This research investigated the customer experiences within the entertainment industry as far as the introduction of online ticketing purchasing is concerned by utilizing the case of Event Cinemas. To achieve the above objective, the research used both the qualitative and quantitative research methods. The qualitative data was collected using questionnaires as the main data collection tool. The questionnaire aimed at getting information on the overall cinema consumer experiences in the industry with special reference to the online ticket purchasing programs. The set of questions contained in the questionnaire were aimed at capturing individual emotions and opinions on the online ticketing platforms which to a large extend brought in the aspect of opinion based research design. The questionnaires were a combination of both the closed-ended and Likert-type questions for which the respondents provides their answers.
The quantitative data was collected in online platforms where various customer surveys were conducted. With the embracement of technology in customer service, it is becoming easier by the days to establish information on such factors like whether the customers are satisfied, like a certain product or service or even what they feel should be changed in service delivery (Popa, & Barna, 2013). In the light of the above changes, the research engaged various online sites including the infamous social networking ones to get a view of what the consumer experience has been like in the entertainment industry since the inception of online ticketing platforms.
Limitations of the study
Research work is never exhaustible since most studies will not cover all the various factors pertaining to them due to a limitation or another (Velte, & Stawinoga, 2017). This research is not different as the researchers experienced various unforeseen limitations in the effort to accomplish the work.
The first greatest challenge that harbored the study was lack of financial resources (Nwokah, & Gladson-Nwokah, 2013). Money is always a problem especially to students since they are reliant on their guardians or better still, their parents. On the other hand, research work consumes a lot of finances for purchasing the right equipment to be used in the study, for purchasing a specific statistical software for data analysis, to hire people for data collection or even to simply reward those that participated in the study with such items like gifts or giveaways. Given that majority of the group members are students, the financial challenge was a constant one all throughout the study period.
Secondly, time poses the other challenge to researchers (Niladri, 2015). As students, tuition work was demanding attention on one side while on the other side the study was to be submitted within a certain deadline. Notably, various elements within the study with projected deadlines did not fall into place which ended up disrupting the entire timeframe for the project. Further, working as a group is extremely challenging since coordination is always a challenge and a single member’s unwillingness to cooperate can derail the entire groups’ efforts.
Also, in carrying out the study, coming up with an appropriate sample size was a challenge considering the huge number of cinema consumers who visits Event Cinemas yet their data was not recorded anywhere for reference purposes. In other cases, Keiningham, & Zaki, (2017) says even if the data was available, some consumers are one-time visitors hence not viable for study.
Other limitations as identified by Joshi, (2014) include data collection processes like presence of the researchers which interfered with the way the respondents answered the questions and timing of the study since the period had witnessed few films having been released in the last three months leading to the study period.
Recommendations
From an analysis of the online ticketing process of Event Cinemas, the study identified that there were more visits than purchases recorded in a day. Such consumer behaviors in online platforms can partially be explained by their dissatisfaction with the site experience (Philipp, 2013). As a result, this study recommends that the company carries out site optimization for top notch consumer experiences which would translate to more purchases as compared to the competitors.
Further, the company should reconsider the use of third parties to draw traffic to their site. Jain, Aagja, & Bagdare, (2017) argues that embedding is a nice traffic generation technique but marketing experts have branded it effective as well in repelling the potential buyers. The consumers in such sites feels like they are paying their money to another company instead of the mother company and that is an enough reason to send buyers away (Jana, 2014). Event Cinemas should thus consider ingrown techniques to generate and maintain traffic.
References
Jain, R., Aagja, J., & Bagdare, S. (2017). Customer experience - a review and research agenda. Journal of Service Theory and Practice, 27(3), 642-662. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/1891344496?accountid=158399
Jana, A. (2014). Impacts of the attributes of service quality on customer satisfaction and the interrelationship among service quality, customer satisfaction and customer loyalty. Johar, 9(2) Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/1733209294?accountid=158399
Joshi, S. (2014). Enhancing customer experience: An exploratory study on the role of retailer as an effective touch-point for enhancing customer experience for cellular service providers. Drishtikon : A Management Journal, 5(1) Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/1733200229?accountid=158399
Keiningham, T., Ball, J., Benoit (née Moeller), S., Bruce, H. L., Buoye, A., Dzenkovska, J., . . . Zaki, M. (2017). The interplay of customer experience and commitment. The Journal of Services Marketing, 31(2), 148-160. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/1890811588?accountid=158399
Niladri, S. D. (2015). Innovative product management driving enhanced customer experience management (CEM). Telecom Business Review, 8(1), 63-68. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/1845226123?accountid=158399
Nwokah, N. G., & Gladson-Nwokah, J. (2013). Delivery customer experience management practices in the UK and nigeria aviation industry. Interdisciplinary Studies Journal, 3(2), 72-102. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/1415613319?accountid=158399
Philipp, K. (2013). The case of amazon.com: Towards a conceptual framework of online customer service experience (OCSE) using the emerging consensus technique (ECT). The Journal of Services Marketing, 27(6), 443-457. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezp-01.lirn.net/10.1108/JSM-02-2012-0030
Popa, V., & Barna, M. (2013). Customer and shopper experience management. Valahian Journal of Economic Studies, 4(2), 81-88. Retrieved from https://search-proquest-com.ezp-01.lirn.net/docview/1541965719?accountid=158399
Velte, P., & Stawinoga, M. (2017). Integrated reporting: The current state of empirical research, limitations and future research implications. Journal of Management Control, 28(3), 275-320. doi:http://dx.doi.org.ezp-01.lirn.net/10.1007/s00187-016-0235-4
