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Event ticketing or concert ticketing, is the process of selling tickets for your show, concert, or any other number of events or performances that may be held at your venue. With the increased use of digital marketing and social media in today’s society, it's more critical, however more difficult to ensure that your fan base is seeing your upcoming show and being aware that it's happening. This has made event ticketing an ever-important way for organizers to sell tickets directly from their own website or app with only a few clicks. However, this type of ticketing can be challenging for both organizers and attendees because some users aren’t familiar with how it works. In this post, we will explain some benefits of using a great event ticketing platform or software (over an open source event management platform), raise awareness of different types of ticketing platforms, and what to look out for as you select the best option for your venue.
These days, there probably aren't many (if any) venues or theaters that aren't doing ticketing online. The wide array of choices and configurations for online ticketing for organizers to sell tickets directly from their own website or app with only a few clicks has made it easier than ever to sell tickets to their events. While there are still folks out there who prefer to use paper tickets, there are generally no downsides or compromises that need to be made to move solely to an online ticketing process - whether you're doing online ticket sales for nonprofits, huge concerts and festivals, or a one off performance. When evaluating how you'll do online ticketing, it can be easy to find the cheapest way to sell tickets online, or find a company that does online ticket sales with lowest fees, but we'd encourage you to search for the best ticketing companies and online ticket sales platforms that fit your needs as closely as possible. This consideration will pay dividends through ease of use and setup and most importantly, the experience that you give to your fans and patrons. Creating a great and smooth experience for the fans visiting your venue will encourage them to spend more while they are there, enjoy their time at your venue, and return to future shows and events - this will give your venue a great advantage as things like experience are noted more than ever as something that will lead to return customers, fans, and patrons.
If you’re evaluating the best event ticketing platforms for your venue, you're encouraged to check out a number of live event ticketing companies and those that best fit your needs, whether that be type of performances or concerts you host, other features needed, or even geography. For example, some platforms like Pretix serve more European markets than here in the US, while others, like Attendize will show up as the best open source ticketing system (which may or may not be right for your venue as there is added complexity in exchange for cost and other flexibilities), or focus more on events like conferences (Ticketleap for example). Will you need some other features (like nonprofit event software or calendar management) to bundle or integrate into your process? Event ticketing software can also function as a marketing tool for your business in many different ways, such as helping provide insight or data on your fans and patrons, reporting to give better insight, or integrate with social channels to help reduce friction in your sales cycle. All of these features can be used to help boost ticket sales, create a hassle-free customer experience, and even to grow your customer database for marketing purposes. Again, while it can be easy to just look for the cheapest ticket selling platform, it can be tremendously important to consider a number of other needs you may have from your event ticketing website or app.
Easy to Use: If you’re trying to sell more tickets, having an event ticketing system that is easy to use from both a fan and an administrative perspective is essential. Systems that are fully paper-based can make your event ticketing process difficult and frustrating. Instead, an online event ticketing system like is more user-friendly and will help you reduce customer complaints. Faster Turnaround Times: Many event ticketing systems are paper-based and require the printing, scanning, and mailing of tickets to each event. This process is time consuming and can often result in tickets being lost in the mail or causing too much delay before the event. However, event ticketing software allows you to sell tickets online, which means you can avoid these issues and sell tickets much faster. Easier to Scale: If you want to expand your business and sell more tickets, you’ll want an event ticketing system that is easy to scale. The best event ticketing software for you will allow you to set up events and sell multiple tickets with only a few clicks. This is great for venues that want to be able to jump into selling tickets with ease and reliability. Better Customer Support: This one is critical and far too often overlooked. A lot of event ticketing platforms don't offer a direct level or direct line of support when you have challenges. The last thing you'll want is to have a problem or a question about something in the moment and not be able to reach someone to help. These days, many companies will require an email or ticket to be submitted and a response issued within days, far from immediate. Better Marketing Results: When you use a great event ticketing software, you can see how many tickets each user has purchased (historically) and create better marketing strategies. This can help you create a more targeted strategy through a deeper understanding of your consumer, which can help boost your results. Knowing things like how many shows someone has attended, artists and genres they like, and other basic demographics can really help you make more data driven decisions. Reliable performance; of course, you'll want a system that is reliable and capable of handling your online ticket sales needs, this one is foundational but critical to success at any level.
For most small and mid-size music venues it can be increasingly difficult to design, create, and maintain a mobile app for their space. While it is difficult, there are companies that offer mobile app development or templates. Some ticketing platforms for events have pre-made applications that can be customized and deployed easily, which will also complete maintenance and upkeep without any needed input from the venue (apart from updating events, concerts, and shows). While it may not be a necessity for every venue to have a mobile ticketing app, it can certainly help to boost ticket sales, create awareness for other upcoming shows, and ultimately help to provide a better fan experience. The best mobile ticketing apps will help sell more tickets by providing your fans with an additional channel to purchase, especially if you're a well known venue or a venue that has many regulars - a mobile app can give them a place to go and view upcoming shows, merch, and tickets all in one place. A mobile app tailored for your venue can also create awareness for other upcoming shows and allow fans to purchase tickets quickly and easily to those shows right inside the application. The overall fan experience is also greatly impacted as it will give fans a place to keep their tickets (and quickly scan at the door), view their options for things like VIP or add-ons, and streamline their experience when they visit your venue. While it may not be a necessity, you may find that the best ticket selling platform for you and your venue will include the option to have a mobile app specifically tailored to your venue.
We've covered a number of different considerations and ideas around ticket selling platforms and online ticket sales softwares here. While there are many choices out there, you'll want to take into account the details that will best fit your venue; thinking through basic functions like reliability and security all the way through bigger, revenue driving features such as available fan data and information for marketing or availability of a mobile app (which will set your venue apart from the crowd). Some of these items will be necessities for every venue while other boxes may be able to be left unchecked. Whether you're seeking concert ticketing, performing arts ticketing software, complimentary theatre or venue management software, or any other number of features, there are many choices available today - making it a great time to find the software or platform that will best fit your needs and help you and your team run and operate the best venue you can, and make more magic through live shows.
