Digital tickets aren’t just convenient, they’re essential to your live events’ success. Here’s why

Still using paper, email, or PDF tickets at your live events? What’s holding you back from making the full leap to digital?

Digital tickets have grown increasingly popular over the past decade, with more and more real-world experiences integrating them into their guest journey as standard, driven by corporate social responsibility (CSR) and a need to provide a seamless guest experience.

Your guests love this shift. According to a report from TicketMaster:

• Nearly 80% prefer using digital tickets.
• 88% like the fact that digital tickets are more eco-friendly.
• 83% like that digital tickets prevent fraud.

The trend is clear. Digital tickets are beneficial for attractions and live events, and guests are onboard too. It’s time to do away with inefficient ticketing methods and make the jump to digital.

From our experience working with some of the most well-known attractions and events like San Diego Zoo, Alton Towers, and The Jockey Club, digital tickets enable attractions of all sizes to collect richer data and reduce congestion. So, let’s take a deeper dive into why you should make the switch too.

Reason #1 - You’ll get valuable data insights with every purchase

This one’s crucial. No doubt you’re eager to collect more high-quality data about your attendees. If you’re using email or PDF tickets, you’ll struggle to achieve this. Guests will buy their ticket (potentially from a third-party vendor), print them off at home, and finally pass through your admission gates when the event rolls around. What you have learned about them during this process? Not much, all things considered. Even email tickets are viewed in isolation and can't be combined with other behaviours or activities to learn about your attendees.

With digital tickets, every attendee importing their digital tickets into the app will provide you with powerful first-party insights into how they interact with your brand and, subsequently the event itself. You’ll gain visibility across your ticketing process, helping you better allocate resources such as on-site staff, and make improvements for future events.

Reason #2 - You’ll get more from your sales and marketing efforts

Using digital tickets housed neatly in a mobile wallet opens up the possibilities for direct communication with the attendee buying the ticket. Push notifications allow you to send highly targeted marketing messages to guests based on their buying behaviours and preferences. For example, you might choose to:

• Remind guests about ticket upgrades if they’ve already shown an interest in them, or entice them if they haven’t.
• Encourage repeat visitation by increasing the visibility of future shows and events.
• Promote other offers you’re currently running, such as buy one get one free on drinks at the bar.

By moving away from outdated ticketing methods, you’re breaking down the barriers between you and your guest and opening up revenue opportunities that weren’t previously available to you.

Reason #3 - You’ll tighten up your security

Physical tickets present a whole host of security issues. Event organisers have to deal with:

• Lost tickets. If your attendees have printed their tickets off, this makes them easily misplaced, potentially leading to unauthorised individuals gaining access to your events. 
• Ticket theft. Tickets are valuable items, making them a target for theft. This puts your guests at risk. And, the legitimate ticket holder may have difficulty proving ownership or obtaining a replacement, which could lead to them missing the event entirely
• Counterfeit tickets. Skilled forgers can replicate the appearance of legitimate tickets, using sophisticated printing techniques to produce copies that are difficult to distinguish from the original. The result can be unauthorised entry, loss of revenue, and a negative experience for legitimate ticket holders who may find their seats occupied or their tickets invalidated.

There’s a lack of traceability associated with paper or email tickets. Switching to digital alternatives puts the control firmly back in your hands. When guests import their tickets into the app, you can also double up on your security by using verification methods such as requiring a photo ID to ensure only legitimate use.

Reason #4 - You’ll help save the environment

We know that paper accounts for around 26% of total waste at landfills, and mass-producing single-use paper tickets for live events contributes to that statistic. Aside from the fact we should all be banding together to save our planet, there are some other real benefits to taking an eco-friendly approach to your live events as well:

• You’ll save on printing costs. Attractions we’ve worked with who have done away with their digital tickets have seen massive cost savings by removing the need for printing. Take ZooTampa in Florida as an example—they saved around $50,000 by switching to digital alternatives for their tickets, maps and passes.
• You’ll reduce paper waste at your venues. Those tickets have got to go somewhere once guests are finished with them. This can lead to large amounts of paper waste and the potential for litter at your event. Sticking with ZooTampa, they reduced their paper waste by up to 95% after making the switch.
• Consumers are more likely to buy.  77% of consumers are motivated to purchase from companies committed to making the world a better place, and taking a stance on your environmental impact is an important piece of that puzzle.

It’s time to make the move to digital

It’s a clear-cut case: better security, valuable data insights, and saving the planet to boot. Not to mention that your attendees love it too. Digital tickets open up possibilities while taking nothing away from your on-site experience, so now’s the time to embrace digital.

Ready to find out how switching to digital tickets will benefit your live events? Book a discovery call with our experts today to talk about your requirements.