VSO Marketing Survey Analysis: Decisions and Sampling Bias

Management Questions and Survey Objectives

The Vancouver Symphony Orchestra (VSO) faces a number of distinct management challenges. The Symphony experienced a decline in attendance that was particularly pronounced in the early part of the 1986 season, accompanied by a corresponding drop in revenue. Management is concerned about the financial trajectory for the remainder of that season and for the following year. Some of the short-term sluggishness can be attributed to Expo '86, which would have absorbed a significant share of discretionary spending for many Vancouverites. However, the decline in subscriptions had been an ongoing issue even before Expo began. The central challenge for management, therefore, is to understand the nature of the ticket decline in both the short and long run.

Understanding whether pricing, the product, or other factors are contributing to the decline in sales is essential if management is to develop a strategy capable of counteracting these forces. The survey covers a variety of subjects with the objective of gathering information that management can use to create a new marketing strategy for the coming season, and possibly to bring about changes that will stem losses within the existing season as well.

The survey begins with basic information, but one notable shortcoming is that it does not provide comparable data. To identify changes in buying behavior or trends, it is necessary to compare current behavior against past behavior. Because the questions ask only about recent behavior, it is impossible to identify shifts in consumer patterns over time.

The survey does offer some insight into the demand drivers for symphony performances. For example, data on the types of music that audiences seek out is valuable because some of the change in demand might well be product-driven. The survey also sheds light on how consumers perceive the VSO. While the VSO is the only orchestra in Vancouver, there are other entertainment options competing for the same audience, and it is important to understand whether a perception problem is contributing to sluggish demand—that is, whether the product is not considered compelling enough to attract audiences.

Price-point data is another important element. Pricing strategy is a key lever for stimulating demand, and if consumers are financially stretched after Expo, the VSO may need to adjust prices downward to bring audiences back. Show timing is also addressed in the survey. Overall, the survey provides a reasonable amount of the information management needs to make decisions about scheduling, programming, quality, marketing, and pricing. However, it offers limited demographic insight—postal codes and age ranges are collected, but there is little psychographic data and nothing that would meaningfully illuminate consumer motivations, support partnership development, or explain why the downward trend in ticket sales began in the first place. Critically, the survey did not specifically target former customers.

Key Decisions from Survey Findings

Several issues emerge clearly from the survey data. Pricing is a significant concern among respondents: only 13% rated it as "excellent," while 41% described it as "fair" or "poor." Pricing is a variable the VSO can directly control. The paired-perceptions question indicates that lower prices are preferred but that audiences also express a desire to see international performers. One approach would be to offer more low-priced tickets—including for performances featuring international artists—in order to rebuild the habit of regular symphony attendance. Discounts on matinees could also serve this purpose.

Parking emerged as another major grievance. This is unlikely to change given the Orpheum's fixed location, but the VSO could promote the use of the SkyTrain as an alternative. The walk from Granville Station is manageable for most patrons. A caveat, however, is that the postal code data suggests a significant portion of the audience comes from the west side of Vancouver and West Vancouver—areas not served by SkyTrain—which limits the usefulness of this approach for that segment.

The demographic information also provides direction for advertising spending. There is a clear preference among respondents for the Vancouver Sun, which offers city-wide coverage, but advertisements need to be placed in sections that reach female readers, who make up the majority of respondents. An alternative approach could target men—those who are currently less likely to be making purchase decisions for symphony attendance or completing audience questionnaires. Advertising in the business or sports sections, for example, might succeed in drawing a new male audience segment to the VSO.

Sampling Bias

The survey exhibits a clear sampling bias toward female respondents. Because the survey was administered as an audience questionnaire, it captured only those present at performances. Of respondents, 61% were female. Given that many attendees likely come as couples, a 61% female response rate suggests a meaningful bias—if one questionnaire was completed per couple, the data skews toward female preferences and perceptions.

Additionally, while the case highlights the strategic importance of marketing to non-subscribers, the survey was conducted exclusively with current audience members, entirely excluding those who have stopped attending. There is no information from this survey about the preferences of lapsed casual attendees or former subscribers. As a result, the survey data is more useful for encouraging existing customers to attend more frequently than it is for reaching and converting new or lapsed customers.

Finally, participation in the survey was voluntary, introducing self-selection bias. Respondents are those who chose to complete the questionnaire, which is not a random sample and limits the generalizability of the findings. Taken together, these issues—gender skew, exclusion of non-attendees, and self-selection—represent multiple compounding biases that constrain the survey's usefulness.