Outdoor Events & Advance Ticket Sales

Determining the best way to sell tickets to your event is a pretty broad topic area.  Today I’m going to focus on the ticket fulfillment process – how people actually purchase tickets for your event.  As a whole the trend for online event ticketing is definitely growing and becoming the norm. When you’re looking at ticketing solution it's important to let your target market determine which ticketing system is best. Plenty of event organizers have chosen one system (online or offline) only to have their target market do something completely unexpected.

Let them Buy from Your Event Web Site
With the trend moving toward online buying for just about everything, the ability to purchase tickets directly from your event web site is practically a no-brainer.  Think about it for a moment – If someone is already on your event web site and wants to attend your event, why make them jump through extra hoops to buy a ticket? 

Even if there is a small service fee, most people will go with the convenience of buying online. Their alternative is to jump in a car, drive to a ticketing outlet, and potentially wait in line. I can’t speak for other nations, but in the United States, instant gratification seems to be the name of the game. People want it and they want it now! Use instant gratification to your benefit to drive online sales.

Should I Only Offer Tickets Online?
Without knowing specifics about you event, that’s a difficult question to answer. There has never been event, that I’m currently aware of, that suffered any sort of backlash from only having tickets for purchase online. Be sure to check out the Demographic Ticketing Irony paragraph below. People will argue that not everyone has a computer or an Internet connection and thus you need an offline option. Here’s what I’ve learned - if people really want to attend your event, they’ll jump through hoops to get a ticket. Almost everyone can access the Internet either at work or at your local library.

A Demographic Ticketing Irony
A few years ago there was an event down in South West Florida that started selling tickets directly from their web site.  Initially the event organizers were extremely apprehensive about selling any tickets online.  The event and their target market was in an area with one of most senior demographics in all of America (55+ years of age). The annual event had been taking place for decades with most people buying their tickets offline. The first year tickets became available for online purchase, organizers didn’t expect many people to buy online. Who would expect so many seniors to buy online, right? Here’s the ironic part - online ticket sales for the event crushed all of their offline ticketing efforts.  

Ticket Purchase Simplicity is Key
Regardless of the type of ticketing you are offering, make it as simple as possible to buy tickets. Just because you have multiple offline outlets where people can buy tickets, doesn’t mean that’s the best choice for your ticket buyer. A few years ago an event offered tickets through a local company with several brick and mortar locations. When I went to purchase tickets it was a 15 minute wait behind people conducting business at the companies branch location. It was frustrating and annoying.

If you use any local ticket outlet to sell tickets for your event, try to buy tickets on your own to test the process out. Selling ticket seems like it would be a simple process, but there are always snags that need to be worked out. The same applies for online ticket purchase. Test your ticket checkout process extensively before going live. Make sure the discount codes work. Check to see if your ticketing system gets wonky as ticket blocks start to sell out. Basically, go through as many possible ticketing scenarios and debug the process.

Ticketing Company Recommendations
If you want to sell event tickets online or off, I’d strongly recommend an established ticketing company. Crucial services include 24/7 telephone customer service, secure online purchasing, anti-fraud bar coded tickets, and a dedicated account manager always reachable by phone. To beat a dead horse - Whatever ticketing option you choose, be sure to thoroughly test the purchasing process on your own. Few things can taint an event experience like a difficult ticket buying experience. You don't want people showing up to your event annoyed about how difficult it was to by tickets. Keep the customer service of your buyer at the forefront of your priority list.

Want to get more great info? Check out the articles below:

• Turn Your Event Into an Experience
• How to Get Them To Your Event
• Why Well Planned Events Fail
• Getting Them to Buy Tickets Early
• Leveraging Your Sponsor's Digital Resources

• The Event Promotion System
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