Here’s one for the next show

Abstract

Purpose – Financial constraints recently confronting performing arts organizations propel them to employ various marketing tactics to not only win new visitors but also to maintain its current clientele. Fostering a long-term relationship with clients is regarded a vital solution to a survival-related predicament these organizations face. Hence, the purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of four marketing tactics – personalization, two-way communication, preferential treatment, and rewarding – on the dimensions of customer relationship, namely, satisfaction, trust, and commitment. Design/methodology/approach – Data to test the various research hypotheses were collected through a survey with 252 clients of a performing arts venue in a Dutch city. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypotheses. Findings – Results reveal that extension of rewards to and maintaining a two-way communication with clients of a performing arts venue positively influence their satisfaction with, trust in, and commitment to the performing arts venue. Personalization of services impacts commitment only. However, the effect of preferential treatment on the three relationship dimensions is not statistically significant. Additionally, analysis shows that satisfied customers are more likely to trust the performing arts venue, although clients’ satisfaction with and trust in the performing arts venue do not influence their commitment to the venue. Originality/value – Research into the ways to strengthen customer relationships in the performing arts is still scarce. The current research aims at investigating the impact of several marketing tactics on customer relationship measured in terms of satisfaction, trust, and commitment and shows how performing arts venues can strengthen their bonds with customers.