Largest Advantages of Customer Service in Ticket Sales

Selling out an event is an amazing experience. But, to accomplish this feat, you need to impress your attendees. These days, the first step to customer captivation starts online.

Selling tickets online makes things easy for you and the customer. But you’ll feel the pain if the experience isn’t perfect for both parties. 94% of customers say they will likely purchase again after a positive customer service experience. So, if you want return customers, you need to start online.

Below, you’ll learn more about the importance of customer service when selling tickets, how that changes online, and how you can improve the customer service experience to grow your business and boost ticket sales.

Why is Customer Service Important When Selling Tickets?

A positive customer service experience is the difference between a sale or not. Arguably, it is the single most important aspect of an events business.

On average, 75% of one’s business comes from retained customers. Knowing that most customers will return after good customer service tells you this: you don’t make money from constantly getting new customers; you make money by relying on returning customers.

In the event industry, customer service is most apparent when people already have tickets. For example, events might have concession stand workers and staff members helping people get what they need. Even before the event, the ticket takers dropping a small thank you might make a big difference.

But what about before the event? In almost all cases, that “before” starts online.

Before The Event: The Importance of Customer Service in Online Ticket Sales

Online ticket sales add several more touchpoints to your ticket sales process. If handled right, it can help you sell your event out. Otherwise, it can feel like a massive headache.

Here are a few considerations for online sales:

• Managing websites or landing pages intended to sell tickets
• Social media (both promotion and chat service)
• Ensuring online payment platforms work
• Tracking attendees who enter the event
• Marketing your event through paid promotions or newsletters

These extra things might seem overwhelming for those who aren’t technically savvy. But considering the additional sales from online sources, you can’t afford to avoid online platforms.

9 Ways To Boost Online Ticket Sales With Captivating Customer Service

Knowing that customer service is vital at every stage, it’s time to start thinking about how that applies online. Below are nine proven ways to improve the customer experience to boost ticket sales.

An optimized and integrated check-in process

“Optimize” is just a fancy word meaning that it works well. For ticket sales to be fully optimized, you must work towards an integrated ticketing platform that combines physical and online sales.

Having a ticketing platform means you need to use the same ticket management system for online and physical sales. So, you’ll need a POS (point of sale) system that connects to your ticket management software.

An optimized (integrated) process is important because you won’t have to spend extra time checking tickets. The customer scans the ticket using your connected system. This is easy for both you and the customer.

Modern tickets have barcodes or QR code systems, so fake tickets are easy to spot. Your POS system will also show the number of event attendees. If hosting indoor events, you can easily stay compliant with fire codes.

Pricing flexibility

Pricing flexibility means you cover a wide range of pricing-based needs: from budget-friendly consumers to premium-level options. This means selling different types of tickets, from deluxe to cheap seats. With online sales, it’s easy to advertise different types of tickets.

VIP tickets are one such example of this flexibility. Some people want a premium experience, like meeting band members during a live music performance. These premium tickets give people who want a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Later, they’ll sing praises of how this venue facilitated a special moment

You might also have reduced-price tickets appealing to people on a tighter budget. If you give people a good deal, they will appreciate you for it.

Different pricing appeals to different customers, and creating different ticket types using online systems is easy. All you need to do is find out how much room you have and split it into different levels. From there, creating different sales options online ensures you have an experience that works for everyone.

Multiple online payment gateways

POS systems and merchant software include built-in payment gateways or third-party payment gateways. Supporting multiple payment options meets can improve the customer experience because you use the same thing they use.

These customer-facing payment gateways include Google Pay, Apple Pay, and a page that takes simple credit card data. These might consist of payment processors like Square, which integrate with phone-based payment platforms.

People who use these phone gateways do so for convenience. By being convenient, you make it easy for the customer to pay. The more payment options you give, the more convenient you can be.

A mobile-friendly event landing page

Like payment gateways, customers want to purchase from their device, they don’t want to switch to computer when using a mobile phone. More people use mobile phones than desktop computers, so you need a mobile-friendly landing page.

Mobile-friendly pages automatically adjust between mobile and desktop versions of your website. These pages are also lightweight and easy to navigate, regardless of the user’s chosen device.

Through TicketsCandy and Square, you can create a dedicated event page. Square has a website-building platform that automatically adjusts for mobile. So, you can get a page that loads fast and integrates with TicketsCandy’s ticket sales software.

Pick small, high-quality images (so it loads fast) when building a landing page, and try not to get too complicated. Simple, engaging landing pages mention the name of your event, what people can expect, and a button that brings them to the purchase page.

Also, be sure to include an FAQ. Frequently asked questions will address customer concerns, eliminating reasons they might not buy. When the FAQ fails, that’s where our next tip comes in handy.

Live chat services

When a potential ticket buyer has a question that needs to be answered, they’ll go to your FAQ. But ultimately, your FAQ might not have all the answers. This is why live chat is incredibly useful.

Live chat is an alternative to phone calls. For many, it’s easier than going through the work of making a call. It pops up in the bottom corner, promising quick answers. When you give that to people, it overcomes another potential hurdle to their buying.

If you can’t afford the website-integrated live chat, direct people to contact you on social media. Facebook Messenger and Twitter are both excellent customer service tools.

Giveaway some tickets with fun contests

As the time of the event comes closer, your job is to drive up hype for it. One of the best ways to drive up that hype is to provide fun contests where you give away some event tickets.

When the ticket price is potentially free, eventgoers get excited about the idea. Even if they don’t win the content, the event will be top of mind for potential attendees. Plus, if the contest is fun, they might appreciate your creativity.

One great example is to contact local radio stations. You might have customers answer a quiz on the radio, drawing attendees from their audience. Feel free to ask any well-known local business about hosting contests there and renting out the space.

Of course, you can also offer a giveaway on your favorite social media platform. Tell people to like, comment, and share the contest with others to raise your exposure. Facebook is usually the best environment for this.

Offer early bird discounts

If you have an upcoming event, incentivize people to buy early. The early bird discount is one such incentive, telling people they pay less if they pay now (rather than waiting for the “official” ticket release).

The offer appeals to bargain hunters who want to go but might not have the budget. It also boosts early income, pushing you to sell more digital tickets harder.

Early bird tickets are typically online only. Physical copies shouldn’t be offered alongside digital, as tracking who owns what will make it more challenging.

Get an online ticket sales platform

There are platforms for online ticket sales and for tracking tickets. To make your life easier, get a platform that specializes in ticket sales.

Whether an event organizer or a venue owner, an online ticketing platform specializing in event ticket sales will save you a lot of time and money. This way, you won’t waste time building your own solution from other platforms.

Online platforms also simplify things for customers. After all, when they use a standardized, simple platform, they’ll know what to expect. Regular return attendees will appreciate this, as they’ll know exactly where to go.

Create an email list for upcoming event announcements

Previous attendees might connect your venue with amazing events. If you create an email list for people curious about those events, it helps keep them informed. When you inform them, they don’t have to think too hard about what to do on a Friday night.

Prospective attendees become regular in this case, as they expect regular updates from your email campaign. For example, you could provide weekly emails about upcoming music shows. This can be a cheap event promotion, saving you money on online advertising.

This also makes your customers’ lives easier because they don’t have to look for something to do. If you have regular Saturday events, letting potential visitors know what’s going on will let them know if they should visit.

Whether customers are going, paying for tickets, or attending the event, customer service is incredibly important at every stage. You might lose money if your customer service fails at any of these touchpoints. One of the most important touchpoints of customer service is online sales.

This article covered some important basics, like using social networks for chat, having multiple payment methods set up, and engaging customers with fun giveaways. But unless your online ticket portal is set up, your other efforts won’t help you out.

TicketsCandy helps solve this problem with a robust online portal for online ticket sales and bookings. To find out how our system can help your online ticket sales grow, sign up today.