From ticket sales to an end-to-end digital academy
MSA moved workshop sales, which it had run for years on external ticketing platforms, onto its own digital sales infrastructure. Today the entire structure — from CRM to e-commerce, from CDP to marketing automation, from professional student management to workshop operations — runs on 1page-Platform together with Microsoft.
About MSA
The Culinary Arts Academy offers a comprehensive gastronomy ecosystem stretching from professional vocational training to workshops and digital courses for cooking enthusiasts of every age. Every day, MSA creates thousands of different touchpoints with students, alumni, workshop participants, corporate customers and food lovers.
From ticket sales to an end-to-end digital academy
Challenge
Professional training applications, workshop participation, e-commerce transactions, digital courses and marketing interactions created different customer journeys. Keeping that data in separate systems made it hard to see the customer’s relationship with MSA as a whole. Professional training requires a far broader process than a classic e-commerce transaction. Running candidate communication, application, assessment, enrolment, payment, term and class planning and student communication separately increased both operational load and the risk of error. To bring MSA’s knowledge to cooking enthusiasts who cannot come to campus, have limited time or want to learn at their own pace, a continuously accessible training channel was needed.
Solution
We brought CRM and CDP capabilities together on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and 1page-Platform. Applications, purchases, attendance, interests and digital interactions merged into single customer profiles. With 1page-Marketing, customers can be segmented by behaviour, course preference and transaction history. Campaign and information communication is now fed from this central data. We developed a student management structure specific to MSA’s professional training processes on Microsoft Dynamics 365 and 1page-Platform. The path from a candidate’s first contact to becoming a student is tracked in the CRM, while enrolment, term, class, payment and communication steps are managed inside the same digital structure. Instead of working across different files and applications, teams reach the student’s current status from one screen. We brought MSA’s digital learning experience to web, iOS and Android. Users can reach content prepared by MSA’s chef instructors and alumni from anywhere, buying digital courses and watching them at their own pace. Mobile apps, e-commerce, CRM and customer data all work as parts of the same digital ecosystem.
Result
MSA can now see not only who bought what, but the entire relationship the customer has with the academy. Marketing teams reach more relevant audiences while customer service and operations teams work on the same current data. Professional student management became a traceable, sustainable and scalable operation. The journey from candidate to student is uninterrupted, and teams can focus more on the student experience than on administration. MSA’s learning experience went beyond the boundaries of the physical campus and became available at any time. MSA did not merely digitise its courses; it turned the whole customer journey, from sale to learning, into a digital experience.
One operation for more than 70 workshops a month
Challenge
Running more than 70 workshops a month across different age groups, dates, instructors, classrooms and capacities requires intensive planning and coordination well beyond sales. Keeping capacity, participant and order information up to date was one of the most critical points of the operation.
Solution
We combined workshop creation, calendars, capacity, pricing, sales and participant management on the same platform. The availability shown on the website is fed directly from operational data; after purchase, participant details are transferred automatically to the relevant workshop record.
Result
From publishing the workshop to welcoming the last participant, the entire process runs on one set of current data. Sales and operations teams see the same capacity; the need for manual data transfer and checking falls away.
A personalised restaurant experience from reservation to welcome
Challenge
Managing reservations, table capacity and closing days across different channels created operational load. Before greeting a guest, the restaurant team could not easily reach special occasions, allergies, dietary preferences and personal notes. There was no uninterrupted experience between reservation, check-in and satisfaction measurement.
Solution
For MSA’s Restaurant we implemented an end-to-end digital reservation and guest experience system. Guests can create and manage their reservations while the restaurant team plans capacity, availability and closing days from a single platform. After each reservation the guest receives a personal invitation with a QR code. On arrival the QR code is scanned to confirm attendance; the guest’s name, reservation details and special notes appear on the welcome team’s screen. A QR-code digital menu and post-visit satisfaction surveys are part of the same experience flow.
Result
The entire process — from reservation to welcome, from the menu experience to collecting feedback — became digital. Guests are greeted by name, and their special occasions, allergies and preferences can be taken into account before service begins. The result is a complete restaurant experience that eases the work of operations teams, manages capacity efficiently and personalises every visit.