Mesa, Ariz-firm TicketForce has signed seven new performing arts centers in 2013.
The arts are a growing chunk of TicketForce’s venue business, fueled by an explosion in CRM technology and improvements to donor analytics in the arts. Box office professionals are looking for new ways to crunch sales data, track the life cycle of their customers and coordinate with departments like Development and Marketing for a more unified organizational view.
“It’s a great vertical we can expand in because arts organizations are beginning to seek out new software and ticket solutions,” said CEO Lynne King Smith.
Growth areas include demand for box office integrations with third party distributers and customizable sales widgets that function inside the application. Demands for mobile ticketing solutions are on the rise, along with a growing market for data analytics and Salesforce.com-style CRM.
“Arts organizations are reaching into new technologies as a way to meet consumer expectations and break down silos,” said Dan DeMato, a ticketing consultant with FutureTix, helping clients identify ticketing solutions for their business.
Improvements to ticketing in sports from mobile tickets to stored value for concessions is driving up patron expectations and DeMato said a new round of instant upgrade products like pogoseat that allow fans the ability to upgrade their seats from their mobile phone will mean an increase in demand for experiential mobile apps.
“And in many cases, arts organizations tend to work in silos. Marketing doesn’t know what ticketing is doing, and ticketing doesn’t know what’s going on in development,” he said. “You want your box office employee to know that the person who’s having a problem at the ticketing window happens to be one of your biggest donors. Technology in arts breaks down those barriers.”
King Smith said TicketForce is seeing an increase in demand for marketing software, especially as eyeballs move online and advertising analytics begin to drive revenue.
“Many organizations are used to traditional marketing messages, but now they’re trying to reach the next generation,” King Smith said.
Ticketforces new clients include:
Pepperdine University Center for the Arts, a 450-seat venue in Malibu, Calif.
The Herberger Theatre Center, in Phoenix, which will utilize TicketForce’s donations and memberships software suite at Herberger’s LunchTime Theatre.
Niswonger Performing Arts Center (NPAC) in Greeneville, Tenn. TicketForce already provides ticketing services to Niswonger’s sister center in Van Wert, Ohio.
Mercury Summer Stock, a performing arts theatre in Cleveland specializing in family friendly fare.
The West Houston Performing Arts Center, located inside the Berry Center in Cypress, Texas.
Johnson City Symphony, under the musical direction of Robert Seebacher in Johnson City, Tenn.
Flickinger Center for Performing Arts, a 590-seat theater in Alamogordo, N.M.
The next area of growth? King Smith believes it’s going to be e-commerce opportunities on Facebook. Her company was one of the first to roll out a fully integrated ticket purchase system that sites inside the social networks and allows buyers to surf through event calendars and pick out their seats without leaving the Facebook site.
Facebook ticket sales capability is now offered by TicketWeb, TicketFly and Ticketmaster and Audienceview although the technology is still in its early stages and a bit clunky. While firms like TicketMob and TicketForce have the capability to build better social media integrations, many are waiting for improvements to the Facebook API and direction on the companies strategy around e-commerce.
“I see two things that Facebook is doing that indicate where it plans to go with ticketing,” said King Smith. “They’ve improved their Events section so that fans can buy tickets from the RSVP, and they’ve expanded their gift platform, allowing users an easy way to buy gifts for their friends.”
Interviewed for this article: Lynne King Smith, (877) 840-0457; Dan Demato, (516) 608-0626