12 Proclamations: A Talking Tickets Manifesto...
Hey!
You know that I’m always thinking about branding and strategy.
That often leads me to read new things besides my teaching, consulting, and other work.
The last few weeks have led me to a series of posts about moving forward in 2024 and building businesses that can sell tickets, grow audiences, and build sustainable businesses.
Two recent ticket industry pieces caught my attention:
Then, I went deeper and found a manifesto by Blair Enns for creative agencies and how they sell their services.
The way that Blair talked about manifestos and what they are for and how you do them helped me think about what I wanted to share with you today…because it made sense.
A manifesto of what I’d say anyone who follows my work should be focused on to make their business successful.
We Recognize: We Don’t Know Shizz: “I am an idiot of consumption.” My opinion doesn’t matter. We all need to recognize that our opinions are irrelevant. We need to know what the world around us wants, needs, and values.
We Know That We Need Expansion and Retention, Not One or the Other: Keeping our current ticket buyers is important…100%. But we also need to reach more people and build a bigger base. Not all or nothing, but both.
We Must Focus On Our Brand: Hand-in-Hand with Expansion and Retention is building our brand. The brand reaches more folks, heavy and light. We need both to win in the long term.
We Have to Prioritize the Customer Experience: This comes in many forms like how we greet people at the gate. It can also include our refund or cancellation policies. Most definitely, the way that ushers show us to our seats, or don’t. My philosophy is that everything matters.
Strategy Before Tactics: A certain ticketing person has told me more than once in an indirect way that “we don’t do strategy.” Well, you better. It is the difference between constant scrambling and feeling like you have control of your direction.
Discounts Are For Dummies: Does this need any explanation?
Always Talk to the Fan: Always be in the market. In big ways and small, you’ll want to know what your ticket buyers love and loathe. Think about how people talked about refund protection and then Cover Genuis and the Playhouse Square showed you that around 50% of people were picking up refund protection. Don’t make an assumption.
Creativity is the Key: Did you ever see my 101 ways to monetize your events? I did it to show you that you are only limited by your imagination. I put that out in 2020, but it is still true.
We Will Think Productization: Our product isn’t just the ticket. We have talked about the product at three levels: the core value, the actual product, and the augmented product. We have to think about the product at each level.
We Know Distribution is a Strategic Choice: Open distribution/closed distribution. We can use them both. This includes the secondary market. Everything has to work for our business.
We Know We Can’t Be Everything to Everyone: Nothing is. Even when we want to reach as many people as possible, arts and sports are still exclusionary. It doesn’t mean that we turn our backs on each other, it does mean that we focus on the areas where we can have the greatest impact because we can’t be everything to everyone.
“Everyone” is BS. I mentioned this before. If “everyone” is doing something, “everyone” is likely wrong. “Everyone” is a cop-out. We know that and we need to be more direct.
You can let me know if I am wrong or missed something in the ‘Talking Tickets’ Slack Channel. Or, you think I’ve nailed it!
You should share this with your friend in tickets. I appreciate your reading and your support.
I hold workshops globally. I am an advisor, consultant, and lecturer in strategy and brand management. If you want to see if there is a way to work with me, hit reply.
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