Outdoor Events & Advance Ticket Sales

Have you ever contemplated having your event take a hiatus?

There are times when not having an event is an unfortunate necessity. If you're not going to have your event, please consider some of the potential consequences.

About six years ago, a client had to make the decision to either raise their gate price to cover unexpected costs or not have their event. Because the client had very accurate attendance figures, we did some financial forecasting. A $5 USD price increase, per ticket, would cover all their additional expenses and increase profits. The event organizer insisted that the consumer wouldn't tolerate such a ticket price increase.

My recommendation was to test the $5 ticket price increase. Their customers absolutely raved about the client's event. Ultimately, the client decided not to have their event.

At the time, I strongly disagreed with the client's decision and fought hard for the price increase. That said, it's their event and their butt on the line. Not mine!

Before that, numerous competitors refused to enter the same event marketplace. It was probably out of fear and respect. That left the client with nearly zero competition for their event.

What was once a consistent annual event, was no more. And the competition pounced!

Within a year, there were at least three similar events. Instead of one marquee event, the public now had multiple choices.

A few years later, the client decided to bring back their event. Whatever dominance they had established had been diluted with all the competition. They also raised their price $5 USD, with little to no blowback.

To be fair, I can't say that competition would not have entered into the marketplace. But, nobody can deny the dominance of being first to a given market.

In the book, The 22 Immutable Laws of Marketing by Al Ries and Jack Trout, it is stated: "the leading brand in any category is almost always the first brand into the prospect's mind. e.g., Hertz in rent-a-cars, IBM in computers, Coca-Cola in cola." With rare exception, the same adage applies to the event industry.

If you have domination in your event niche, not having your event could have dire consequences. Please carefully pro and con your choice. Most important of all, don't let your personal bias get in the way.

Want to get more event ticketing advice? Check out the articles below:

• Event Marketing Idea: Blocking Your Tickets
• Smart Advance Ticket Strategies
• Event Promotion: The Psychology of Ticket Prices
• Leveraging Huge Ticket Discounts to Drive Advance Tickets Sales
• How to Sell Even More Tickets to Your Event
• When to Start Selling Tickets for Your Event
• Charging a Premium Event Ticket Price
• Getting Them to Buy Tickets Early