About the Client

Chester Zoo is a beloved wildlife attraction in the UK, known for its dedication to animal conservation and education. Since opening in 1931, the Zoo has evolved into a haven for over 35,000 animals, representing more than 500 species from around the world. It draws over 2 million visitors annually, captivating them with its essential conservation work and various educational programmes.

Beyond its gates, Chester Zoo plays a crucial role in international efforts to protect endangered species and their habitats. The Zoo aims to raise awareness and inspire future generations to care for the natural world by offering educational initiatives for schools, universities, and the general public. Chester Zoo's commitment to animal welfare, conservation, and education has cemented its status as a world-class institution with a profound global impact.

Business Challenge

Despite its stellar reputation, Chester Zoo faced significant challenges with its digital infrastructure. Their existing website, built on Umbraco, had become disjointed, leading to unreliable data reporting and cumbersome manual processes. This fragmented approach created inefficiencies and hindered the Zoo's ability to engage effectively with visitors, members, and donors, thereby limiting its potential to maximise its revenue streams.

Understanding the need for a comprehensive update, Chester Zoo sought our expertise in website improvements. Their goal was clear: to streamline online operations, improve data accuracy, enhance user engagement, and ultimately boost donation and Gift Aid revenue.

Discovery Phase

We began with a comprehensive discovery phase. By collaborating closely with Chester Zoo, we gained a deep understanding of their current digital infrastructure, system integrations, and data workflows. Given the vast scope of potential improvements, we recommended a strategic approach of prioritising 'small improvements for big gains'. This laid the groundwork for future enhancements while delivering immediate results.

We focused on critical areas such as ticketing, booking, and CRM optimisations to streamline operations and enhance user experience.

Research & UX

Our in-depth research focused on how visitors interacted with Chester Zoo's website and ticket booking portal. This involved analysing user behaviour patterns, pinpointing pain points, and identifying areas ripe for optimisation.

Price Sensitivity with a Twist: Our research confirmed that visitors were cost-conscious. However, merely showing discounts compared to gate prices didn’t significantly enhance conversion rates. Visitors were seeking more value beyond just monetary savings.

Balancing Sales and Generosity: Some changes we tested improved conversion rates but inadvertently reduced donations and Gift Aid contributions. This highlighted the delicate balance between optimising for sales and encouraging charitable giving.

Raising Awareness of Chester Zoo's Cause: A significant portion of visitors (45%) were unaware that Chester Zoo is a charity, and an even more significant majority (58%) didn't realise that ticket purchases support the Zoo’s mission. Additionally, 70% of visitors found Gift Aid confusing. We found that promoting Gift Aid effectively required ensuring visitors understood its purpose and benefits.

Throughout the research phase, we worked closely with Chester Zoo to ensure we prioritised the most impactful concepts. By addressing the most significant questions, we aimed to drive meaningful improvements across all three key metrics: conversion rates, donations, and Gift Aid.

Development and Implementation

With the insights from our research, we undertook various website improvements:

Enhanced Value Proposition Messaging: From our research, we knew visitors were highly price-sensitive. We revamped the booking journey by removing pre-selected dates and highlighting the unique selling points (USPs) of booking a visit to Chester Zoo. This included online savings compared to gate prices, free parking, playgrounds, and the diverse species at the Zoo.

Improved Gift Aid Feature: Our development team created a variation of the booking journey that included a toggle for Gift Aid on the ticketing page. We revamped the Gift Aid pop-ups to provide visitors with more comprehensive information, helping them make informed decisions about their contributions.

Donation-Only Ticket Option: Recognising that many visitors were unaware Chester Zoo is a charity that relies on donations, we developed a ticket pricing page that displayed only donation-inclusive prices. This page also included a description of how donations support the Zoo’s conservation and education efforts.

Discount Visualisation: Given that visitors were price-sensitive, we implemented an additional variation on the ticket pricing page. Alongside displaying with and without-donation prices, we also highlighted savings compared to gate prices.

Sticky Call-to-Actions (CTAs): To enhance mobile usability, we introduced sticky CTAs that remained visible at the bottom of the screen, allowing visitors to book tickets and proceed through the buying process regardless of their position on the page.

Quality Assurance (QA) Testing

All of our projects undergo rigorous testing through the software development process. In order to deliver the utmost quality for clients and their respective uses, our in-house QA team ensures that all end products perform accurately and reliably under normal and abnormal conditions. Testing is followed by continual monitoring of software performance, to prevent reoccurrence of any issues and to ensure efficient ongoing operation.

As such we were able to confidently deliver a well-designed, scalable and technically stable result.

Results

The strategic web development and comprehensive website improvements had a profound impact on Chester Zoo’s digital performance and overall mission:

Substantial Financial Gains: The simplification of the ticketing page and improved donation process resulted in a remarkable 128% increase in donations and a 72% uplift in Gift Aid contributions. These changes alone are projected to generate an additional £1 million in revenue this year, directly supporting Chester Zoo’s conservation and educational initiatives.

Enhanced User Understanding and Participation: By incorporating detailed educational content and user-friendly Gift Aid features, we successfully increased Gift Aid participation by 24% and overall donations by 4%. This not only boosted revenue but also deepened visitor engagement with the Zoo's mission.

Optimised Booking and Transaction Rates: The revamped booking journey led to a 4.5% increase in transactions, indicating a smoother and more efficient booking process. This improvement ensures that visitors can easily and quickly plan their trips, enhancing their overall experience.

These enhancements have optimised Chester Zoo’s online presence and significantly bolstered its financial foundation, allowing the organisation to further its vital work in wildlife conservation and education. The collaborative and data-driven approach provided by CTI Digital has enabled Chester Zoo to make faster, better-informed decisions, ultimately supporting its mission to protect biodiversity and inspire future generations.

Transforming Chester Zoo’s Digital Journey Through Comprehensive Website Enhancements

About The Project

Industry

Service

Technology

Quick Results

£1 million

128%

72%

4.5%