Customer Speak – A Marketing Blog from Bridgz Marketing Group

Movie Experience by Bridgz

For years movie houses have attempted to lure customers by offering the top new releases or bargain prices without giving much thought to the off-the-screen customer experience, which was pretty much the same at most theaters. A trip to the cinema consisted of waiting in line to buy tickets, stopping by the concessions counter to buy the same overpriced candy and popcorn with melted orange stuff poured on it, then hurrying into the dark theater to try and discover a few available seats.

Then came stadium seating that offered improved creature comfort, with reclining backs and better sight lines, as a means for improving the movie experience. The introduction of IMAX added further enhancements in terms of sound and picture quality on large curved screens, but there were only a limited number of theaters and they were not convenient for much of the population. Until now.

A new generation of theaters from companies like Kerasotes is taking the movie experience to yet another level of sophistication, with a focus on the customer and not just the product. I paid my first visit to the relatively new Kerasotes location at the West End in St. Louis Park recently and was rather impressed.

The actual theater space was considerably smaller and more intimate than I’m used to, with a large curved screen, high-resolution picture quality and an astounding digital sound system. In addition, the reclining seats are noticeably roomier and more comfortable than those I’ve encountered in the past. Seating is reserved — assigned when the tickets are purchased — and we were ushered to our designated spots by a polite young man with a flashlight. When we were all seated another young man walked out to the front and introduced himself as Jeff, our customer service rep who was there to welcome us to the film presentation, thanking us for selecting Kerasotes. He then informed us he would be out in the lobby should anyone need assistance, for whatever reason, encouraging us to ask for him by name. With that we got the previews and the feature presentation, with no advertisements.

When the movie was over and we were leaving the theater, Jeff was there at the exit to thank us again for coming.

A nice personal touch, I thought, bringing a human voice to the brand; with more convenient assigned seating and superior film quality in a comfortable, more intimate viewing environment. Here is a company in a commoditized industry with a blue ocean marketing strategy that makes the customer feel special, by focusing on the overall movie experience, not just the movie.

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