Ticketing Professionals: fresh squeezed for you!

On March 16 this year, Softjourners visited the Ticketing Professionals Conference for the first time—“the place where professionals talk ticketing.” With more than 200 professionals in attendance and some 40 speakers, we found it hard to choose what to miss with such a jam-packed program for only two days.

The topics were familiar yet relevant and causing buzz, with such intriguing titles as “Mobile Optimization: We were promised JetPacks,” “Micro Moments: Using them to engage with customers” and “Selling the last 2%.” There were also topics that never lose their relevance and urgency, such as “International ticketing trends” and “Perils + Pitfalls=Benefits.”

We figure that if you’re reading this article, you probably missed Ticketing Professionals, so we’ve prepared a short review of trends that should remain carved in stone over 2017!

Mobile is getting tremendously important in ticketing. According to DigiGov, Americans using mobile devices spend 87% of their time in apps versus just 13% in browsers. You may say that this is not so new, as it was also hotly debated last year and the year before. But this time, Craig Sullivan of a company called “Optimize or Die,” showed excellent examples of ticket selling companies that still don’t pay enough attention to mobile optimization. “Either my finger is too large or the text is too small for it,” says Craig, demonstrating his experience trying to buy tickets online via his cell phone. Yet it’s so easy to test the user digital experience on multiple devices, not only on the desktop. Moreover, there are many budget-friendly tools, along with quick methods and checklists. Still, not many companies put themselves into their customers’ shoes. Craig emphasized the importance of running a customer survey and doing A/B testing as standard practice. Seems like this topic will be relevant for many years and many conferences ahead.

Your audience is diverse. Our customers all vary in terms of background, age or ability. So how can we go beyond mere compliance? This topic was raised by Kyle Wright of The Shubert Organization, which owns 17 Broadway theaters. And the answer, not surprisingly, can be found in technology—new technology that is affordable, easy to implement and already in the hands of 99.9% of your target audience. Kyle talked about Shubert’s one-year journey to provide comprehensive on-demand services for ESL (English as a second language) and non-English-speaking groups, deaf or hard-of-hearing individuals, and vision-impaired patrons. According to the speaker, Shubert was able to bring together new vocal recognition technology and merge it with legacy soundboards, lightboards, and MIDI & MADI to provide a multi-service app available on both Android and IOS. Rolling out across all of Shubert’s theatrical holdings, this app represents the first comprehensive solution to the ongoing need to fully embrace ever-more diverse audiences arriving on Broadway to enjoy the show. This product has already been tested and is now being rolled out in all 17 Broadway theatres.

Read the full article on Softjourn`s website.