Imagine having to take time out during a busy day, to go stand in line to buy tickets to an event. Now imagine that after standing in line for nearly an hour just when it is your turn the tickets are sold out. All that time and energy wasted plus the added disappointment of a failed attempt to book tickets.

Advent of the digital age has seen a revolutionary change in the trend of making bookings. Now, there is no need for people to stand in line and wait for their turn to book any kind of tickets or services. The advancement of technology has made it possible to book, cancel and reschedule things with just a few simple clicks of the button.

Revenue generated from event tickets alone will see an increase of 9.3%, which amounts to north of $100,000 million by 2023. The reason for this tremendous increase is the simplicity of the task right from finding the desired event to making the booking and payment.

Source: www.statistica.com

The demand for ticket distribution systems will keep rising as the number of users keeps increasing as well. Given below are a few platforms which help event promoters optimize and sell tickets globally:

  • Ticketfly: Said to have sold over $200 million worth of tickets in one year 
  • Eventbrite: Powered over 3 million events in one year
  • Ticketmaster: Estimated annual revenue of $7.2 billion

Source: www.statistica.com

​As any business entity, the aim of a ticket distribution platform, is lucrative viability. In order to do this, they need to provide simple and easy-to-use tools to event creators, which ensures smooth dealings, between the event goer and event creator.

Creation of a Web/Mobile Platform for Ticket Distribution
To develop a web/mobile platform which promotes, markets and sells tickets, a collaboration with an event creator would be imperative. This way the platform has to focus solely on the flexibility of the app or website for customer interaction. It would be the event creators responsibility to plan and market events.
The tools offered by ticket platforms helps promote upcoming events, reducing the need for hiring event managers, saving event creators funds. Saving resources allows for more funds to be investedin the show and artist or even to reduce ticket costs to increase audience numbers.

What Makes a Ticket Distribution Platform Successful?
Not all business models are successful. Some do well in certain areas but not in others. This is true for all businesses and organizations. In such an unpredictable market, how can does one ensure their ticket distribution platform will be popular? Given below are some critical features, which can help give the platform an edge and an added advantage over its competitors. 

Time Saver
One of the primary reasons clients choose to make bookings online is because of the time and energy saved with the easy steps involved. It is imperative that registration and managing accounts should be easy for event creators as well as audiences.
This also means that the website and servers need to be speedy with minimum downtime. Bugs need to be fixed and addressed on priority to avoid loss of potential clients.

Easy Payment Solutions
Online payments have steadily been increasing since 2014. Online wallets are now being used to make insurance payments, mobile recharges, grocery purchases and even for public transport. The platform must have the necessary features to process payments immediately or to deny requests as needed.
Confirming a payment once booking process has started needs to be a timed affair. This helps ensure there are no double or over bookings. For example, a customer needs to confirm the booking by completing the formalities within a stipulated amount of time, say 15 minutes.
All the rules and regulations that need to be followed must be clearly outlined and accepted by the users prior to completing purchase to avoid complications at a later date.
In the event a refund needs to be processed or denied, the platform must have the necessary tools to make it a smooth process with minimum to no follow-up needed by the client.

Transparency with Regards to Detail
Availability of tickets, which slots are filled, vacancies and rate at which the seats are selling can be shown clearly on ticket platforms. This aides customers in knowing how long they have to complete the booking or finalize their plans.
Offering various discounts, like on bulk bookings or limited time offers, make the platform popular as most customers prefer good deals. A wait-list system ensures there are no discrepancies and if tickets are returned or refunds are issued, people still get to attend the show as per the numbers.
Seat mapping feature allows people to choose and know which zone they are booking seats for. This feature also helps event organizers plan zones more efficiently.

Customer Engagement and Marketing
Clienteles need to know more about upcoming events, deals and have a place where they can address their queries or grievances. An open channel of communication offering real-time replies would make this possible and increase traffic to the platform.
Descriptions of upcoming events, along with audio-visual marketing tools would help entice more customers. Branded tickets with unique QR codes make the check-in and entry process suave.
The platform must also offer features which allow audiences to get routed, from other event pages and external links, to book tickets on the app or online. For example, a Facebook events page routed to another site for ticket purchasing.
Similar to using social media and other external pages to increase sales, various marketing tools like e-mailers, newsletters and social media advertisements will also ensure a good turnout for the event.For the ticket distribution platform, to also sell branded apparel, accessories and posters would be a value-added service for the event creators as well as the customers.
One of the most important factor in a successful platform is knowing your customer and ensuring they are repeat customers. This is only possible if they have the necessary tools to create a proper database and all interactions are tracked and monitored.
A sales analysis is an imperative tool for building reports, showing projections and creating strategy. This data would be crucial for an accurate assessment and report for the platform as well as event creator. For example, maximum type of tickets sold, period of maximum sales and so on. This would help future planning of events and necessary tweaks can be made to maximize profits.

Event Cancellation
Worst case scenarios are an eventuality which are not in organizers control and must always be prepared for. There needs to be a fail-safe plan where users can be instantly notified in such an event.

Fraud Reports
The organization would need a strategy to deal with fraudulent event companies, to protect themselves as well as their customers. Users need to be allowed to report events for reasons like infringement, copyright, cancellation and so on, which can be looked into on priority to avoid mishaps later. Ideally a risk management team would be required to assist in handling any and all issues related to fraud. 

On the whole, online booking of tickets has great potential as it is helping simplify the lives of people and increasing their lifestyle standards. By opening a whole new world of possibilities for customers all on one platform it improves user experience and also streamlines the process.
If you need any further information on how to create a web/mobile app platform for ticket distribution, you can contact the App Scoop mobile app developers:  https://www.app-scoop.com/contact-us.html

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