Common Membership/Annual Pass Needs and the Galaxy Solutions to Consider

We know that for our attraction customers, the processing and issuance of memberships/annual passes both onsite and online is a major operational function – and sometimes a pain point. In fact, we’ve been working with several customers lately about their membership/annual pass operations and a review of their current offerings has prompted a series of recommendations from our Galaxy team. We thought it would be useful to highlight some of these recommendation in the following blog post.

One note: To avoid continually saying “membership/annual pass”  or “members/passholders”, from this point forward, we will refer to both as a “membership” or “member”. But please know that unless otherwise noted, these recommendations apply to both memberships and annual passes.

Make Sure You’re Selling Memberships Through the eGalaxy Web Store

Some attractions do not sell memberships through the eGalaxy Web Store, opting to sell only onsite or through a separate platform. But the eGalaxy Web Store fully supports the sale and renewal of memberships online. This is not only important because it adds another revenue generating channel to your operations, but it also allows the purchase of other products in the same transaction when a guest is purchasing or renewing. Attractions selling memberships online also save time and resources because these transactions don’t need to happen with a sales attendant at your venue.

You Should Be Issuing Digital Membership Cards

Digital membership cards reduce physical waste, save money on card stock and printers, reduce time at the gate since they can be purchased and delivered at home online, and reduce to an extent the time needed to replace lost cards. They’re also more convenient for guests since they don’t need to keep track of a physical card and can just bring their phone to the gate to be scanned. Digital memberships are a win-win.

During an online purchase, guests can select a delivery method of ‘Print on Web’ which will deliver the VisualID of the membership digitally to the guest in their browser. Additionally, when the purchase transaction is complete, the VisualID is available in a mobile friendly window, in a print-at-home format themed for your venue, and an Apple Wallet file. The guest receives a confirmation email with a link leading back to all of three of these methods. We’ve also seen venues direct existing members to a link on their web store where they can input a membership number and last name and then receive a link to add their membership to their Apple Wallet. We also have an Online Member Portal which is a separate section of the eGalaxy Web Store where guests can self-manage various aspects of their membership. They can access a digital representation of their membership on the portal, as well as an Apple Wallet link.

Allow Members To Book Reservations During a Sale or Renewal

Many attractions began requiring members to make a timed reservation to visit their venue when Covid began, to help manage capacity. We’ve seen that in many instances, attractions have realized the benefits of these reservations even in a post-Covid world. They’re still requiring reservations.

Using the eGalaxy web store to sell or renew memberships allows the sale of additional products – including these member reservations. The reservation products can be added via Galaxy Upsell or via a link typically placed in the cart that leads the guest to a page where the reservation can be made. You can add language to the reservations page that explains that even members need to reserve a time to visit your venue, and then add the reservation as a $0.00 product to the cart. We’ve also seen venues charge a nominal fee to reserve the time, as an additional revenue stream but also as a way to discourage members from reserving times “in-case” – ones that they don’t know if they actually intend to show up for.

Make Sure to Capitalize on Membership Add-on Entitlements

Are you leveraging add-on entitlements? In Galaxy, a membership can hold attached packages like a certain amount of guest passes, certain parking privileges, or discounts on food and beverage or retail.

These packages usually contain ‘deferred’ products or entitlements, meaning your guest can redeem them at a later date at any Galaxy Point of Sale, Order Entry node or even on the Online Member Portal. Additionally, benefits can be added anytime during the membership year, which is useful when perhaps a new show or exhibit is added and that package was not included as a benefit in the original membership.

Leverage Two Ways to Sell Gift Memberships

Guests can purchase gift memberships using Galaxy. But as we all know, there are often two different scenarios with a gift membership. First, the purchaser wants the name of the recipient and their demographic details to be on the membership and have it sent to them, but they don’t want the recipient to be billed for the membership. Second, they may want to keep the gift membership completely secret until it’s gifted to the recipient, excluding the recipient’s personal details, etc. Galaxy can handle both.

In the first scenario, a regular membership should be purchased. Through clear text directions on the web store, you can direct the purchaser through the transaction, entering the relevant information for the recipient. At the checkout page, the purchaser can be instructed to enter their own information as the ‘billing’ contact – then the completed membership is sent to the recipient and a payment confirmation is sent to the purchaser.

In the second scenario, we recommend selling a regular ticket that can be upgraded to a membership on site. The purchaser buys a ticket that carries an upgrade value of the desired membership. The ticket can be delivered in a print-at-home format with a barcode that can be upgraded on-site via Ticket Upgrade to the membership product.

You Can Use Payment Calculator and Pass Portal at Point of Sale

Payment Calculator can be used at Point of Sale to sell a membership on a payment plan. It will walk the operator through the sales process collecting all the necessary information and providing guests the necessary collateral. Use Pass Portal from the Point of Sale menu to assist guests who already have passes with their payment plans. Utilizing Pass Portal in this manner can keep your operator within the Point of Sale, reducing transaction time.

If any of these membership recommendations resonate as useful for your venue, don’t hesitate to reach out to your contact at Gateway, or fill out this form, to kick off a conversation.