Streamlining Improvement

How the Movie Theater Industry Has Improved & Streamlined Its Processes

By: Kimberly Grant

If you’re a Millennial like me, then you remember the somewhat old way of buying a movie ticket.  You would call the MovieFone service, listen to the overdramatic man tell you all about the day’s showtimes, select a movie and a movie theater.  Then, you would then go to the physical movie theater, purchase the ticket at the box office, purchase food and drink (or sneak them in), and then pick the best available seat once you entered the theater.  That customer journey is no more.

There’s An App for That

These days, the customer journey for movie theater ticket buying has become more simplified and a little less personable.  The major movie theaters have mobile apps for consumers to select the movie and time, then the seat they want to sit in, and pay for their ticket on their phone.  You can even pay for your food and drinks via the app, then pick them up.  That level of automation is a clear sign that movie theaters have improved their customer journey process.  But, how did they get there?  What else did they improve.

The typical improvement process for an organization looks like this:

1. Product research (pre-design, usability testing, post-use)
2. Trial and error (what worked; what didn’t)
3. Customer feedback (surveys, reviews, focus groups, social media, etc)
4. Competitors (what’s the competition doing with their products, services, ads, etc)
5. Empathy (for your customer’s journey and perception of your brand)
6. Product improvement
7. Process improvement (fewer defects, better service, better optimization, etc)

Streamlining Hollywood

The above seems straight forward.  But what about an organization with a long-established brand?  For example, movie theaters have been around since Thomas Edison’s Vitascope projector was used at Vitascope Hall on Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana.  That was in 1896.  The movie theater industry has seen tremendous growth since then.  We won’t go on the full movie theater journey, though.  We’ll just discuss the more recent improvements.

As mentioned above, the customer journey for buying movie theater tickets could take anywhere from five minutes to an hour; depending on whether or not you know what movie you want to see.  This new and improved customer journey was not a coincidence.  A lot of thought went into how theater companies like AMC Theatres decided to improve their customer experiences; starting with their journey. 

No doubt, surveys, focus groups, and competitor-watching was involved, along with process research for how other companies are streamlining their customer journeys.  For instance, one can argue that buying an AMC Theatre ticket is similar to the customer journey for American Airlines.  The AA customer journey includes pre-purchase of tickets, purchase, post-purchase, alerts/notifications, in-flight services, ability to check-in for a flight, and (the best part) ability to upgrade to First Class from your mobile device. 

Customers Talked, They Listened

The customer journey wasn’t the only thing that was improved by movie theaters.  They also improved the seating.  There was a time that going to the movie theater meant narrow, uncomfortable seats with sticky floors.  Movie theaters took these negative customer experiences and improved them.

Now, most movie theaters have wide seats with adjustable arms rests.  These same wide seats have soft upholstery and some even recline.  The theaters seem less claustrophobic and the screen quality has improved.  There are options for regular theater, theaters with better sound quality, and theaters with better screen and sound quality.  Like the customer journey, these improvements are the result of listening to their customers, putting themselves in their customers’ shoes, and improving on what people love about going to the movie theater; other than seeing a great movie.

Conceding to the Concessions

Last, but not least, the concession stand has seen a major improvement since the days of popcorn, soda, hot dogs, nachos, and candy.  Although, there’s nothing wrong with the classics (movie theater popcorn always tastes better).  There are a wide range of available options in movie theaters now that weren’t available just five years ago.  There’s something for everyone.  AMC Theatre’s concession includes popcorn, five million soda flavors, pizza, ice cream, snacks, and bottled water.  And, then there’s the bar.

In an effort to make the movie-going experience more memorable, CMX introduced CinèBistro in Miami in 2017.  That’s the movie theater-types that are basically restaurants inside of the movie theater.  You have your own servers (please make sure to tip your servers), you can have beer, wine, or a cocktail, and there’s a full-on bar menu.  You get all of this while watching a movie.  It’s a movie buff’s dream; unless the movie itself is bad.  Then, it’s a bad movie with good food.

At What Cost?

Naturally, with these improvements there was a cost associated with it.  In my post “The Movie Streaming Effect”, I discussed how the movie theater industry had not been a victim of price elasticity for decades.  With the advent of streaming services, same-day movie releases, and the rising costs of movie theater tickets and concession items, the movie theater industry is becoming more and more elastic.  In other words, all of those great improvements carried a hefty price hike. 

You can’t go to the movies and get the full movie theater customer experience for $20 anymore.  Now, a CinèBistro-style movie theater experience for two people could cost between $100 to $150.  Imagine paying that much money and the movie is bad.  You would feel like the movie theater experience wasn’t worth it.

With all improvements (and inflation) everyone pays the price.  However, as marketers know, convenience and improvement is great, but it will cost you.

Interested in more ways to get your brand started? You can read my last post about industry specialization here.

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