Well, we all know that you can renew your SF season pass online and they'll send you a new pass with your old pic in the mail. However, I've yet to make any attempt to renew my pass, yet SFI sent passes to my wife and me with instructions on how to 'activate' the passes. I guess we wont have to worry about if the passes will get lost in the mail or whatnot!
I just find it kinda odd: SFI shipping out passes like they used to do with pre-approved credit cards. I wonder if this is the brainchild og marketing guru Danny-boy... FYI only, jeremy
It's a progam that they been doing at a few of their parks the last 3 years.
I think it's a good idea because if you renew before they send you one they charge you a shipping fee and they don't allow will call pickups at my park SFDK.
I'm with Gonch on this one. This actually is a great idea. It's incentive for last year's passholders to get a new pass, and perhaps folks around said person (family, friends, etc.) may decide to get a pass, as well.
One of things that SFI is doing right. Now, if only they'd send you a Q-bot in the mail ahead of time, to save you even more waiting in line, eh Gonch? :)
This has happened in the past. Last year I recieved my pass in the mail.
I personally think this is a waist of money for the park. If someone wants to renew their pass they will do it themselves. How much does it cost to print out all those passes.
How much does it cost to print out all those passes.
Probably not nearly as much as you think.
One renewal because of the mailing probably pays for thousands of passes that potentially get tossed in the trash.
And most parks send passholders some kind of reminder (even if a little postcard) - this puts the pass in your hands and I'd bet is extremely effective at getting renewals.
Heck, every year I've stayed at CP they send me a Getaway Guide the next year. Why? Because who does it make more sense to send stuff like this to than people who have been your customers in the past?
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Now, if only they'd send you a Q-bot in the mail ahead of time, to save you even more waiting in line, eh Gonch?
This year you can order Flash Pass on the SF site. Not sure if that means bots or just the ticket things, but it IS a step in the right direction. :)
*** Edited 3/29/2007 4:11:10 AM UTC by Lord Gonchar***
Personally, for me (as much as I complain about SF), I still go, and this actually makes it easier for me to renew my pass. Now, all I have to do is go online and activate it--I don't even have to take a trip down to SFA before I use it at SFGAdv (which I plan to do next weekend).
Add that to the positive improvements to Six Flags checklist.
SFNE has been doing it for 3yrs now. The last 2 yrs I got my new passes at the end of the season and they still mailed me out the passes in the spring which is stupid and a waste. What if you want a parking pass, now that they print parking on the pass. You would have to get another pass made so it is a waste of money.
If I hadn't renewed, and a fully printed pass came in the mail, with my picture on it and everything, and I was told I simply needed to go online and activate it (no waiting to get it processed or anything, walk right into the park the first day)... and it would only cost me the price of one day's admission (at least for SFA that's how it is)... I'd be VERY likely to activate the pass! In this era, it's all about convienence and lack of customer effort... if a customer has to do a lot of work or needs to go out of their way to do something, chances are they're going to turn down the offer, but this offer couldn't make renweing any simplier or easier. I think it's a GREAT idea and as others have said, it would only take a small handfull of the mailed passes to be activated to pay off the entire campaign.
Right now, Six Flags needs people who will come back year after year, not just people who will come the years when there is something new. Getting people to renew their season pass does just that. On top of that, people who come consecutive years and see improvements year after year are more likely to renew the following year. It's all a great idea to rebuild a faithful customer base.
I think it's absolutely brilliant. The passes cost very little to print, making this a relatively INexpensive marketing promo that leads DIRECTLY to sales.
The pass gets tossed in with the rest of the bills, when it comes time to pay the bills each month there the pass sits waiting with the rest of the bills and the customers checkbook, credit card or cash in hand. Sounds like a good plan.
I got one, too. It's not as expensive as you'd think, since it only goes to those who had passes last year and haven't renewed yet. I was going to renew mine online, but ended up getting them (I needed 2) at Safeway, and I'll get them done Saturday at the park when they open for Early SP Processing. *** Edited 3/29/2007 2:36:35 PM UTC by ilovethewildone***
