Winter 2001 Customer Profile

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E-Surveys Made Easy Using Visitor Email
Addresses to Conduct Destination Research
Prepared by Jerry Henry Corporate Director of
Research Herschend Family Entertainment
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Presentation Overview

• Advantages and Limitations of E-Surveys
• Average Response Rates
• Do They Really Work?
• Real-Life Project Examples
• How To Get Started?

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Definition

• An e-survey in this presentation refers to
  travel surveys that are posted on the web and
  completed by a destinations (or attractions)
  visitors.
• This is accomplished by sending email messages to
  past customers, inquiries or website visitors
  offering an invitation for the respondent to
  click on a survey link and complete a specific
  online questionnaire.
• While other types of online surveys can be
  completed by consumers browsing a destinations
  website, this type of study differs in that it is
  completed only by those targeted in the initial
  email blasteither visitors, past visitors,
  inquiries, non-visitors, etc.

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Advantages

• Less Intrusive
• Pictures, Sound Clips and Video Clips
• More Detailed Responses
• Logical. Telephone Response Rates are Dropping
• Mainstreaming of the Internet
• Faster Response Time
• Less Expensive
• Free From Interviewer Bias
• Better Recall

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Limitations

• Privacy Legislation
• Self-Administered
• Not Everyone is Online
• Cannot Ensure Desired Respondent
• Spam Filters Zap 20 of Commercial Emails
• Non-Response
• Satisfaction Ratings May Vary
• Cannot Ask Follow-Up Questions
• Professional Survey Takers

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Conduct a Parallel Test

• The only way to find out how e-survey results
  compare to your current methodology is to try it!
  This can best be accomplished by conducting a
  parallel teste.g. running your survey using both
  methods simultaneously and then comparing the
  data from both. Although the results are rarely
  identical (for the reasons mentioned previously),
  it is important to see if the core measurements
  line up.
• The following metrics should be the same if the
  online research is to replace another type of
  research
• Is the top-of-mind (1) mention the same using
  both methods?
• Is the rating of products or concepts at a
  similar level, using both methods?
• Is any market movement equally indicated using
  both methods?
• Are stated behaviors (previous brand usage,
  previous category involvement) similar using both
  methods?

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Metrics May Differ But, Online Surveys May
Actually be More Accurate

• Unaided awareness because online respondents
  generally take more time to think about their
  responses, they will generally be able to recall
  more brands, more ads, more experiences, etc.
  This can make the results MORE accurate than
  other approaches.
• Complex questions because online respondents can
  read and re-read questions, they are more likely
  to respond accurately. In other approaches,
  respondents rarely ask the interviewer to re-read
  the question for them. (Note this can be
  eliminated in either case if the questions are
  kept very simple).
• Detailed questions because online respondents do
  not feel the time pressure to give an answer,
  they may actually investigate the answers before
  they respond.

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Results from Herschend Family Entertainments
Parallel Tests

• In 2001, Herschend Family Entertainment (HFE)
  launched our pilot e-survey program by running
  six different properties parallel e-surveys
  concurrent with telephone surveys asking the same
  questions. (Silver Dollar City, Dollywood, Stone
  Mountain, White Water, Showboat and Splash
  Country)
• Phone and Email survey responses were compared on
  party composition, age of party members,
  household income, last visit to the property,
  other area activity participation, and
  satisfaction.
• In all, we found that in 70 of the line item
  demographic data elements there was no
  significant difference in the results. The
  largest disparities came in the areas of
  satisfaction and age.

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Celebration City Packaging Research Example

• However, our most conclusive parallel test came
  as we were preparing to launch Celebration City.
  The purpose of this study was to determine which
  combination of properties, days and pricing was
  most attractive to our customers.
• A total of 1,500 phone interviews began
  simultaneously with an e-survey that asked the
  same questions. Both studies were conducted
  among past Silver Dollar City visitors.
• How did they compare? The 1,500 phone calls were
  completed in only 18 days at a cost of 14,000, a
  bargain by most standards. However, over 1,700
  email responses were received in just under 4
  days at an incremental cost of less than 1,000.
  (programmers and analysts are already on the
  payroll).
• And, the results? See for yourself

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Internet ResultsTicket Package Tradeoffs
3 Pk, S. Pass, 99 4 Days, 59 3 Pk, S. Pass,
99 4 Days, 69 1 Day, 1 Park, 32 Family of 4,
299 Family of 4 w/ Hotel 4 Days, 69 3 Pk, S.
Pass, 89 1 Day, 1 Park, 32 3 Days, 2 Parks,
55 4 Days, 59
n 584
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Phone ResultsTicket Package Tradeoffs
3 Pk, S. Pass, 99 4 Days, 59 3 Pk, S. Pass,
99 4 Days, 69 1 Day, 1 Park, 32 Family of 4,
299 Family of 4 w/ Hotel 4 Days, 69 3 Pk, S.
Pass, 89 1 Day, 1 Park, 32 3 Days, 2 Parks,
55 4 Days, 59
n 267
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Survey Facts Figures

• Over the past three years, HFE has conducted 58
  different e-survey projects and distributed more
  than 340,000 email survey links. Of those,
  about 88 or 300,000 actually made it into
  consumer homes.
• Response rates among past visitors have averaged
  11.5 over that time with a range from from 4.4
  to 42.3 (based upon the gross e-blast).
  However, HFE properties has a significant
  affinity among their customers. Typically the
  greater the affinity for the destination or
  attraction, the greater the typical response
  rate. Destinations tend to have lower response
  rates in the 5 to 10 range.
• Response rates from rental lists are generally
  much lower. Typically, only 5-7 of these kinds
  of surveys get opened and response rates average
  only 0.5 on the gross e-blast. However, in a
  recent Springfield study we got a 2.5 response.

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Herschend Family EntertainmentE-Survey
Statistical History
No of Projects 58
GROSS Emails Distributed 341,543 100.0
LESS Undeliverables (37,911) 11.1
LESS Suppressions (3,756) 1.1
NET Emails Delivered 299,876 87.8
Average Response Rate 39,277 11.5

Target Sample Size 400
Est. Email Blast Required 3,335
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Examples

• Springfield Visitor Profile
• Springfield Conversion Study
• Research Templates
• Silver Dollar City Non-Visitor
• Silver Dollar City Brand Assessment (incl.
  Consumer Mapping)
• Celebration City Concept Study

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Springfield Visitor Profile

• The Springfield CVB began conducting guest
  profile studies via email in 2001. Intercept or
  phone surveys were cost prohibitive at the time.
  Given that well over two-thirds of all travelers
  (and closer to 80 non-VFR travelers) have
  internet access, the methodology seemed
  appropriate even in 2001.
• Visitor email addresses are collected by area
  partners, hotels, the visitor center and the
  airport. E-survey links are distributed each
  month. Over the years annual sample size has
  ranged from 700 to 1,200.
• Traveler data is downloaded and processed into
  tables on demand. Year over year trends appear
  normal in every data category.

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Springfield Visitor Profile

• This information has helped define who visits
  Springfield, what they do, when they plan their
  visit, where theyre from, why they visit, and
  how they spend in the areaamong many other
  things.

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Party Composition
Springfield Visitor Profile Example
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Age Breakdown
Springfield Visitor Profile Example
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Last Visit to Springfield
Springfield Visitor Profile Example
ETY/LY Earlier this year or last year
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Distance Traveled
Springfield Visitor Profile Example
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Spending the Night in Springfieldby Visitor
Segment
Springfield Visitor Profile Example
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Average Length of Stayby Visitor Segment
Springfield Visitor Profile Example
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Spending Per Party Per Tripby Visitor Segment
Springfield Visitor Profile Example
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Springfield Conversion Study

• E-surveys can also help one understand the impact
  of the advertising materials sent out, how
  prospects made their decision to visit one
  destination over another, what converted visitors
  did while in the area, etc.
• BUT, conversion studies conducted using ONLY
  EMAIL have additional limitations. Email surveys
  are great for finding out more about a
  destinations visitors, brand or past visitors.
  But a conversion study must inherently attract an
  objective ratio of the number of inquirers who
  visited. Hence, you must also have a
  representative group of non-visitors as well
  --and that is difficult to accomplish with an
  e-survey.
• For that reason, I recommend conducting an
  additional short phone survey that asks 1) Did
  you visit? and 2) How much did you spend?by
  medium.

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Conversion Rate Comparison1998-2003
Springfield Conversion Study Example
Included Reader Service
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2000-2003 Conversion Ratesby Advertising Campaign
Springfield Conversion Study Example
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Revenue Per Visitor Partyby Advertising Campaign
Springfield Conversion Study Example
Overall Revenue Per Visitor Party 649
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Total Revenue Generatedby Advertising Campaign
Springfield Conversion Study Example
Total Revenue Generated 21,998,462
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Return on Gross Investmentby Advertising Campaign
Springfield Conversion Study Example
Overall Revenue Generated for Every Ad Dollar
213.23
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Research Templatesa.k.a. Research-in-a-Box

• Some destination marketing organizations (DMOs)
  take responsibility for helping smaller
  destinations, attractions or festivals help
  themselves.
• They are starting to create research templates
  that smaller entities can use to collect data for
  themselves. This is essentially a research study
  in-a-box. Each template includes a standard
  questionnaire, input file, legend, data summaries
  and applicable charts.
• The survey can be launched, have the data
  collected and input by virtually anyone with a
  computer. Once the data is input, the template
  processes the data automatically and creates both
  a set of data tables and relevant charts.

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Silver Dollar City Non-Visitor Study

• E-surveys work great for a wide variety of types
  of surveys conducted among visitors. But, at
  Silver Dollar City we have found that even our
  past customers have a passion for helping us
  improve our products and services. Response
  rates among old visitors is nearly as good as it
  is among active customers.
• Silver Dollar City has used these kinds of
  non-visitor assessments to determine why some
  people just dont come back. These kinds of
  surveys work wonderful for open-ended responses
  giving respondents an opportunity to write
  exactly whats on their minds.
• Over the past couple of years we learned that our
  park had begun to experience, brand drift. We
  are now taking action to correct some of the
  issues we identified.

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Reasons for Not VisitingSampling of Actual
Customer Responses
SDC Non-Returning Visitor Study Example

• It has become too amusement park oriented. It
  used to be that the park was full of crafters,
  but that seems to have given way to amusement
  rides. We went every year for about 15 years to
  the Fall National Crafts Fair, but within the
  last 8 years or so, that has become a joke.
  There used to be crafters and artists lined up
  and down the sidewalks of the park, with the
  count at least at 200. Now the National Crafts
  Fair has pretty much fallen the same way 76
  Boulevard has - very few crafts and crafters,
  and more commercial shops, restaurants, and
  hotels.
• It is boring and always offers the same stuff for
  an elevated cost
• It seems that it has been the same for some time.
  My children wanted something new for a change.
• It's changed---not for the better
• It's gotten "old". Nothing new, and we have done
  it so many years in a row.
• Less music. The combining of weeks such as music
  with crafts. Seems that creativity and variety
  have been sacrificed for moneys sake.
• No new roller coasters.
• We chose to spend our money on one long vacation
  instead of several quick trips to Branson

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Rate Reasons for Not Returning to SDCInactive
Visitor Responses
SDC Non-Returning Visitor Study Example
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Silver Dollar City Brand Assessment

• E-surveys also work very well at helping decision
  makers assess the value of their brands and
  measure how satisfied their visitors are with
  those aspects of the visit that are most
  important to them, called consumer mapping.

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Describe Silver Dollar City
SDC Brand Assessment Example

• A great place for clean family fun. The only
  place I know that still has christian values. We
  LOVE that!!!!
• "A wholesome fun experience for your entire
  family!"
• 1800 Theme Park with some rides and musical
  shows. Craft work for sale
• A "SAFE" PLACE FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY!!!!
• A christian, family oriented place that I can
  take anyone and have a good time. I like the
  fact that there are rides that aren't too wild
  that I (as an adult) can ride and have fun along
  with my children (who like the wilder rides)
• A family oriented park where one can feel safe.
  The park employees for the most part are very
  courteous. The food is tasty.
• A fun place to visit
• A great place for couples and families

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Silver Dollar City's craftsmen and entertainers
seem to be more friendly today than they were a
few years back
SDC Brand Assessment Example
B R A N D Q U E S T I O N
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I/we are more likely to visit Silver Dollar City
today than we were a few years ago
SDC Brand Assessment Example
B R A N D Q U E S T I O N
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As SDC's prices escalate I find myself choosing
different entertainment options for my family
SDC Brand Assessment Example
B R A N D Q U E S T I O N
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Silver Dollar City is more unique and attractive
to my family today than it was a few years back
SDC Brand Assessment Example
B R A N D Q U E S T I O N
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Knowing the storylines behind SDC's rides and
attractions make them more enjoyable for my
family
SDC Brand Assessment Example
B R A N D Q U E S T I O N
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Consumer Mapping

• Consumer Mapping entails combining attribute
  importance and performance to define the target
  issues and strengths of the bank.
• It provides information about the relative
  strengths and weaknesses among attributes of the
  attraction or destination only, rather than a
  specific destination relative to the competition.
  
• Those attributes that most impact loyalty and
  whose performance is better than average are
  called Strengths. Those issues that are high
  impact where performance is lower are designated
  Target Issues.
• Secondary Opportunities are those where the
  attraction or destinations performance is lower
  than average but the attributes have lower impact
  on loyalty.
• Similarly, Low Priority Issues have low impact on
  loyalty and are better in performance for the
  destination.

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Issue Targeting
Strengths
Secondary Opportunities
More Satisfied
These are the "primary strengths" of the brand.
These attributes are not crucial. Immediate focus
should be on target issues.
Satisfaction
Customers needs are being met, though these
attributes are not important. Potential for
resource misallocation.
These are "target issues" to improve customer
loyalty. The brand is performing below average
and these attributes are important.
Less Satisfied
Low Priority
Target Issues
Importance
More Important
Less Important
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Consumer Mapping-EXAMPLE-
Better
Strengths
Secondary Opportunities
Friendliness
Safety/ Security
Variety
Number of Restaurants
Performance
Ease of Getting There
Value for the Dollar
Scenic Beauty
Low Priority
Target Issues
Worse
Importance
Less Important
More Important
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SDC Brand Assessment Example
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Celebration City Concept Study

• E-surveys are ideal for testing new ideas, e.g.
  advertising positioning, headlines, or new
  concepts. Perhaps the most important types of
  research HFE conducts by e-survey is our concept
  testing program. Before we add a new festival or
  build a new ride, we ask our customers to tell us
  what they think about the options we are
  considering.
• You cannot blindly ask people what they would
  like to see us add because they typically dont
  know or cannot verbalize it. BUT, they can
  review several different options and tell you
  which ones they like, which ones they dont, and
  which ones would be most likely to cause them to
  visit.
• At HFE, weve conducted 21 such studies and
  tested nearly 60 different concept ideas over the
  past four years.

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Concepts Overall AppealFamilies with Children
Celebration City Concept Evaluation Example
10-point scale
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INTENT-TO-VISIT These Concepts Families with
Children
Celebration City Concept Evaluation Example
10-point scale
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Concepts Perceived as BeingMOTIVATIONAL HOOKS
Families with Children
Celebration City Concept Evaluation Example
Top-Box Ratios
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Summary of Appeal and Likelihood of Visiting
Concept Ratings
Celebration City Concept Evaluation Example
APPEAL APPEAL LIKELIHOOD OF VISITING LIKELIHOOD OF VISITING
Concept Families Overall Families Overall Overall
MGM 6.8 6.9 6.9 6.8
Hallmark 6.9 6.8 7.0 6.7
Nick-at-Nite 7.1 6.8 7.2 6.9
ET 5.4 5.1 5.9 5.6
No Limits 6.9 6.7 7.1 6.7
Pop Nights 6.6 6.3 7.0 6.7
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Favorite Concept of AllFamilies with Children
Celebration City Concept Evaluation Example
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NET FAVORITE Less LEAST FAVORITEFamilies with
Children
Considering the net results of favorite minus
least favorite concept, this chart shows that
Nick-at-Nite generated the largest margin of
favorite votescompared to least favorite
votes.
Ratio of Favorite Least Favorite
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How Can You Get Started?

• Call Your IT People. I started with the idea and
  didnt know anything about programming, web
  design, etc.
• Order WebSurveyor.com or SurveyMonkey.com. Its
  pretty easy to learn and they do the tough part.
• Pay a Consultant. For less than a few hundred
  dollars you can have your survey blast to your
  customer list, posted on the web, and the results
  downloaded into an input file. For less than
  several thousand you can have the whole thing
  done for youturnkey.
• Hire a Research Company. This will likely be
  quite a bit more expensive. For whatever reason,
  research companies are typically charging nearly
  as much for online surveys as they do for phone
  surveys.

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Summary

• E-Surveys are typically faster, less expensive,
  and not as intrusive as traditional phone
  surveys. While not everyone has internet access,
  travelers are far more likely to have access than
  the average U.S. citizen. Hence, they provide a
  very attractive alternative for most destination
  marketing organizations.
• Response rates today rival phone surveys and
  because people can complete such surveys on their
  own time, responses tend to be more thorough.
• Bottom line, e-surveys are effective and
  affordable. They offer DMOs the unique
  opportunity to gain a better understanding of
  their customers without breaking the budget.
• For many it is the difference between being able
  to conduct customer research and continuing to
  operate with ones best guesses.