What Will I Learn From This Study?
The study is designed for performing arts venues that want to gain insights into their audience.
If desired, former visitors and non-visitors can also be surveyed.
A balanced questionnaire ensures feedback about all relevant areas:
-
Visitor experience in your venue
-
Impact of your organisation on the visitors (Impact Compass Model)
-
Evaluation of programming and infrastructure
-
Detailed audience profiles
-
Visitor preferences and motivations
-
Assessment of communication strategies
-
Net Promoter Score
-
Concrete feedback and suggestions via open questions
-
Why do former visitors stop coming?
-
Why do non-visitors not come? How can they be convinced?
-
...
The questionnaire will be personalized to the reality of your organisation. Additionally, you have the (complimentary) option to add custom questions or exclude specific topics or questions if you do not wish to include them in the study. The study provides practical insights that are directly applicable. Ample space is also provided for qualitative feedback through open questions.
Regardless of the number of respondents you reach for your venue, the final report will also allow you to benchmark against national and international results, as well as to compare your local results with a cluster of comparable cultural houses.
​Which target audience?
The study is designed to survey the visitors and non-visitors of your venue.
Visitors are defined as people who have visited the venue in the past 12 months. This includes both regular attendees and occasional visitors, such as individuals who accompany others but may not directly engage with the core programming (e.g., parents bringing their children to a performance).
If desired, you can also include former visitors (people who have stopped attending) or non-visitors (people who have never visited your venue). The dynamic survey provides specific questions for these groups. The system recognizes these profiles and presents only the questions relevant to them. Separate communication materials are provided to effectively reach non-visitors (if desired).
A simplified version of the questionnaire for specific target groups, is dynamically integrated into the survey.
The study is available in six languages. You can select the languages in which you wish to offer the survey for your venue. The available languages are: Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. The number of languages you choose has no impact on the participation fee.
Is it labour-intensive for my organisation to participate?
The study is designed to be conducted in a convenient and efficient manner.
Since most cultural organisations may not have the capacity to dedicate significant staff time to visitor research, the workload is kept to an absolute minimum thanks to the set-up of the study and the support of the SentoVox team.
What time commitment is expected from you or a staff member of your venue?
-
Registering your organisation for the study.
-
Providing information about your venue and offering that allows the personalisation of your survey. This is organized through an easy and well-structured online research platform. Based on this information, the research team programs your individual survey.
-
Promoting the survey (see 'communication') through one or more channels, depending on your preferences and possibilities.
At the end of the study, you will receive a clear, easily readable, and practically applicable research report with valuable insights for your venue. You also always have access to a live dynamic dashboard with your results.
Personalized Questionnaire
The study is based on a well-balanced questionnaire specifically designed for performing arts venues
In collaboration with academic partners, relevant sector organizations, and professionals from the cultural industry, a survey has been designed that covers the main points of interest for cultural houses. The questionnaire is based on a European standard but has been tailored to the national context of each country. Moreover, the questionnaire is tailored to the differences that exist between theatres, cultural centres, opera houses and concert halls.
The survey is also fully adapted to the specific reality of your venue. Before launching, you will have the opportunity to:
-
​Through the research platform, you can easily and systematically provide key characteristics of your venue to the research team. This information will be used to program a fully customized survey for your venue.
-
Add extra custom questions if desired.
-
Remove questions or answer options that you feel are not relevant for your venue.
-
Personalize questions (e.g., types of performances, programming, visitor engagement activities).
Adding custom questions or removing questions from the general survey can also be done effortlessly via the research platform. This ensures that the research team develops a fully personalized survey, while still allowing for anonymous benchmarking with other venues.
The survey system is dynamic and intelligently designed: based on the profile and responses of the participant, only the relevant questions are displayed. This approach also allows former visitors and non-visitors (if desired) to be included in the same survey, receiving tailored questions. Separate communication materials for target groups are provided if you choose to include these groups.
​
​
Scientifically grounded
The study is supported by academics from various universities and research centres.
They collaborated to create a balanced questionnaire that will be implemented in the participating countries.
The academic and research partners also ensured the adaptation of the European standard to the national context, recognizing that each country is unique.The questionnaire is consecutively adapted to the differences between theatres, opera houses, cultural centres and concert halls, keeping as much common ground as possible, yet respecting the differences between these types of stage art houses.
Additionally, national sector associations and several field representatives contributed to the development and review of the questionnaire.
At the end of the study, in each country, we will conduct an overarching analysis across the various venues, based on anonymized results. This helps to support the performing arts sector as a whole.
In addition to the comprehensive personalized report with your results, each participating venue will also receive the national and European reports.
What is the participation fee?
The study is offered independently to performing arts venues. It has been developed to provide your organisation with an accessible tool to survey your visitors in a structured and evidence-based manner.
In this independent framework, the costs of the study are covered by the participating organisations. The participation fee reflects the actual cost of the study and includes the entire process from start to finish. Market prices for comparable research are significantly higher.
To fairly distribute the costs, the fee is based on the size and audience reach of the participating venue.
The fee per visitor capacity is determined as follows*:
​
Amounts exclude VAT.
Are you working together with multiple venues or part of a larger structure or organization? Contact us here for a tailored offer for groups.
​
You have the option to allocate the budget in 2025, in 2026, or spread it over two years (50% in 2025 and 50% in 2026).
You can register your venue for the study here.
Reporting & Benchmarking
The study results in a comprehensive research report with practical and actionable insights for your organisation.
This report not only provides detailed information about your local results, but also allows you to (anonymously) compare your results with a cluster of similar performing arts venues in your country and even across Europe.
Clusters are groupings of organisations based on various characteristics such as size, programming, location type, and more. By aggregating the results of multiple venues into clusters, your local results can be compared with similar venues, while ensuring that your data and results remain anonymous at all times.
Your report is always confidential: only your venue will receive its individual results, and these will not be shared with others. However, if you wish, you are free to share your own results publicly.
Reports will be delivered after the research period, which runs from 01/09/2025 to 31/01/2026. You can expect your individual research report no later than 28/02/2026.
You will also have access to an online interactive dashboard via a personal login, allowing you to monitor your results at any time.
.png)
For which venues?
The study is designed for all types of performing arts venues, whether small or large, historic or modern, urban or rural, regardless of their programming, structure, funding model, or audience composition.
From intimate theatres to national opera houses, from independent concert halls to large-scale cultural centres, the common definition of the SentoVox research is "performing arts venues".
The study is highly scalable, making it just as relevant for small venues as it is for major institutions.
For groups of venues—such as city-wide networks, regional collaborations, or federations—a tailored offer is available to maximize insights and benchmarking opportunities.
By participating, your venue also contributes to a stronger performing arts sector, as the aggregated results will be used to further highlight the impact and strengthen the position of the performing arts sector in general.
When?
Registration is possible until 30 June 2026. The research period runs until 31 October 2026.
This extended timeframe provides your organisation with the flexibility to choose the most suitable period to engage your audience and to communicate about the study. You can conduct the study throughout the entire period, or select specific time frames that align with your programming and visitor flow.
​
At the end of the study, you will receive your personalized research report with all results and insights. Additionally, you will have continuous access to an online dashboard via a personal login, allowing you to monitor your venue's results also during and after the study timeframe.
Security
We handle data and results with care.
All systems are secured according to current standards:
-
Secure servers
-
HTTPS – SSL encryption
-
Continuous server backups
-
Anti-BOT measures
-
...
Various quality control measures are applied to ensure data integrity:
-
Consistency checks through control questions
-
Checks for 'speeders' (respondents who complete the survey too quickly) at various points in the survey
-
(Anonymized) IP address checks
-
...
Data Privacy
The study is conducted in accordance with European GDPR regulations.
No personal data of respondents is collected at any point, and the survey is by consequence completely anonymous. It is in no way possible to trace survey responses back to an individual.
How are incentives (prizes) assigned to winners?
The survey system randomly selects winners among the respondents who complete the survey. Those identified as winners will see a unique code at the end of the survey with instructions to contact the research team. This ensures that only the contact details of winners are collected to deliver their prizes. These contact details are deleted immediately after the handover of the prizes.
For each participating venue, we ask for the contact details of one representative: name and email address. These details are used exclusively for communication regarding the study and to grant access to the survey platform.
📌 Your data remains in your control:
-
You can request, update, or delete these details at any time via a simple email request.
-
If desired, you can also add additional representatives to access the research platform and your dashboard.
All data and results are securely stored on protected servers within the European Union or the United Kingdom, in full compliance with EU privacy legislation.
📌 Your study results remain confidential to your venue at all times:
-
They are only shared with the designated contact person(s) within your organization.
-
You are free to share your results publicly if you would choose to do so.
📌 Benchmarking & Sector Insights
To support sector-wide learning, the results from all participating venues will be anonymized and aggregated into grouped analyses.
This allows your venue's results to be compared anonymously with:
✔ A cluster of similar venues
✔ National results
✔ European data
Additionally, these insights provide valuable contributions to strengthening the entire performing arts sector.
Helpdesk
Dedicated Helpdesk Support
A professional helpdesk supports your venue throughout the study.
For every inquiry, a ticket is created to ensure efficient follow-up and personalized assistance.
If visitors to your venue have questions or comments about the survey, they will also be assisted by the helpdesk. They can easily connect with the helpdesk through the help button in the survey.
Groups
For groups and collaborations of venues, a tailored offer is available.
Click here for more information.
Reaching respondents
Collecting Feedback Efficiently
The study is designed to gather visitor feedback as efficiently and effectively as possible. The primary approach is an online survey, but if desired, and if resources are available, it is also possible to survey visitors in person (“live”) with the assistance of your venue staff. A specific briefing is available for this approach.
📌 How It Works
-
You will receive a unique link to your personalized online survey, which you can share with your visitors, former visitors, and even non-visitors if desired.
-
At the start of the study, you will receive a detailed briefing on sample selection strategies and communication options to reach your audience effectively.
-
On the study platform, various communication materials are proposed that you can use for the communication about the study. They contain your personal link and QR-code. It is possible to create your own materials in your brand identity, the basic materials (link, qr-code, study logo, ...) are available for this purpose.
📌 Reaching Visitors, Former Visitors & Non-Visitors
-
We recommend selecting a random sample of visitors from your database and contacting them via email.
-
Alternative outreach methods include:
✅ Communication on website and / or newsletter
✅ On-site recruitment with visuals at your venue
✅ Social media promotion
✅ Other available communication channels -
For former visitors and non-visitors, communication will be handled via general announcements and targeted outreach materials.
-
Different communication materials will be provided to facilitate this process.
📌 Survey Accessibility & Response Rates
-
The survey is fully responsive, making it accessible via computer, tablet, or smartphone.
-
The pilot study (conducted with over 130 cultural venues) demonstrated that these methods yield strong response rates.
-
Approximately 80% of respondents completed the questionnaire, an exceptionally high result for quantitative research, reflecting strong audience engagement.
Incentives
Incentives are provided to give people an extra motivation to participate in the survey:
-
For every fully completed survey, 1 m² of endangered rainforest is protected from destruction through the World Land Trust organisation. An official certificate of the protected rainforest will be included with the final report.
-
Several prizes will be raffled among participants.
The combination of these different types of incentives encourages participation from various respondent profiles. The incentives help reinforce the invitation to take part in the survey.
How are incentives assigned to winners?
The survey system randomly selects winners among respondents who complete the questionnaire.
Those identified as winners will see a unique code at the end of the survey, inviting them to contact the research team.
This way, only the contact details of the winners are collected in order to deliver their prizes. These details are deleted immediately afterwards.