Every escape room owner knows that moment: A player walks in and you're sure you've seen them before. Was it last month? Did they play the Pirate room or the Castle? Were they the ones who needed extra hints, or the puzzle-solving champions who smashed your records?

In an ideal world, you'd remember every detail about every player. You'd know exactly who your enthusiasts are, which corporate bookers bring in the big teams, and who's just one room away from completing your entire collection. But when you're running a busy venue, keeping track of all these details can feel impossible.

That's where Buzzshot's tag system comes in. Tags are a powerful way to track, understand, and delight your players. Whether you're flagging VIP customers, noting hint preferences, or identifying your most valuable corporate bookers, tags turn your player data into pure gold for marketing, operations, and growth.

What Are Tags and How Do They Work?

Put simply, tags are labels you can apply to any player in Buzzshot. Think of them as sticky notes that help you remember important things about your players. Those sticky notes carry across to all different types of bookings an individual is part of, and they can also be used to send personalised emails.

Depending on your escape room, you might wish to tag someone as:

• "Enthusiast" if they're a regular escape room player
• "Caused Damage" if they need a gentle reminder about handling props
  
• "Corporate Booker" if they organize team events
  
• "100% Completion" for players who've done all your rooms

The beauty of using tags is their flexibility - you can create any tag that makes sense for your business and the marketing campaigns you might like to build around them. Maybe you want to track which players prefer horror rooms, or individuals who have scored highly on the leaderboard, or even who has celebrated a birthday with you in the past. The possibilities are endless!

Examples of Using Tags at your Escape Room

Tags can be applied manually or automatically.

When applying them manually, you or one of your games masters will be able to easily click into a team or a player and apply a tag from a list of drop-downs. If applying them automatically, you can use Buzzshot to set up automations that tag players automatically when they hit certain requirements or based on their behaviour. You can also get your players to self-assign tags during the booking, registering, or waiver signing process by asking questions like “who are you playing with” or “where did you hear about us”.

If you need a little more inspiration, here are some practical ways you and your team can use tags at your escape room:

For Operations:

• Flag experienced players who prefer minimal hints
• Mark groups that need extra attention with props
• Identify VIP customers for special treatment
• Track players with accessibility requirements
• Note dietary preferences for rooms that include refreshments
• Monitor players who've requested specific game masters

For Marketing:

• Tag corporate bookers for annual team building reminders
• Target enthusiasts with early access to new rooms
• Send special offers to players who haven't visited in a while
• Identify players who prefer specific themes or difficulty levels
• Monitor social media influencers or reviewers

Tags for Escape Room Marketing

Here’s where it gets exciting. Tags aren’t just static labels, but they also play a powerful role in your marketing too. Using Buzzshot’s broadcast feature, you can send targeted emails to specific player segments based on tags.

Tags can be created, automated, and combined with complex segments to provide a really personalised player experience. For example:

A segment for “Corporate Champions”

• Tagged as "Corporate Booker"
• Completed at least 2 rooms
  
• Left a positive review

Perfect for: Annual team building promotions and new room announcements

“Hey Sarah! Looking to book your Christmas party? We’ve opened two new head-to-head rooms this year, and are available for booking sizes up to 100 players. Book in November for early bird pricing of 10% off.”

The "Horror Fans" Segment

• Played horror-themed rooms
  
• Tagged as "Horror Enthusiast"
  
• High difficulty preference

Perfect for: New horror room launches and special Halloween events

"Hey Mike! As someone who's completed all our horror-themed rooms, we thought you'd love to know we're opening a new supernatural escape room next month. Early access bookings open today, get your ticket first here."

The "Family Fun" Segment

• Tagged as "Family Group"
  
• Played family-friendly rooms
  
• Visited during school holidays

Perfect for: School holiday promotions and family discount offers

“Schools out for summer? Give your kids the gift of an unforgettable summer vacation with our new family friendly escape room package.”

When set up correctly, these segments can automatically populate with more players as they hit those requirements, giving you an active and up to date email marketing list to personalise your communications with throughout the year. The key to effective email marketing is personalization, and tags make this possible at scale. Instead of sending the same generic email to everyone, you can craft messages that feel personal and relevant to each player's interests and history with your venue.

Pro Tip: Calendar View

Here's a handy feature: You can set important tags to display right on your Dashboard / Calendar views. This means if a group contains a player with a specific tag you’ll see it right away.

Some tags you may wish to display on your calendar include:

• A player with an accessibility requirement your Games Masters should be aware of
  
• A VIP player, influencer or a member of the press
  
• A player who has previously damaged props and may need extra attention
  
• A player with photography permissions

Just remember to be selective, as too many tags may make the calendar view cluttered.

Start Tagging Today

Getting started with tags, segmentation and automation is available right now in your Buzzshot account at no additional cost. If you're not using Buzzshot yet, you can get started with a free trial and see how smart player management can transform your escape room business.

As your escape room business grows, your tagging system can grow with it. Start simple with just a few essential tags, and expand as you see opportunities. Remember, the goal isn't to create as many tags as possible - it's to create a system that helps you understand and serve your players better.