Is your organization struggling to price an event right? Shelby Burdick, sales executive at TicketForce, has some pointers for you.
In order to price an event right, you need to have a plan from start to finish. First, when developing pricing, START LOW. If you are already thinking that towards the end you will use Groupon or Living Social, then it’s time to re-strategize! Take half of the “half price” ticket, start with that half-price ticket in the beginning, and keep that money in your pot.
Promoting your organization’s upcoming events on social media outlets such as Facebook is a great way to keep fans in the know, but sometimes Facebook posts don’t get seen as much as you want. If you have ever felt this way, you’ve come to the right place.
Let’s face it – an average person’s Facebook newsfeed is cluttered with news ranging from what friends posted on other friends’ walls to what events those same friends RSVPd for or recently attended. If you want to break through the noise that your fans are experiencing, it’s time to try Facebook’s Promoted Posts.
Each week, TicketForce brings you an update on an important topic in one of four industries: racing, sports, music and theatre. This week’s #racingwrap features concerns over racing safety after the tragic death of Jason Leffler.
Leffler had an impressive career under his belt at only 37 and was also the father to a five-year-old boy. He had completed 294 Nationwide Series races and finished seventeenth in the Indianapolis 500 in 2000. He had attempted at least one full season in each of NASCAR’s three national series.
Written by Lynne King Smith, CEO of TicketForce.
At the end of 2012, during a management review meeting, our team committed the time and resources to see more of our clients in person – whether that is at conferences, while traveling for sales, or by making personal visits on site at the venues. Shortly after, I was attending APAP (Association of Performing Arts Presenters) in New York, and having lunch with Paul Hoverman of Niswonger Center for the Arts in Van Wert, Ohio. After hearing that I was planning more trips to visit clients, he told me he had a new marketing director, and asked, “When are you coming to Ohio?”
Counting up quickly, I realized we had a solid client base in the state I graduated high school in – and the TicketForce Ohio Tour was born. After realizing March was too cold – and too busy – for this Arizona girl, we booked a week in May. Ron King, our new IT specialist, joined on the trip, to continue learning the real world of ticketing, and assist along the way.
In celebration of TicketForce’s 10th anniversary, Lynne King Smith and Brad Smith, owners of TicketForce, decided to treat the team and commemorate the past decade of success at the happiest place on Earth… Disneyland!
Lynne and Brad had been discussing the idea of taking the team on vacation for a few years leading up to TicketForce’s diamond anniversary. Disneyland ended up being the destination of choice among the team, and last weekend the entire office channeled their inner child and hopped on a plane to Anaheim, California.
Lynne and Brad then decided to take the trip one step further by offering first class upgrades to two outstanding team members. The TicketForce team nominated who they felt deserved the royal treatment, and Inetha and Edwin were voted for their commitment, positive attitudes and good old hard word.
One team member said, “Inetha has an awesome attitude. She works hard, takes good care of her clients and does it with a smile on her face.”
Another spoke about Ed, saying, “Ed has to be the hardest working individual I know. He is always so willing to help, even when he has a huge pile of work to do himself. I greatly respect his work ethic!”
Since TicketForce started 10 years ago, the company has evolved into one of the leading providing of ticketing solutions across the U.S. and Canada. Lynne believes that a big part of the company’s success can undoubtedly be attributed to the team.
“The staff at TicketForce is one of the hardest-working groups of people I’ve ever met. They are unique in their loyalty to the company and our clients, and they are committed to making things right at every turn. The secret to our success is the way our clients and buyers are treated by our staff. Secondly, there’s a solid sense of teamwork. We have a “no-blame” policy, rather than the typical “CYA” – this allows anyone to come into my office and say, “I made a mistake, how do we fix it?” rather than laying blame on someone else or trying to cover up a mistake. There’s no doubt in my mind that this is what really makes us successful!”
Lynne says that its more common than not that other companies tend to blame one another and look for scapegoats because everyone is afraid of looking bad, which means the work is compromised and trust becomes a major issue.
“This leads to a really toxic environment, which in turn, makes for more mistakes and blame,” she says. “At TicketForce, we truly function like a family, supporting and helping every member of the team identify solutions. It was truly a pleasure to take the team on a trip like this to celebrate our successes together!”
To check out photos of the Disneyland trip, search #tftakesdisney on Instagram and also check out the album TicketForce Takes Disney on our Facebook Fan Page.
Every week, TicketForce brings you an update on the world of theatre, music, sports or racing. This week’s #theatrewrap features one of our very own clients, the Morris Performing Arts Center.
We love to hear about our clients’ success and would like to take the time to recognize the Morris Performing Arts Center on its most recent accomplishment of breaking box office records in the South Bend area.
The Morris Performing Arts Center located in South Bend, Indiana, recently featured the famous Broadway show, Wicked. The show ran from May 8th through May 19th allowing over 36,000 guests to attend the performances. This record-breaking turnout for the Morris Center had an estimated 19,000 guests from Pennsylvania, California, and other locations outside of South Bend for the 16 performances that were held.
Wearable tech, such as Google Glass, has many Americans very excited and is leaving others with mixed feelings. Google Glass is new technology that you wear like glasses but with added functionality similar to a computer or smartphone. Google Glass can offer health and fitness monitors, GPS navigation, camera and video recording abilities and much more. John Engates, chief technology officer at Rackspace has described Google Glass by saying, “This trend is unstoppable.”
According to Mary Meeker, a famed venture capitalist and Internet trend guru, “Wearable tech will pick up where the smartphone leaves off.” With the average smartphone user checking their phone up to 150 times a day, wearable tech may be the future of social convenience.
Ashley Morgan Productions’ blog discusses how Google Glass could be used in the event world in the near future by saying, “I can already see applications being developed that would allow venues to scan tickets at the door rather than using bulky ticket scanners.”
Although the excitement of wearable tech is growing, some have raised concerns about privacy issues. 82% of users say that these wearable technologies have enhanced their lives, yet two thirds of users believe that Google Glass should be regulated in some way.
Tim Cook from Apple has stated, “There’s still a way to go before Google Glass and iWatches can replace the smartphone.” It may be a slow start, but in a couple of years, these wearable technologies may be just what everyone needs.
How do you think wearable technology such as Google Glass will impact the ticketing world? Let us know your thoughts by sending us a tweet.
Every other month, we present a free webinar where we teach you the best methods for using a certain marketing tool for your organization. This month we are going to teach you how to use the popular check in app, Foursquare.
Foursquare is a mobile app that allows users to “check in” to places that they visit, similar to Facebook’s check-ins. When a user checks in to a place on Foursquare, they will be able to view recommendations, see special offers and much more!
Every week, TicketForce brings you the latest news surrounding one of four industries: music, theatre, sports or racing. This week’s #sportswrap focuses on the 2014 World Cup Qualifying matches and how the U.S.A team will have to play without a key athlete, Landon Donovan.
U.S soccer coach, Jurgen Klinsmann, has cut the team’s best goal scorer from the World Cup qualifying matches in June and from two upcoming exhibition games. Donovan is steadily making his way back to the field after a four-month break because of physical and mental exhaustion. Unfortunately, Klinsmann can’t have Donovan placed on the roster unless a player is injured and unable to continue the qualifier matches. Continue reading
We are pleased to welcome Johnson City Symphony to the TicketForce family. By utilizing the TicketForce Box Office solution, Johnson City Symphony will benefit from event management and ease of subscription sales, along with a call center, and walk-up ticketing sales and printing. Continue reading
