At CueBox, we know that performing arts organizations are constantly balancing the challenge of delivering high quality programming while operating with lean resources. This month, we had the privilege of speaking with Robert Sweibel, CEO of Sweibel Arts. Robert has decades of experience working with performing arts organizations across the country and helping arts organizations elevate their performance. They align vision with strategy and planning by connecting people, tech, data, systems, and processes to smart decision-making.

In our conversation, Robert shared:

• Marketing best practices
• How to better leverage CRM data for marketing

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Key Marketing Best Practices

Start with goals, not tactics. Strategy should drive campaigns.

When asked about the very first step arts organizations should take with limited resources, Robert stressed the importance of strategic clarity.

“In our consulting work across the country, we find that it’s essential to start at the very top of the thinking pillar. That means talking about goals, strategies, and plans that guide your institution. Because the goals of an organization — whether that’s more ticket sales, deeper community engagement, or stronger donor retention — should always drive your marketing tactics.”

Too often, organizations leap straight into campaigns or social media pushes without aligning them to overarching objectives. Robert encourages leaders to pause and define:

• What are we trying to achieve this season? (e.g., subscription growth, donor upgrades, new audience demographics)
• What role should marketing play in that journey?
• How do our limited resources best serve those goals?

By setting clear goals, organizations can focus resources where they matter most and avoid spreading themselves too thin.

Focus on channels that deliver ROI.

• Email marketing – still the highest ROI when done with segmentation and clear calls to action
• Direct mail – effective for targeted campaigns like season packages or long-running shows
• Digital advertising – measurable and scalable through social media and retargeting

Consistency matters more than scale. A small team can punch above its weight with reliable and targeted communication.

Another recurring theme in the conversation was the outsized impact of consistent messaging.

“Consistency is one of the least expensive and most effective marketing strategies available. Sending regular emails, keeping your social media presence alive and authentic, staying on message — these things cost less than big ad campaigns but pay dividends over time”

Consistency builds recognition, trust, and brand loyalty. For small and mid-sized groups, this is often more attainable than costly ad campaigns.

Targeted audience segmentation. Sending targeted messages to specific audience segments.

“So often organizations assume they know who their audience is, but they haven’t really dug into the data. They haven’t done the segmentation. They haven’t asked who’s actually coming, who’s renewing, who’s lapsing, and why. If you can segment your audience, even in basic ways, you can target your communications much more effectively. For example, sending a “we miss you” message to lapsed subscribers is much more effective than blasting everyone with the same message. And when you’re operating on a limited budget, efficiency is key.”

Community connections are key. Lean into your communities.

“Smaller organizations often have deeper roots in their communities. They know their audiences personally. They’re part of the neighborhood. That’s a huge advantage. Use it. Partner with local businesses. Highlight local artists. Tell stories that resonate with your specific community. That intimacy can be more powerful than a national ad campaign.”

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How to Leverage CRM Data For Marketing

In the past, many organizations just use “spray and pray” and send out brochures and emails to everyone and hope for the best. In terms of best practice, it is important to be able to distinguish between your different groups of audience including your new to file patrons, frequent patrons, subscribers, members, donors and overlapping segments and meet them where they’re at.

For example, your existing and valuable patrons might not need a discount. Your infrequent and likely to lapse low-value patrons are more likely to need an aggressive offer to get them to return. And when you capitalize on that information with offers that meet people where they are, you see success.

In practice, in order to get the above targeted segments, you can use your CRM such as CueBox to:

• opt patrons into your marketing emails and build the largest possible opt-in audience
• use CueBox to easily identify these different segments and send targeted marketing emails or materials to them
• use CueBox’s built-in automated abandoned cart emails to retarget high-intent patrons to come back and complete their ticket purchase
• use CueBox’s marketing pixels and google tag manager integrations for digital marketing and retargeting of specific segments

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Watch the Full Interview‍

🎥 You can watch our full conversation with Robert Sweibel above.

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Conclusion

At CueBox, we know that every performing arts organization faces the challenge of doing more with less. That’s why we have built an integrated and easy-to-use ticketing and development CRM system that allows you to easily segment your audience for marketing purposes and attract new audience with a mobile-optimized flow.

👉 Ready to see how CueBox can help your organization? Book a Demo today.