Time to send your attraction for its MOT

Earlier this summer, the Clapham family’s SUV began humming at a higher pitch than usual.  Was it a lack of steering fluid, a leak in the pump, the alternator or even the exhaust bracket coming loose? Frankly I wasn’t sure.  A quick look under the bonnet confirmed it would take forever to identify the source, and probably longer to rectify. I booked in the MOT and service for the following week, where the mechanics quickly identified that the problem was with the alternator. There, they reminded us how lucky we were to have not broken down since the new noise started. Fortunately, they had it fixed 24hrs later and I happily paid the garage, with our old SUV good to go for another year or so.

For many years, clients have asked us to cast a specialist eye over the data under the bonnet of their attraction, to find out if any strange noises are affecting their business performance. Often this is linked to a specific challenge they have commissioned us to look at with advanced analysis supporting other primary research objectives. Other times it has been more holistic, taking a step back and effectively auditing using our benchmarking and econometric modelling expertise to provide a more informed insight.

Yet the volume of data, big or small, now available to senior management from all corners of their attraction business is growing. Visitor surveys can point to prioritising improvements in one area of operations and membership research to specific enhancements required in another. Meanwhile, that market sizing exercise appears to reassure planned CapEx product development will guarantee the capture of the ‘millennial development’ segment that everyone is buzzing about. However, catering and admission receipts only seem to highlight the need for staff cut backs and social media analysis suggests everything should be left alone.

Some attractions employ dedicated staff to join the dots of all this and other historical financial data, to prioritise the actions that can take a business strategy forward; others don’t have that luxury of time or resource.

At BVA BDRC, we’ve decided to formalise the service we provide in this area with the launch of our very own AttractionsMOT, inspired by the local garage. It’s a considered three-step process focused on delivering a clear, benchmarked view of an attractions performance, the business areas to prioritise and the opportunity to be realised.

To find out more about the process, outputs and cost for this new service please request a prospectus below: