From 25 May 2018, General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) will come into effect. In the UK, GDPR will replace the UK’s current data protection regulation, DPA, and although this is an EU regulation, UK organisations will still need to comply. With less than a year to get ready, this post will take a look at […]
How do you create a consistent message for multiple customer personas? What about other people you may need to communicate with? Press, affiliates, partners, suppliers, etc.? What about the need to create content for a variety of social media channels and formats? Consistent messaging is at the core of good content marketing, but with multiple targets, […]
We talk a lot about digital marketing and marketing in general on our blog. There is a lot of talk at the moment about one page marketing plans, so this week, we wanted to take a step back, and look at how you can create an effective one page marketing action plan to help keep […]
Customer experience is becoming the biggest differentiator in a sea of choices for customers. Customers go to shows for a variety of reasons. Maybe it is that particular play or production, maybe it is a gift, maybe it is a family day out, or maybe it is a yearly event for them. Regular patrons will […]
First a big apology. We have been silent for about a month! We have been hard at work, but are excited to get back here on the blog! It’s not you, it’s me. I think we should just be friends. I’ve found someone else, I just don’t love you anymore. Breaking up is hard to do, but it […]
I am going to get a little personal this week. So my daughter turned 11 this year. At 11 she is in the throws of tweendom: the requisite eye rolling, attempts at teen-like snark are intermingled with the desire for cuddles, and protests of, “but I am still a little kid!” 11 years have positively […]
Google Analytics is a great tool. But how many of us actually go through each report and use the information to improve? Not many I would guess. And that is totally understandable – working in the arts is a busy job. But like meditation, squeezing in a little Google analytics reflection is good for your […]
Ticketsolve gets used in some pretty unique ways. Falmouth University’s integration of Ticketsolve is no exception. We spoke to James Randell, production assistant for the Academy of Music and Theatre Arts (AMATA) at Falmouth University, and learned how Ticketsolve is helping their students get real world experience on an industry leading box office solution. About […]
On the surface businesses and arts organisations don’t seem to have a lot in common. Businesses are driven entirely by profit and shareholder value. Arts organisations are not driven by profit, but rather by providing arts, cultural and community value. But just because their goals might be different start ups and arts organisations make up […]
Have you met Katy yet? We are super excited to introduce you to Katy! Our newest superwoman in support! Katy comes to us with amazing box office and sales experience. In addition to support experience, Katy has also worked in front of house, and has both hands on and supervisory experience in theatres. Katy has […]
We have always worked hard to ensure Ticketsolve is as user friendly as possible. But it was definitely time to take Ticketsolve to the next level. Enter Ling. Ling is Ticketsolve’s UX guru bringing focused experience in user design, and work flows to Ticketsolve. Her experience spans both desktop and mobile, and across both front and back […]
There are so many exciting new developments coming down the line at Ticketsolve. But to execute effectively, we knew we needed to grow the development team. Enter Ewan. Ewan joins Ticketsolve’s development team bringing not only an impressive technical skills, and a solid background in the arts. Ewan has over 10 years of software development […]
Chances are you have come across “crowdfunding” before. However, did you know it can help your arts organisation gain valuable exposure, create real engagement with your patrons, and of course, raise money for your projects? In this post we will explore what crowdfunding is, and how it can help with fundraising in your arts organisation. […]
Social media algorithms are something you need to know about. No seriously, keep reading we promise it is relevant. For arts organisations who rely on social media marketing (and those that are thinking about it), things have changed, but it might not be all that bad. Algorithms may seem like some strange voodoo magic 8 ball, […]
Since introducing our new MailChimp automation, we have been inundated with questions from all of our excited users, and most recently at our UK User Day. The Ticketsolve and MailChimp integration lets you automate communication with your customers based on their behaviour. To put it more simply: you can send really targeted emails, automatically to your […]
It is likely you are extremely familiar with the likes of Twitter and Facebook, for your social media marketing, but how much does your organisation use tools like Instagram and Pinterest? Is it worth including these two in your arts marketing arsenal? In this post, we will look at how Instagram and Pinterest can be a great […]
You have probably had a chat with her already (she’s pretty great right)? But we haven’t formally introduced our “newest” Ticketsolver yet – Aoife! Understanding the challenges of box office and marketing is second nature to Aoife, our newest Ticketsolver who joins us in Customer Support. Aoife has an incredible amount of box office, communications […]
In our last post, we looked at why audience segmentation is important to ROI and specific models that work well. Today, we want to take a look at some ideas to help you easily and quickly start segmenting your customers. Even with simple segmentation you can start to tailor your marketing messages (making them that […]
ROI. You are doing everything you can to maximise ROI and then some. But if you are not looking at audience segmentation you are missing out on a great ROI opportunity for your campaigns. Every theatre, arts centre or festival can look at audience segmentation, and tap into a great way to get to know your […]
So unless you’ve been living under a rock this last week, you’ll have undoubtedly noticed the biggest craze of 2016 sweeping the world, Pokémon Go. For those of you who have no idea what Pokémon is, the concept of the game is very simple,…”Gotta catch them all” (151 to be precise). Through the use of […]
Arguably, the box office is one of the most important areas of any venue. It serves as the coal face of your organisation, providing information and of course sales. But the box office is still one part of a multifaceted organisation. And if communication breaks down between these areas, and your box office you could […]
What do you get when you bring together 89 attendees from over 80 organisations who want to talk tickets? The Ticketsolve User Day of course! At the end of May, at The Complex in Dublin (great venue by the way), the Ticketsolve community came together to learn share and socialise. The day focused on analytics […]
I went to bed last Thursday night fully expecting that Britain would vote to stay in the EU, with Boris Johnson and Farage having admitted defeat. And off to noddy land I went. I awoke at 7am and my auto pilot morning routine began. First on the list: news check, only to discover Britain had voted […]
In this post we want to take Google Tools a step further and look at Google Tag Manager. We’ll take a look at exactly what GTM is, why it is important and how you can use it. What is GTM and why do you need it? GTM is a tool that lets you easily and […]
At the risk of stating the obvious – the majority of tickets sales happen online. Even for many events that have walk up sales, online is still the biggest and best opportunity for sales. For most venues, festivals, theatres, and arts and cultural centres – the main goal is how do we increase/improve online ticket […]
Measure everything, is certainly marketing – (and digital marketing in particular) – rule number one. After all, if you don’t measure your campaigns, how do you know if they are successful or not (anecdotal evidence doesn’t count)? Last year we gave you some tips on what to measure in our Are Your Marketing Campaigns Successful […]
As a company we have had the privilege to work with some amazing organisations. From festivals and theatre, to dance to tourism, the projects we have have been involved with – and perhaps more importantly the people behind them – have been outstanding. Even so, we haven’t before had the opportunity to work on an […]
We have been quite busy of late and are extremely excited to present to you our latest integration with MailChimp which brings us all kicking and screaming into the automation world. What Is It All About? Automated emails deliver information to your patrons right when they need it, in a way that’s efficient for […]
Falmouth University has been one of Cornwall’s foremost universities for over 100 years with the Sunday Times recently ranking them the number one Arts University in the UK. Falmouth has been challenging creativity since its existence, and is a specialist creative, multi-arts institution for rethinking convention and outthinking challenges. Falmouth has been growing – with […]
Recently on our blog we looked at average weight of purchase (AWOP), and steps to take to help increase this very important metric. This week we want to look at a related topic: how to increase customer opt ins for email. Why Email Sign Ups are Important Email is more important now than ever; becoming like a passport […]
If you haven’t been looking to0 closely at the average weight of purchase (AWOP)/Average basket size figures for your venue, you are probably not alone. But what does AWOP mean for the arts, culture and entertainment industry, and how can you increase it? Average Weight of Purchase or AWOP is the average amount, volume, number […]
One of the most effective ways to reach your customers is email marketing. Email marketing is a no brainer: it is 40 times better at getting customers than Facebook and Twitter, and compared to social media and it offers 17 percent higher conversion rates. But sending an email is one thing – getting a potential […]
Your audience is changing. Read anything about the arts, culture and entertainment industry, and it seems technology is rushing ahead, changing audiences as it goes. It’s enough to leave you in a cold sweat. It’s probably not that hard to guess how your audience is changing either. Whether you are talking about baby boomers, generation […]
We’ve talked a lot about growth hacking, and if you have been following along on our case studies, you probably have a sense of what it can achieve. But, you may still want a clearer picture on what growth hacking actually is and what it can do for you. Growth Hacking is a marketing method, […]
We are please to announce that we have been accepted as a supplier of the Government’s Digital Marketplace under the G-Cloud 7 Framework. The Digital Marketplace allows the public sector to easily purchase cloud-based technologies, revolutionising the procurement process. By using the G-Cloud framework, organisations can now purchase Ticketsolve directly from the framework. This removes […]
Mobile growth is increasing, particularly smartphone use. This increase in usage means that more and more customers expect (and in some cases demand), to be able to use their mobile phone for any and all services. Browsing for shows, purchasing tickets and entry to shows are all on customers radars.
Growth hacking was first developed by technology startups as a cost effective and fast way to build growth. It uses data, social media and viral marketing to rapidly build a customer base and exposure. Growth hacking allows companies with small marketing budgets to test marketing ideas (and change those ideas) quickly and cheaply. Companies such as […]
Digital marketing allows unprecedented data collection, analyses and tracking. Luckily there are a host of tools that can help manage, track and define your data. Some basic tools are free – Google being your first stop. Check out some recommended tools at SproutSocial.
A core of digital marketing is integration. And with Digital, integration is easier than you think. Take an example of a Christmas show. Your email marketing, Twitter, Facebook campaign, Instagram, etc., can utilise an integrated, scheduled campaign to build over time. In addition, you can pull these elements into any traditional marketing you may decide […]
Loyalty. Perfect for day 8. Customer loyalty is not easy for sure. Especially when it comes to arts and culture, but digital marketing has some tricks up its sleeve to help build customer loyalty. Digital’s use of networks (social networks) and communication tools allow you to connect with your customers in ways that were possible […]
This one might seem like it is not applicable to your venue. But a venue specific app, is a great way for your customers to connect with you in a new and different way. It is a great way to build content and loyalty and doesn’t have to cost much. Apps have been on the […]
Conversions, conversions, conversions. That is the name of the game. It isn’t enough to get likes on Facebook, retweets or even hits on your website. The key is getting those maybe customers into sales. Certainly having a presence on the right channels helps, as does direct sales opportunities such as Facebook selling (Ticketsolve can help you sell […]
Digital allows you to do more, that much is clear. One of the advantages that Ticketsolve gives you with digital is cross selling, up selling, discounts, promotions and merchandise. Customers are presented with seamlessly integrated extras such as concessions, merchandise etc., alongside their ticket purchase. These prompts can be customised as required for maximum impact. […]
Okay, we know it isn’t really a gift, but data is your key to understanding your customers. However, without really understanding what your data is telling you, putting that information into action, then analysing the results (and changing what you have to), data won’t mean much. With Ticketsolve’s automatic Google analytics integration, and data capture […]
Automation. Not something new we realise, but a great digital gift nonetheless. Digital allows you to automate many activities, especially in the areas of customer communication. Ticketsolve, has inbuilt automation such as auto alerts (emails that can be set to be sent automatically before or after shows), auto reports that automatically send a set of reports […]
Content would be our next digital gift. But not just any content, rather, human, customised content. One of the big areas for marketers and managers alike is to give customers real, meaningful, human content. The hard sell doesn’t work anymore (discounts and offers do of course), customers want to see the real organisation – and social networks allow […]
If you had a digital true love the first present would have to be responsive design. We’ve talked about responsive design before, and it is really the first step to getting solid digital. The reason of course is that responsive design allows you to take your website from mobile to tablet and beyond regardless of […]
As the holiday approaches, and we near the new year, we wanted to take a moment to send our best wishes to everyone. We hope you have a wonderful and peaceful Christmas and holiday season.
This time of year it is all about the trends for the coming year. To that end, we wanted to take a quick look at where ticketing – especially in the arts and cultural arena – is headed. Broadly speaking there are three big trends: improving the customer experience, drive to digital and utilising data. Understandably […]
The Ticketsolve development team is still growing! We are delighted to welcome Seosamh (pronounced “show-s-of”) to the team! Seosamh brings excellent ruby/rails app experience to Ticketsolve, having begun his computer science interest with writing SGML and doing some basic VB scripting at sixteen. Seosamh is not only a professional accountant, but also holds an MA in […]
Online conversion rates – specifically related to ecommerce – is much talked about in digital marketing circles. But what exactly does it mean, and how (and why) should you increase your conversion rate? In this post, we will explain exactly what an online conversion rate is, and give you concrete steps you can take to […]
Mailchimp integration provides Ticketsolve customers with rich functionality for email marketing campaigns. We’ve certainly talked about our integration before through our webinars, and a great step by step on how to get it set up for maximum results. Now we’d like to tell you about our latest integration will bring you. Below is a quick […]
Ah loyalty. Webster’s defines it as “a strong feeling of support or allegiance to someone or something.” For businesses loyalty, is the holy grail for customer relationships. After all, a loyal customer buys more and spends more. In the arts, culture and entertainment world it is the difference between repeat, long standing customers and those that come only […]
Most arts, culture and entertainment venues have engaged in secondary revenue streams. From food and drink to merchandise, secondary revenue can make up to 20% of additional revenue for organisations. But how do you get secondary revenue streams working hard for you? How do you ensure you keep the balance of maximising revenue versus happy […]
Summer is over. Kids are back to school, there is a chill in the air, and pumpkin is infusing our coffee suddenly. Seems to be a good time to take a quick look back, and see how the Spring/Summer festival season went for our Ticketsolve community. 200,000 Tickets 750 million euros of festival tickets, accounting for […]
Over the years we have strived to bring on board the best possible people to join our team here at Ticketsolve. We think we have managed to bring together a hard working, bright – and perhaps slightly off centre – group of people who are dedicated to our customer community. Our latest Ticketsolver is no […]
Creating engaging, appealing content for social platforms is not easy. Creating a Facebook page, and filling it with boring content (or worse – condescending content), will do little to build a good relationship with your customers. At worse it will actively drive them away. With 50% of people trusting a company’s Facebook page over their […]
Measuring success of marketing campaigns can be a minefield at times. Exactly what you need to measure and how you go about measuring it is hotly debated amongst novice and expert marketers alike. Our advice? Start with the essentials and build up from there. In this post, we’ll give you some insights into exactly how to […]
Customer service is at the heart of Ticketsolve. From initial set up and training, ongoing help with specific queries, and training where necessary on new features, our support team is at the centre of it all. Because support is such a critical part of our business – and importantly for our customer community – finding a real […]
If you do any type of online marketing (and who doesn’t do some these days), you may have come across social media advertising. The ROI delivered from social media advertising can seem too good to be true, “£60 will deliver my advert to how many?!” But, look a little deeper, and you may start to […]
What is Eircode? Ireland’s new postcode system has now launched and is designed to enable people and businesses to find every address in Ireland easily. What does this mean for Ticketsolve customers? Most importantly, Ticketsolve is already designed to facilitate the use of postcodes and has a unique field for this. It can be made […]
You might remember earlier this year, when Jameson Dublin International Film Festival announced mobile scanning at this year’s festival. Using Ticketsolve’s integrated scanning technology, the entire 2015 festival used 2-D mobile scanning for ticket entry at every venue participating in the festival. “We wanted to make it easier for our audience to purchase tickets online, and on […]
The Telegraph’s recent article about whether or not arts requires more funding in Manchester focused on the idea that spending needs to be redirected to more important quality of life projects. In virtually the same week the BBC posted a story about Wales launching a special arts initiative aimed at the most impoverished areas in Wales. […]
1.2 million. 1.2 million people voted in favour of marriage equality, 22 years after homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland, and 5 years after same-sex civil unions were protected. What has put Ireland in the history books is how our legalisation for gay marriage came to be, not through legislation – which is how most countries […]
When it comes to saving time and money, nothing beats a little automation. If you haven’t tried some of Ticketsolve’s automated features, read below to find out more. Alerts Emails Theatres, arts centres, festivals – whatever the event – it is always busy. Critical to any show of course is communicating effectively with your audience – before and […]
Facebook has changed. A like is not what it used to be – and to use Facebook effectively you may need to spend a little money. Our Quick Think Tip for the day is all about the new laws of Facebook marketing. 1. Likes don’t really matter much. Okay we’ll caveat this one by saying […]
Last week Twitter announced new changes to their direct message (DM) feature. This quick shot post will look at a few pointers on using Twitter’s DM feature, and how to use it best with your customers. Previously, direct messages or DM on twitter – where you can direct message another user – required both users to […]
When you are considering new box office software, there are myriad of things to consider. We discussed how to choose the best software for your needs before here and here. In all the time spent evaluating software, it is critical to keep in mind that software – box office or otherwise – is more than just […]
It is no secret, online conversions have to be a focus in your sales strategy. In this post, we want to take a look at online conversions and what you can do to increase your ticket sales. When you are thinking about online conversions, it is important to consider not just the actual buying of […]
This week’s blog post comes courtesy of Philip Greene at Villa Gaiety. A venue is most definitely the sum of its parts – marketing, techies, the guys holding the purse strings. But like any well oiled machine, there is the linchpin – the central nervous system of the venue: The box office. While there are a myriad of […]
This week we’re saying a big hello and welcome to David Gavigan, our newest Ticketsolver. David joins us as a Business Development Executive. His main responsibility will be to work with new customers on onboarding, as well as working with current customers get the most from Ticketsolve. We are extremely excited to have David come […]
This week, we welcome Helen to the Ticketsolve team. Helen holds an MA in Culture Policy and Arts Management, and has amazing experience working in theatres, venues and festivals across Ireland and Europe. She is joining Ticketsolve on the Customer Support side and will be primarily working with Fáilte Ireland and over 100 Irish tourist attractions. […]
We are super excited this week, because we are welcoming another great addition to the Ticketsolve team: Nick Stevenson! Nick came to the arts world through a familiar story: starving student. During his student days, he was lucky enough to get a part time job at Carmarthenshire Theatres, which lead him to his passion for arts […]
We recently launched mobile or e-ticket scanning with Jameson International Film Festival. This means that this year’s festival goers can expect faster entry, and less hassle as their tickets can be scanned directly from their mobile phones. If you don’t traditionally use scanners, we will go through exactly what types of scanners are out there and […]
This week, we are looking at Ticketsolve’s partnership with Jameson International Film Festival and their introduction of E-Tickets and 2D Scanners at this year’s festival. A big thank you to Kamil Chechlacz for his guest spot in this week’s blog. This year, we are not only improving the site but also the whole ticketing experience […]
Contextual awareness – a specific action or location can trigger a certain action or operation – typically on a mobile device. It is responsiveness taken to a whole other level. Contextual awareness has some really interesting possibilities for the arts sector – in this blog we will provide an introduction and explore some of the possibilities. Responsive […]
How do you value your business? Number of staff? Total number of sales? Assets? A successful business isn’t just measured by figures alone, but how efficiently it can preform and still hit targets. Take for example Tesla. The electric car company based in California has produced 500,000 cars since 2003 with 6,000 employees and a […]
If you follow the Guardian Arts online (and I know you do), you likely saw Chris Bryant’s comment on the arts world needing more diversity (there was no missing James Blunt’s response and Chris Bryant’s response to the response). Around the time of Blunt-Bryantgate I was reading an article about technology’s high barrier to entry for the underprivileged. […]
So what should we expect to be big in 2015 on the technology front? Here is what you can expect from the average to the extreme. Wearables Wearables are still relatively new. And although pick up has been anything but stellar, expect to see more wearables coming out the market, that smaller and pack more […]
Happy New Year! We trust your holiday season was good. Our customers had a busy holiday season, and one piece of feedback that struck me was a customer who commented, “I have to say I didn’t think scalability really applied to us. I was (happily) wrong – we had some unexpectedly popular shows over the holidays.” So is […]
Bacon Theatre is a medium-scale venue on the site of Dean Close School, Cheltenham, providing a teaching and leisure resource for the school. In addition the theatre is available to hire for local community groups and providing a full programme of professional events. As a school based theatre, Bacon faces some unique challenges. We chatted with Bacon […]
We don’t usually write about things like this here, but this really got under our skin. Yesterday we tweeted about a story that appeared in the LA Times about a theatre writer who has been barred from getting free tickets by a broadway press agent. Why? She wrote an article in the WSJ about often leaving […]
There are only 20 shopping days until Christmas, a little frightening really. But it is the perfect time – if you haven’t already done so – to kick your Christmas promotions into high gear. We’ve put together a collection of must have and nice to have features and functionality to help you get your Christmas box […]
We have been feeling rather nostalgic here at Ticketsolve. #LoveTheatre got us thinking about how Ticketsolve got its start. This is our story from technology consultancy to working with some seriously inspiring and creative organisations in the UK and Ireland. 8 years ago the Ticketsolve founders were running a technology consultancy company. Their goal was to […]
Beacon technology has been around for a while. The UK is finally catching up, but will beacons help or hinder the ever critical customer experience? We look at what beacons are, how they might work in a theatre, venue or festival environment, and what it takes to get it right. What are Beacons? Beacons or […]
While growing and finding new audiences is at the forefront for arts marketers, so too is keeping the audiences you have. Loyal customers account for only 20% of total customers, but are drivers for 80% of revenue – and customer retention is certainly less expensive than bringing on new customers. With that in mind, we look at […]
If I hear the word “recession” or “crisis” again, (or for that matter, “rain” and “wind”) I will crack up. To be fair, given the current state of affairs, anything that is cost effective and cost efficient is welcome. So how can Ticketsolve help you save time and money? Ticketsolve is in the Cloud We […]
About Trinity Theatre Located in Tunbridge Wells, Trinity is a vibrant theatre in one of the most beautiful buildings in the region, hosting around 350 events a year, ranging from the best in theatre, film, visual arts and dance through to the biggest names in comedy and music. 90,000 people come through Trinity’s doors each […]
Transitioning to a new ticketing and box office system doesn’t have to be difficult. In this post we will show you what to expect, and steps you can take before the transition event starts. If you are still in the process of thinking about how to choose ticketing software, check this out for great tips and […]
The payments industry is changing fast. Unlike other industries that have balked at disruptive technologies, the payments industry has embraced change. But what this means is that the payments of 2020 are going to be very different than the payments of 2014. We look at what options are here, what is coming and how to […]
When our customer community gets together, the discussion often turns to marketing. Specifically how to get the most from marketing budgets, given the demands on overall budgets. In our post today, we look at some ideas on getting the most from your marketing budgets and how Ticketsolve can help along the way. Online all the time. […]
Like many people, we were looking forward to seeing the new iPhone 6. We were especially interested in the new payment capabilities of the new iPhone. So how easy are payments and transactions completed on the latest iPhone? Let’s take a look at the new payment capabilities and see what this could mean for the future of […]
Thinking about a cloud-based box office for your venue, festival or event? Here are our top reasons why a cloud-based box office’s are better. Inexpensive Because you can take advantage of economies of scale, there is no expensive outlay for hardware when using a cloud-based box office. Zero Maintenance Because you are not having to […]
So not long ago I was trying to make a purchase online. It was a wedding present for a friend, so it was not only expensive – I really needed to get it right (don’t judge me, but the wedding was a month ago). But something was going very wrong with my order. I must have […]
There was a wonderful article last month in the Guardian about the future of circuses in Britain. What was striking was the positivity, and the strides that modern circus performance has been making. Given the recent inclusion of circuses in tax relief for theatre, this is a great step forward. Ancient circuses were focused on […]
The Irish Times Culture section ran an article today about the demise of Waterford’s Red Kettle Theatre Company. The company goes into liquidation after 30 years on the go due to trading difficulties. The Irish Times reported that while the company has toured throughout Europe, it has been mainly performing in Ireland for the last […]
You’ve probably read about the growth of the experience economy in business circles. That is, the notion that you can sell an experience alongside a product. Of course this is exactly what theatre, tourism attractions, ice venues, sports arenas and the like have provided for years – an experience. But there is an important distinction here […]
Cognitive fluency may sound like an odd topic for our blog, but it has a huge impact on our decision making. Cognitive fluency means how easy it is to think about something. By and large this what our brains prefer. The harder your brain has to work – the more it balks at working. We prefer […]
We are delighted to welcome another new Ticketsolver – this time to the marketing team. Priya joins us from the United States (though has been on this side of the Atlantic for over 15 years), and will be helping to manage Ticketsolve’s content creation, PR and social media activities. Priya comes with experience in corporate […]
A big welcome to Bjorn our newest Ticketsolver joining our development team! Bjorn joins us with a host of systems development, web development and project management expertise. Bjorn has worked with companies around the world, including Enigma Solutions in Thiruvananthapuram, India and Tretti.se in Malmo, Sweden. Bjorn has excellent experience in a variety of languages, fameworks, databases and web servers, […]
