. but in your model I would not be deserving of priority.

Instead I would be penalised for not going to as many events, because there are no guests I want to see, and penalised again for not paying for activities that do not interest me.

 

If an attendee just wants to see one guest, and that is quite literally it, then they will get as much enjoyment from the convention as someone else there to do more.

 

Before LFCC this weekend (where I met 7 guests) the most guests I had previously met at any one show was 4. With my usual number being 2-3. And yes I have just met one guest and gone home. And yes they were big ones. Ursula Andress and Patrick Stewart spring to mind.

I don't pad my convention experiences for the sake of it.

 

I have no interest in 20+ photoshoots per event with guests I've barely heard of. I don't collect autographs of 3rd Stormtrooper from the left or miscellaneous Ewok. I don't go to every event. I go for who I want and usually they're the bigger names. But you imply there is something wrong with that. Should I just spend more of my money on things I don't want to be deserving of priority?

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One obvious fault in your idea is having only entry/talk & photo tickets qualifying. Many people are only interested in autographs, they don't want a photo shoot and aren't interested in the talks so their only way to get points is via the entry ticket, they would therefore have fewer points so would not be able to get the autographs from the big names even though they are most interested in said autograph. Alternatively, there are just as many people who only get photo shoots and/or attend talks, they would accrue more points but would not be interested in the benefits that arise.

 

You are correct that as things stand the system doesn't help those who a mainly interested in autograph signings. It seems like such an obvious flaw that I'm genuinely embarrassed I didn't pick up on it lol

With that being said, showmasters mentioned looking into making packages that contain an autograph and photo-shoot in one ticket. That means in order to guaranty that you get that big autograph you may have to pay extra to get a photo-shoot you don't necessarily want. I personally don't get photo-shoots so I'll be buying something I don't want just to guaranty an autograph.

So it seems that both my current reward system idea and SM's current idea will gives preference to those that like photo-shoots as well.

 

I wish there was a way that all autograph purchases could be tracked and those points added, as that would be the perfect system, but I don't see a cost effective way of that being remotely possible.

 

This is not a bad idea (I love points programs) but I have a few questions about it.

 

Firstly, there are some people who can only come to one SM convention a year because of money, work, living abroad ect? Does this not effect them in a bad way?

 

Secondly, if you get points for photoshoots but not for autographs how will this effect the many people who are autograph collecters who don't like or get photoshoots?

 

Thirdly, will SM/guests lose money with something like this? If you have 4 or 5 big guests but most people only have enough points for one of them will they bother to come to the event? This year I managed to see all the guests I wanted on EB tickets including Stan Lee. If I was only able to see one of the guests I really wanted to see because I didn't have enough points then I am not sure I could justify the cost of a hotel and travel.

 

Lastly, tieing in with the last point, how many people turned up on the day and ended up seeing guests they had no intention of seeing? I saw 4 people I hadn't planned on seeing, some of those were fairly big guests. I only realised I wanted to see them when I got there. How much money was made of those kinds of last minute decisions?

 

I think if something like this was implemented you would still have to have in place the same systems as before so that people could turn up, look at the situation and make an informed decision about what to do. I also think it would be a nightmare in concerns to refunding money and points when guests cancel. It doesn't sound like much but that is a lot of extra man power making sure points go back to the right people, then if the refund didn't come through before the show those points, that you could have used on someone else, will not be avalible.

 

I am not saying your idea is a bad one at all, I think some type of points system would be cool but I would just change it up a little. :smile:

 

Q1) Lets put you in that situation for LFCC 2014 coming on the Saturday or Sunday this year. Realistically the only way to get Stan Lee's autograph was with an expensive pass/ticket. Very few VQT were actually got through from my understanding. So if the reward system was in place the expensive pass would of given you enough loyalty points to see Stan Lee. So nothing would of changed.

 

Q2) See my response to the quote above :)

 

Q3) It was very difficult for most people to see every big guest this year and it will get harder as the years go on. The reality is if 5 Stan Lee sized guests turn up then you will only get to see 2 maybe 3 of them if you are very lucky (or very rich) regardless of the system in place.

 

Q4) Only the largest guests would use the system.

 

I 100% agree that my loyalty system needs work and would take a lot more work to get right. I didn't think it would be something SM would go "yeah lets just do that" or anything. It would have to be a gradual thing. It's just this is where things are heading at the moment:

 

"We are also looking at exclusive ticket packages for bigger A-list guests, where this would be a dedicated ticket that would guarantee you get to meet this A-list guest and guarantee getting the photo op and signing all in the same ticket. These would be a stand alone ticket with all this included. General admission people would get to buy pre-sold photo ops and autographs at the show (subject to availability) but the people who bought the exclusive packages would get priority first. we want to have these big A list guest at our events, but we do not want people upset when they just turn up and cannot get everything they want, so we feel this maybe the way forward."

 

If you think about Stan Lee with the above in place, it would be impossible to see him without some sort of expensive pass anyway. That's the unfortunate truth of where we are heading. Eventually there will be 1-3 BIG guests attending that you won't be able to grab a VT and meet randomly. If 5000 people want to meet someone and they can only get through 1000 something has to separate the 1000 that gets lucky and the 4000 that don't. Most businesses would just do so by putting prices up, if a guest was £100 or you had to buy a gold pass to stand a chance then that'll price people out of it. A reward system uses the same method of using money to differentiate between those that get to meet people and those that don't, but instead of that individual guest going up in price, people have to spend more at the event overall.

 

I don't think my reward system is flawless by any stretch of the imagination but I do think it's fairer then selling thousands expensive priority passes or bundling autographs with photos into one expensive priority ticket.

 

I'd also love to see the system reward people for introducing other people to the event, using affiliate links, volunteering to crew or just helping on the forum and it being spotted by a moderator.

 

 

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I have no interest in 20+ photoshoots per event with guests I've barely heard of. I don't collect autographs of 3rd Stormtrooper from the left or miscellaneous Ewok. I don't go to every event. I go for who I want and usually they're the bigger names. But you imply there is something wrong with that. Should I just spend more of my money on things I don't want to be deserving of priority?

 

I'm honestly not implying anything you just said, but I don't want to argue with anyone, I'm just submitting an idea that I think is fairer then anything I've seen proposed so far. I'm not saying it's fair to everyone though.

I don't go to many SM events myself, I never get photo-shoots personally and I go to maybe 1 paid talk per event, so my idea isn't written from the perspective I think you think it is.

I think one of the issues with my description of my idea is when I say biggest guests I mean the "even bigger" guests that SMs are hoping to get. I'm not talking about the big guests everyone is used too, when we talk about big guests. So with respect no one has any experience with how difficult it will be to get an autograph from a guest this big at a LFCC, since SM has never had a guest that big before. But I think given the evidence, it will be impossible without an expensive priority pass, my idea just means instead of buying an expensive pass, you spend more at the event and then buy a normal priced autograph ticket.

 

Priority has to be determined somehow. Be it the size of your wallet, how many other things you do at the event or how early you turn up..etc... priority will be given somehow. Given the fact that people were blocking the street before the venue even opened I think "how early people turn up" has already had it's day. It'll be interesting to see what SM comes up with though.

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One obvious fault in your idea is having only entry/talk & photo tickets qualifying. Many people are only interested in autographs, they don't want a photo shoot and aren't interested in the talks so their only way to get points is via the entry ticket, they would therefore have fewer points so would not be able to get the autographs from the big names even though they are most interested in said autograph. Alternatively, there are just as many people who only get photo shoots and/or attend talks, they would accrue more points but would not be interested in the benefits that arise.

 

You are correct that as things stand the system doesn't help those who a mainly interested in autograph signings. It seems like such an obvious flaw that I'm genuinely embarrassed I didn't pick up on it lol

With that being said, showmasters mentioned looking into making packages that contain an autograph and photo-shoot in one ticket. That means in order to guaranty that you get that big autograph you may have to pay extra to get a photo-shoot you don't necessarily want. I personally don't get photo-shoots so I'll be buying something I don't want just to guaranty an autograph.

So it seems that both my current reward system idea and SM's current idea will gives preference to those that like photo-shoots as well.

 

I wish there was a way that all autograph purchases could be tracked and those points added, as that would be the perfect system, but I don't see a cost effective way of that being remotely possible.

 

This is not a bad idea (I love points programs) but I have a few questions about it.

 

Firstly, there are some people who can only come to one SM convention a year because of money, work, living abroad ect? Does this not effect them in a bad way?

 

Secondly, if you get points for photoshoots but not for autographs how will this effect the many people who are autograph collecters who don't like or get photoshoots?

 

Thirdly, will SM/guests lose money with something like this? If you have 4 or 5 big guests but most people only have enough points for one of them will they bother to come to the event? This year I managed to see all the guests I wanted on EB tickets including Stan Lee. If I was only able to see one of the guests I really wanted to see because I didn't have enough points then I am not sure I could justify the cost of a hotel and travel.

 

Lastly, tieing in with the last point, how many people turned up on the day and ended up seeing guests they had no intention of seeing? I saw 4 people I hadn't planned on seeing, some of those were fairly big guests. I only realised I wanted to see them when I got there. How much money was made of those kinds of last minute decisions?

 

I think if something like this was implemented you would still have to have in place the same systems as before so that people could turn up, look at the situation and make an informed decision about what to do. I also think it would be a nightmare in concerns to refunding money and points when guests cancel. It doesn't sound like much but that is a lot of extra man power making sure points go back to the right people, then if the refund didn't come through before the show those points, that you could have used on someone else, will not be avalible.

 

I am not saying your idea is a bad one at all, I think some type of points system would be cool but I would just change it up a little. :smile:

 

Q1) Lets put you in that situation for LFCC 2014 coming on the Saturday or Sunday this year. Realistically the only way to get Stan Lee's autograph was with an expensive pass/ticket. Very few VQT were actually got through from my understanding. So if the reward system was in place the expensive pass would of given you enough loyalty points to see Stan Lee. So nothing would of changed.

 

Q2) See my response to the quote above :)

 

Q3) It was very difficult for most people to see every big guest this year and it will get harder as the years go on. The reality is if 5 Stan Lee sized guests turn up then you will only get to see 2 maybe 3 of them if you are very lucky (or very rich) regardless of the system in place.

 

Q4) Only the largest guests would use the system.

 

I 100% agree that my loyalty system needs work and would take a lot more work to get right. I didn't think it would be something SM would go "yeah lets just do that" or anything. It would have to be a gradual thing. It's just this is where things are heading at the moment:

 

"We are also looking at exclusive ticket packages for bigger A-list guests, where this would be a dedicated ticket that would guarantee you get to meet this A-list guest and guarantee getting the photo op and signing all in the same ticket. These would be a stand alone ticket with all this included. General admission people would get to buy pre-sold photo ops and autographs at the show (subject to availability) but the people who bought the exclusive packages would get priority first. we want to have these big A list guest at our events, but we do not want people upset when they just turn up and cannot get everything they want, so we feel this maybe the way forward."

 

If you think about Stan Lee with the above in place, it would be impossible to see him without some sort of expensive pass anyway. That's the unfortunate truth of where we are heading. Eventually there will be 1-3 BIG guests attending that you won't be able to grab a VT and meet randomly. If 5000 people want to meet someone and they can only get through 1000 something has to separate the 1000 that gets lucky and the 4000 that don't. Most businesses would just do so by putting prices up, if a guest was £100 or you had to buy a gold pass to stand a chance then that'll price people out of it. A reward system uses the same method of using money to differentiate between those that get to meet people and those that don't, but instead of that individual guest going up in price, people have to spend more at the event overall.

 

I don't think my reward system is flawless by any stretch of the imagination but I do think it's fairer then selling thousands expensive priority passes or bundling autographs with photos into one expensive priority ticket.

 

I'd also love to see the system reward people for introducing other people to the event, using affiliate links, volunteering to crew or just helping on the forum and it being spotted by a moderator.

 

 

 

 

Like I said I understand your idea and don't think it is a horrible one.

 

I saw Stan Lee with Early Bird tickets, I didn't pay for a pass or an expensive ticket so it is not impossible. I wouldn't pay for an expensive pass anyway because I would not be able to afford it.

 

SM themselves said there would still be autographs and photoshoots avalible at the event just the people with the packages would get priority. I would rather take my chance with those.

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Like I said I understand your idea and don't think it is a horrible one.

 

I saw Stan Lee with Early Bird tickets, I didn't pay for a pass or an expensive ticket so it is not impossible. I wouldn't pay for an expensive pass anyway because I would not be able to afford it.

 

SM themselves said there would still be autographs and photoshoots avalible at the event just the people with the packages would get priority. I would rather take my chance with those.

 

 

I saw Stan on the Friday. That day really saved it for me. :smile:

 

I'll still try to do events as cheaply as possible. No priority passes for me. But I normally find a way to convince half my family to come too, so those tickets would work well in a reward system type setup.

 

Just imagining what it'll be like in 5-10 years time. Do you ever think LFCC will become Europe's equivalent to the San Diego event? It would be amazing if it got anywhere near.

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Like I said I understand your idea and don't think it is a horrible one.

 

I saw Stan Lee with Early Bird tickets, I didn't pay for a pass or an expensive ticket so it is not impossible. I wouldn't pay for an expensive pass anyway because I would not be able to afford it.

 

SM themselves said there would still be autographs and photoshoots avalible at the event just the people with the packages would get priority. I would rather take my chance with those.

 

I saw Stan on the Friday. That day really saved it for me. :smile:

 

I'll still try to do events as cheaply as possible. No priority passes for me. But I normally find a way to convince half my family to come too, so those tickets would work well in a reward system type setup.

 

Just imagining what it'll be like in 5-10 years time. Do you ever think LFCC will become Europe's equivalent to the San Diego event? It would be amazing if it got anywhere near.

 

 

Possibly, I think it depends on a number of things but it will probably get bigger.

 

I think this year was unlike any thing we will see again not only was Stan Lee there but it was also the last chance to see him here. For other guests people might think 'oh I'll see them next time' but far Stan that couldn't happen hence all the panic and people. I don't think there is anything bigger than Marvel right now. The timing plus the finality of it all equaled mayhem lol.

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Interesting idea , just wish it had started years ago as would have already clocked up 1000s of points !

 

Having said that, I'm not sure I am convinced that individuals who only go to one show regularly, say LFCC wouldn't then have a chance to meet a big guest at LFCC , this seems a bit odd. I could have never gone to LFCC, but regularly go to Milton Keynes, Sheffield, Cardiff etc and clock up a lot of priority points in the store and get priority over someone who has been going to LFCC every year.

 

Perhaps to reflect that some people only go to one show their priority points could have a multiplier for that show and those guests as they would have been more loyal to LFCC.

 

So for example I only go to LFCC, but have been every year and accrued a lot of priority points, my points are worth double for LFCC guest packages, but only have single value for other shows. This would also work the same way for regular Collectormania MK attendees etc

 

The trouble is though, the more complicated it gets the more confusion it will cause ! I'm confusing myself now even thinking about it.

 

I do like the overall principle though and it would be a good way of rewarding loyal customers.

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I think many guests doing the circuits will look at Stan Lee and realise just how busy it got. Many many people could do a farewell tour of the convention scene in different countries and people would flock because it's the last time. It worked.

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Not sure I like the idea, not saying it's bad but I've only been to two events LFCC13 and LFCC14. I've never bought a priority pass and have always met the guests I want. This year I managed carrie fisher and Ian McDiarmid on early bird tickets, the whole idea of guest specific priority passes really doesn't sit well with me as it means only those who have a lot of money can see them and those people normally buy gold passes any way. Your points system would work better if it targeted the majority of the people that go to these event, regular people that only spend what they can rather than incredibly high amounts just on entry packages :(

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Been to the most events and do the most there.

 

Not quoted perfectly as I'm on my phone but not sure that's quite fair as over my years I've been to dozens of these events with SM but and here's the but I've sometimes only gone for one guests photo and autograph so by your logic am I or am I not a "loyal" customer by your reasoning above??

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My worry with anything like this is that it could not be run and administered properly as they manage to get a lot of things wrong this year. Trying to run a complex point system would just add more confusion and problems to the volunteers that run Showmasters.

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Personally I hate schemes like this, also ones that allow tickets for the next event to be sold first to those attending the current event.

 

You might be a regular attendee but if the next event doesn't have any guests that interest you it feels a lttle unfair.

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would be nice have some loyalty reward i been going to these events since collectormania 2 if only loyalty card started years ago ,how could points work

each event

each guest

maybe some guests have hidden surprise bonus points

as it gets more expensive somehow will have to cut down, i've never had gold or silver tickets,

i like autographs and say hi to the guest ,ask a question and have photo with them makes the day great

 

maybe if they sell photo autograph combo at better rate

if only timetables came out same time as ticket sales could plan day better

i'm starting to like prop photo with guests

i dislike being rushed at autograph signed in 1 second finished leave ,for the cost seems empty no fun ,maybe double bonus points for those

i also like to see what photos guests have on table to sign, wish they could be put up on display for everyone to see whats on offer

 

how about a award for best guest of the year voted only by people who met them

 

 

 

 

 

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I'd love it if there was a very basic rewards scheme on the online store. Forget about people getting priority for this thing or that - how about just a basic reward points system to tempt more people into buying tickets in advance of the show? You earn points on purchases through the store, which you then redeem against future purchases. Even if it was a matter of pennies, every little helps.

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I'm afraid I think that first come, first served is the fairest system. People who are very limited for funds can often only attend one event per year (like me!). I spend as much as I have available at that one event but stretching it to more than one is simply not a possibility. I'd even go so far as to say that LFCC is my summer holiday! Not a word of a joke.

 

This scheme would be alienating people like me, who are as loyal as they possibly can be but have no option other than to ration their attendences.

 

It IS good that people are getting ideas, though. :D

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