How have the last few months been for you?
TICKETINO started the first quarter of 2020 with promising figures. Although the general uncertainty caused by the impending coronavirus pandemic was slightly noticeable in direct contact with event organisers, it was not reflected in sales until the ban on major events on 28 February. Ticket sales also remained relatively stable in the first half of March, as TICKETINO has a very broad base of event organiser customers who specialise in smaller and medium-sized events and were therefore hardly affected by the restrictions. In contrast to the competition, this focus on the so-called long tail of the event organiser market certainly proved to be a major advantage.
From mid-March, however, the lockdown also led to a massive slump in sales at TICKETINO, as even small events could no longer be organised. On the positive side, hardly any events were actually cancelled but postponed to later dates. However, even the relatively few event cancellations and the associated refunds proved to be very labour-intensive, as unlike ticket sales, which are largely automated, some of the refunds had to be made manually.
The great uncertainty on the part of event organisers and the lack of planning certainty had a negative impact on the number of event placements from March onwards. However, capacity restrictions and the obligation to register visitor data at amusement parks, museums, swimming pools, sports centres, etc. opened up a new, very interesting business area. TICKETINO succeeded in convincing various new key accounts of the innovative timeslot booking solution in April, which meant that the number of tickets sold largely stabilised again in May.
Have your orders and customers changed during this time? If so, how?
Yes, this was indeed the case. The cancellation of major events and business events such as trade fairs and congresses led to a further shift in transaction volume towards the long-tail market. Particularly important customers here are theatres, for example, which regularly hold events and are only slightly affected by the federal government's restrictions due to their limited seating capacity, thus ensuring stable income.
Most business events have been postponed to the second half of the year until the beginning of next year and, thanks to the innovative tools provided by TICKETINO, can be held virtually or in a hybrid form while complying with the protection concept. The previously mentioned venues that use the TICKETINO timeslot booking solution have also been added.
What (new) ticket services do you offer?
The TICKETINO developers are constantly working on improving the platform and expanding its functions. The most important new services are
- TICKETINO timeslot booking module with the customer's look and feel
Already in use for event series for some time, the TICKETINO calendar module has been further developed so that it now represents an innovative and customer-friendly solution for booking time slots. For several months now, it has been used with great success in venues with limited capacity to manage the flow of visitors, avoid queues and record contact details.
- Open, free REST API interface
The new interface of the TICKETINO system makes it possible to connect individual software solutions such as custom shops, scanning systems, box offices and much more to the currency- and VAT-neutral platform with minimal effort. This means that nothing stands in the way of the realisation of your "own" ticketing or guest management solutions.
- Automatic seat blocking for seating plans
In order to ensure the necessary safety distance between groups, the TICKETINO seating plan module has been adapted so that automatic seat blocking can be set between orders.
- Verification of telephone numbers by SMS confirmation
To ensure that all participants at an event can be contacted in the event of suspected infection, the telephone number can be requested at ticket level. To verify this number, a confirmation text message can now also be activated, which can be checked at the entrance control.
- Outlook: New and improved day ticketing system
The completely redeveloped TICKETINO box office system is also about to go live, which will make ticket sales at the box office even easier, more stable and more user-friendly for our customers.
What makes you so unique that people should work with you?
- Flexibility / fast time-to-market
The TICKETINO standard system can be used immediately and without delay by anyone thanks to its self-service capability. Individual timeslot booking solutions or custom shops can also be realised within a few days thanks to our own development work.
- Low price strategy
The TICKETINO standard business is characterised by a low variable fee structure and no fixed costs, and individual custom solutions are also possible with minimal investment.
- Customer focus
Personal customer contact with event organisers is very important to TICKETINO employees. A personal contact person is the rule, even with a manageable transaction volume.
- Innovative COVID-19 products
Proven functions such as the registration system, self-check-in, self-badging, staggered admission to events, time stamps at check-in/check-out and the aforementioned product innovations make it much easier for event organisers to comply with safety concepts.
- Modern marketing / marketing controlling tools
The TICKETINO system gives event organisers full access to ticket buyer data and, thanks to the intelligent integration of Facebook Pixel and Google Analytics, offers interesting possibilities for optimising their own marketing measures.
