Mark Miller, CEO and Co-Founder of TicketSocket, says data is a precious asset which many companies are not taking care over.
To stay competitive in this data-driven age, companies must recognise their customer data as a proprietary business asset to be protected and leveraged. When conference and event organisers outsource ticketing, they relinquish control over their customer data, handing over valuable insights that might otherwise be exclusively theirs, to third party vendors.
The US$5bn ticketing industry is monopolised by a handful of ticketing giants; the leading platform boasted an 80% market share in 2017. Popular third-party ticketing sites collect more than just high commission fees — they collect data. This can include valuable customer demographics (age, gender, interests, and preferences), location, physical and email addresses, financials and transaction data, and more.
Resellers often limit the access event organisers have to the data they collect. Your customer’s data is instead exploited for the benefit of the reseller company, who can use it for their own marketing purposes, share it with business partners, or sell it to third parties. This introduces vulnerability: when customer data is remarketed, it can end up in the hands of your competitors. When event organisers utilise a ticket reseller, their customer data is no longer proprietary, and the value of that data is compromised.
Popular third-party ticketing sites collect more than just high commission fees — they collect data.
Using a ticket reseller forces organisers to forfeit control over the customer journey. When organisers send their customers off site, part of the customer journey now falls outside of the organiser’s domain, risking the sale because something else may capture their attention. Brands can no longer ensure that the customer experience is consistent with their brand or secure their customers’ data.
So how can companies maintain control of their data and the customer experience?
Take complete ownership of the ticketing process. When events bring ticketing on-site, they retain ownership of their customer data. With full proprietary access to customer data, they are able to yield powerful, leverageable insights into their attendees and apply these to their own marketing strategies. Consumers can be assured that their data is only being used by the vendor with whom they have directly interacted. Assuming ownership over the ticketing process also ensures ownership over the customer journey.
Because building your own on-site ticketing and registration can be costly and very time-consuming, white label options present a viable solution. These platforms equip brands with all the necessary functionality and flexibility needed to ensure a superior customer purchase experience, while disappearing behind the established brand.
A company’s customer data is among its greatest assets and should be safeguarded. Assume full ticketing ownership and take back control of customer data and the customer gaining the competitive edge your brand needs to succeed.
