Case Study
HOW WE GREW VENUE HIRE INCOME 500%
St. Mary’s is a Grade I listed Charismatic Anglican church in the heart of London’s Marylebone offering venue hire from Monday to Saturday. Under Charlotte’s guidance, the church experienced remarkable revenue growth, surging from £80,000 to over half a million pounds in just six years. This transformation empowered them to enact their mission, charitable projects and maintain a heritage site.
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ST MARY’S LONDON
In 2002 St. Mary’s underwent a significant renovation to preserve its historical grandeur. After the multi-million pound makeover, which included adding a new lower floor and more facilities, the church started offering venue hire in 2004.
When Charlotte, founder of Connective Vision, took charge, the venue was only used two to three times a month. Charlotte’s implementation of an effective sales and business strategy increased this usage to eight to twelve times a month, resulting in an impressive 500% surge in revenue.
With a meticulous approach to sales and business strategy, Charlotte’s leadership transformed the venue, breathing new life into the space’s use. Today, St. Mary’s is a bustling hub, hosting events and activities while experiencing substantial revenue growth — a testament to effective management and strategic vision.
Designed by Robert Smirke, the venue offers over 780sqm of open plan space across two floors and is conveniently located near transportation links. Yet, despite its potential it was being under-utilised and in need of investment and creative solutions.
Testimonial
“The received wisdom had always been that buildings like ours could only expect to receive £70-80k income per annum. Charlotte’s remarkable impact, enabling us to generate over half a million pounds annually from our property, has been truly phenomenal.
Charlotte possesses an incredible gift for recognising potential, gently pushing boundaries and innovation. She collaborated with us at our own pace and created effective and sympathetic solutions that were executed to the highest standards. Not only were they compatible with how we operate as a church but have enabled us to do more than we thought was possible.”
John Peters – Rector
Comparison of 2017 and 2022 marketing images
Details
Taking St Mary’s to The Next Level
Challenges
The main obstacles were as follows:
- Preconceived notions regarding “church hall hire”
- Limited human and financial resources
- Inadequate and insufficient marketing
- State of disrepair in the building
- Absence of efficient and professional processes
Solutions
A multi-pronged approach with a phased implementation was taken which is explored in further depth below.
Each section describes how St. Mary’s transformed its brand identity, sales pipeline, pricing structure, and overall performance. A cohesive story was researched and created, that reflected St. Mary’s values, charitable impact, and heritage. The building and visuals were upgraded to showcase the venue’s ability to host events, client testimonials were sought, and the sales process was streamlined. A new pricing structure and cultural shift was also implemented to improve overall performance.
THE RESULTS
The results speak for themselves, however, it’s worth highlighting that while the reach greatly expanded, one notable shift was observed. Previously, the primary reason for non-conversion was the suitability of events. Positively this marked a successful transition to a new audience however it also highlighted the challenge of a limited calendar, reserved for church and community activities. In venues with greater availability, the volume of enquiries and sales would likely have been considerably higher.
AveRAGE YoY Sales growth (excluding pandemic)
45%
Revenue Growth
500%
Reach Increase
2600%
EnquirY Increase
180%
Rewriting the Narrative: Creating a Brand Identity
To create a sense of value and appeal, the first challenge was to establish a clear brand identity. As evidenced by the earlier images the existing décor and visuals failed to convey a sense of grandeur or impressiveness. Thorough research was undertaken and a cohesive story was created that reflected St Mary’s values, charitable impact and heritage. The venue was pivoted away from simply ‘church hall hire’ to a standalone venue of excellence and merit across multiple platforms including social media.
Producing Convincing Visual Evidence
The existing imagery was mostly low-quality and outdated, so a significant effort was made to collect and create photos, visuals and media, such as brochures, that matched the new narrative. It was essential that these images showcased St. Mary’s ability to host the types of events and clients it was now aiming to attract. To aid in obtaining new, improved visuals, the team embarked on a gradual process of upgrading and renovating the building. While some upgrades were simple and affordable, others required substantial investment in time and money.
Some of the investments include:
- A curtain was installed on the stage to create a sensitive and neutral space when closed.
- The angel painting above the stage, which had significant damage, was restored.
- The Undercroft was re-decorated as shown in the above images.
- Rugs were added to soften the space and the blue carpet in the Great Hall was replaced.
- Plants were brought in to liven up the venue.
- The lighting was upgraded to create immediate, impactful atmospheres.
Client testimonials were also sought with imagery to build trust with new clients.
Removing Friction from the Pipeline and Customer Experience
To optimise the sales pipeline, a CRM system was used to manage client enquiries and track progress. Site visits were refined and enhanced to help clients visualise their events, and the sales process was streamlined through the implementation of webhooks, templates, and follow-up automation, improving efficiency. Additional services were added such as third-party catering and AV to ease the planning experience.
A Cultural Shift: Transforming the Venue and Improving Performance
A major cultural shift was necessary to make significant changes at St Mary’s, which included changing perceptions and operations among stakeholders such as staff and venue staff. Working closely with key stakeholders, creating a clear plan, regular communication, ongoing support, and training helped to successfully shift the culture and improve the venue’s overall performance.
New Pricing Structure Implemented with Annual Increase
To better reflect the value, a new pricing structure involving a 100% increase was introduced. An annual increase was implemented to ensure prices remained in line with market value.
Testimonial
“Charlotte is excellent to work with and brings a brilliant blend of experience, knowledge, sales expertise, creativity and problem-solving to what she does. She enacted a strategy that led to consistent growth year on year and resulted in a five-fold increase in our venue revenue.”
Sally Watson, Director of Operations
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