Up close and personal with consumers
Although most people associate Nordisk Film Cinemas with magical, big screen experiences and the smell of popcorn, the cinema chain is a retail business in its true traditional sense. While more cinemas and a broad range of experiences are part of the strategy, close consumer relations are key to future success.
When Nordisk Film Cinemas opens a newly built cinema in Næstved in 2011, it will be the chain’s 19th, with more in the pipeline. The company strategy embraces not only growth via more cinemas but also cinema ‘shelves’ stocked with more products in the shape of alternatives to the film-going experience.
‘We must retain and expand our position as the largest, best-run cinema chain in Denmark. Our main product is film showings for cinema guests, but we can also exploit our theatres’ potential for other types of viewings and events. We are currently working on developing this area. The cinema club BioZonen, for example, can give us more information about our guests and customers, which we can use to target our efforts more precisely and offer the market what it wants,’ observes John Tønnes, general manager of Nordisk Film Cinemas.
Quality is the code word for Nordisk Film Cinemas in 2011. It’s that simple. The core service is providing quality experiences to the approximately six million guests that visit the chain’s cinemas every year. And guests are the heart and soul of the business. Loyalty programmes like BioZonen have helped Nordisk Film Cinemas forge even closer bonds with cinema-goers. Since the launch of Denmark’s largest film site, kino.dk, BioZonen has been revised and extended with BioBonus, a dedicated loyalty programme whose members can collect points that they can exchange for cash rewards personally tailored to them. The club has over 180,000 members, and its goal is to reach the 200,000 mark by the end of 2010.
Top-quality experiences and higher consumer satisfaction also depend on physical surroundings. Several major renovation projects are therefore underway in a number of cinemas. For example, Palads in Copenhagen has undergone a substantial, much-needed facelift, and several other Nordisk Film cinemas have been partly refurbished.
‘Although we are big, we have to be on our toes all the time and make sure we live up to our guests’ expectations. They have any number of other exciting offers to spend their time and money on. Throughout our organisation, we strive to give our audiences our all every single day – and we expect this of everyone no matter their function,’ John Tønnes concludes.
