Category: Case Studies

Small Experienced-Based Business, The Splatter Studio, Leverages ProfitRover to Help Paint the Perfect Pricing Picture to Drive Profitability Business Scenario & Challenge According to a study conducted by Expedia and the Center for Generational Kinetics, 74 percent of Americans now prioritize experiences over products or things. An experience occurs “when a company intentionally uses services as the stage, and goods as props, to engage individual customers in a way that creates a memorable event”—think axe-throwing facilities, escape rooms, and sip-and-paint studios. While millennials are leading the charge in this transition, older generations are starting to embrace this trend as well, especially after spending significant time at home during the past several years. The Splatter Studio is one such experienced-based retailer. The two-year-old small business offers two creative spaces in Metro Atlanta where anyone can explore their inner artist. Upon entering the space, guests find the walls and floors of the studio splattered with a stunning rainbow of paint, existing in sharp contrast to the blank canvases that await them. It’s a very immersive experience where guests come to fling, throw, and splatter paint, allowing them to really dive into their creative sides. Each studio provides all the different tools, paint, and protective gear needed to create a splash while also staying dry. Guests, in turn, leave with their own painting to take home and remember the experience by. In addition to sixty to ninety minute Splatter sessions, Splatter Studio also offers party packages for larger groups, which are popular for team-building activities, birthday parties, and family reunions. A session can be a very cross-generational experience. “We are a relatively new and extremely unique business, very much the first action-painting experience focused specifically on splattering, pouring, flinging, and throwing paint in free form,” said Jenna Rees, Chief Brand Officer at The Splatter Studio. “It’s not an instructed class. What we offer differs from the traditional transactional-based retail experience. You’re not walking out with goods, per se, but you’re walking out with an experience.” As such, getting the pricing right was very important from the onset. Splatter Studio needed to develop a perfect price point for its different customer segments, as well as a profit margin that would be successful to grow the business in order to eventually franchise it. The company started working with ProfitRover right from the beginning to track data on its bookings and reservations, as well as identify any trends and make pricing suggestions. “Obviously, we had looked at our cost of goods and labor to initially determine what pricing seemed appropriate,” said Rees. “But ProfitRover was there early on to help us gauge that initial pricing for our sessions, as well as develop pricing for our private parties and other packages that we offer. It was really about getting ahead of the curve because we knew with an experience-based business, dynamic pricing was something we’d be interested in implementing in the future.” Solution: ProfitRover To drive its pricing strategy, Splatter Studio leveraged ProfitRover, a smart-pricing recommendation tool With the solution, Splatter Studio has been able to track data associated with the price points that were established in the beginning, allowing Founder Howard Krinsky to see whether or not his initial pricing strategy was working. According to Krinsky, “As a retailer, you’re always afraid to make a move on price. With ProfitRover, we had experts backed by actual data that allowed us to maximize our revenue potential. Being able to look at numbers in visual charts and have little cues that indicate growth potential helped us more easily and quickly digest the pricing data.” “It’s been refreshing to work with ProfitRover because there’s a sense that the entire team genuinely cares about our business,” said Krinsky. “They ask all the right questions and are willing to look at things from a different point of view. We have a much better understanding of how pricing works for us. Additionally, we’re learning so much about our business that goes beyond ordering paint and canvas.” One concern Splatter Studio initially had was the ability to integrate with its Point-of-Sale (POS) systems. It had used Square for add-ons, such as in-studio purchases. But now, the company is using FareHarbor for its bookings along with the associated POS system for online and over-the-phone reservations. “We don’t really have to worry about giving ProfitRover the data at all,” said Rees. “Team members are able to go in there and pull the data they need to provide accurate numbers on our ProfitRover dashboard. It’s really convenient and easy for us.” Results Overall, ProfitRover’s data has really helped Splatter Studio make small price changes along the way in areas that offered growth opportunities. Key benefits Splatter Studio has realized since the implementation of ProfitRover include: One thing the team at The Splatter Studio is excited about with the ProfitRover data is the ability to plan for and more easily implement dynamic pricing in the future. “Being an experience-based business, we’re very aware of the changes in retail, the changes in what people are seeking,” said Rees. “I think people are getting more accustomed to dynamic pricing. We’re seeing it, obviously, with the airlines, concerts, and ride-share companies. I feel good about us getting ahead of the curve and being prepared for that shift when the time is right for Splatter Studio.” Of course, inflation is also top of mind for the coming year. Prices are rising on supplies, such as wood, canvas, paint, and even containers and tools that are used in the studios. As those costs continue to rise, Splatter Studio is going to eventually have to adjust its pricing. ProfitRovers’s tools will allow Splatter Studio to see those trends before they’re happening, so certain pricing can be adjusted to negate some of the inflation costs—without simply raising prices across the board. According to Krinsky, “Our plan is to grow and scale our business over time, doing it the right way. As new studios in different markets come online, we expect ProfitRover to be there to help

Background: Operating within the ever-dynamic and fast-paced amusement and theme parks industry, Global Village, a subsidiary of Dubai Holding Entertainment (DHE), aspired to optimize its admissions products. The global attraction had already embraced variable pricing, but searched for a more refined model to maximize revenue. Amid the need for a strategic pricing model, Global Village turned to the smart pricing tool, ProfitRover. Alongside Global Village, other DHE subsidiaries including Roxy Cinemas, Dubai Parks and Resorts, and Green Planet also collaborated with ProfitRover. Solution: Addressing the unique needs of Global Village, the ProfitRover team worked with internal stakeholders to introduce pricing by Weekpart (Weekday vs. Weekend). This strategy was expected to reflect the differences in the customer profiles and willingness to pay between weekday and weekend visitors, and enhance Global Village’s market positioning and product offering in the UAE’s competitive entertainment marketplace. Business: Within the amusement and theme parks industry, the implementation of data-driven pricing strategies and accurate demand forecasting are integral to business success. Tackling common challenges such as underpricing, overpricing, and erratic demand fluctuations requires a holistic understanding of the market trends and customer behaviors. By intelligently adjusting prices according to Weekpart, businesses can tap into peak periods, maximizing profitability and customer satisfaction. Experience: The ProfitRover team, beyond simply providing a cutting-edge tool, served as invaluable pricing consultants, building trust with the client, performing ad hoc pricing scenarios based on client feedback, speeding up the implementation process, and aiding in the integration of client data and resources. Central to the experience was the intuitive ProfitRover dashboard, including demand and revenue forecasts, summary views, benchmarks to past performance, and scenario planning capabilities. Technology: ProfitRover is a pricing recommendation tool that leverages advanced analytics and machine learning, eliminating guesswork from pricing strategies. Hosted on a secure cloud platform, ProfitRover harnesses the power of artificial intelligence to Forecast Demands, calculate Price Elasticities, and optimize prices. By integrating data from multiple sources such as customer transactions, location details, and external factors like weather and holidays, ProfitRover analyzes the key drivers of your business, and offers daily or even hourly sales forecasts, enabling strategic pricing decisions that enhance profitability. Results: The partnership between Global Village and ProfitRover yielded remarkable results. With visitor numbers soaring to new heights and admission revenues beating DHE’s initial expectations by over 30%. The accuracy of the ProfitRover forecast was stellar, scoring over 97% for Gate products and close to 100% for all products across the majority of the season. This level of accuracy is rare in the pricing space and testament to the power of ProfitRover. The impact of ProfitRover is clearly demonstrated in Global Village’s successful season, manifesting the true potential of informed pricing decisions.