Improving Your Cinema's Operation & Profits

At the start of each year, CMG takes the opportunity to recommend a number of ways cinema operators can improve upon their patrons' moviegoing experience.  These recommendations also serve, in many cases, to increase revenues while enhancing a cinema's brand and helping cement their relationship with the local community.

Update & Rejuvenate Website

Make your cinema's website fun to use but also 'valuable' to the customer. Not only offering on-line admissions but on-line concession purchases.  It's a proven fact that on-line concession purchases are, on average, 60% higher than in-cinema food purchases.

Also offer coupons and special discounts through the website, which are unavailable at the box office. Doing this motivates your patrons to use the site and provides email addresses for future promotions and marketing.

Upgrade & Add New Concession Items

Come up with a new, but simple, concession item and private label it. For example, popcorn popped in duck fat.  Provide this item in a special container with the cinema's name on it - take ownership of this item.

We spoke of providing on-line concession coupons but also think of providing sample concession items while patrons are waiting in the concession line. Samples of a new candy now being sold, or pretzel nuggets this small gesture goes a long way to improving customer relations but also sales.

Improve Service Without Increasing Expense

If you take credit cards for admission and concession purchases great. If you don't or if you want to enhance the process use the new smart phone payment system - 'Square'.

Square simply uses a cell phone to process credit card sales and its charge is only 2% of each sales -  well below bank credit card transaction fees and Square accepts Visa, Master Card, and AMEX cards.

Offer WiFi in your cinema. It is an extremely inexpensive way of offering a service that will be appreciated by patrons. If nothing else they can use it to purchase tickets and concession on-line while at the cinema or, better still, at the cafe' area set up in the cinema's lobby to serve as a 'hang out' before and/or after a movie.

Have in-lobby and pre-feature entertainment. Go local. Advertise local up-coming events and news. Solicit local stores and restaurants to advertise at your cinema. In-theatre advertising is one of the best ways for them to advertise to the local community - it's a win/win.

Operational Improvements & Service

If you haven't already, purchase new bookkeeping software. This will improve and streamline you back-office operations and the new software packages for small/mid-sized businesses are very inexpensive but very capable. Look into software: Lemon, Expensify, and Shoeboxed, in additions to the old, reliable Quicken.

Think of having a Door Greeter.  This goes a long way to improving customer relations and perhaps incorporating it with the suggestion of offering food samples.

Advertise your cinema's sound system! Run pre-feature Dolby promo trailers. Keep reinforcing the fact that a cinema's sound cannot be replicated in the home.

Mix up your content. Don't run just the big, first run films. Exhibit art films on occasion or documentaries.  Investigate partnering with one or more of the non-Hollywood content distributors such as the Metropolitan Opera Company, National Geographic Society, or National Theatre Company for their programming.

Let it be known that an auditorium is available to any local community group desiring a place to meet.  Offer this during cinema 'off' nights of Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday. Have appropriate concession available, like coffee, cookies, etc.

Upgrade the facility. Cosmetic changes/improvements like a fresh coat of paint, upgrading of restrooms, new signage, steam cleaning of seats, floors, and carpets, new concession lighting and signage, a lobby refresh, etc. all go a long way to improving service.