Ticket Zone announces new insights into theatre donation trends
New research by Ticket Zone has identified fresh insights into consumer spending habits and donations to theatres, following a review of 2017 sales data.
Ticket Zone, who specialises in providing contact centre services to the live entertainment and ticketing industry, found that customers are more likely to donate to a theatre or venue when making a booking by telephone, rather than online. The research shows that donations have been on the increase.
The findings contrast with the Spektrix Benchmark Report published last year, that indicated Point of Sales Donations by theatre goers were more likely to add a donation when booking tickets online (15%) rather than by phone (3%).
Ticket Zone’s positive findings were identified following a review of 2016-2017 sales figures.
Key findings include:
• Up to 27% of telephone bookings completed by Ticket Zone resulted in a donation. • Customers were more likely to make a donation when booking a high-profile act or event. • Many people choose to donate because it allows them to purchase tickets earlier, before they go on general sale.
Many venues are struggling and exploring new funding streams due to severe arts funding cuts.
Wayne Munday, Chief Operating Officer at Ticket Zone, said: “This is an interesting insight into how and why customers choose to donate to a venue. In a time of increased austerity and less funding for arts, theatres throughout the country are often struggling to survive.
“Our performance in both ticket sales and cross-selling donations is a testimony to how closely we work with our clients. From on-boarding, account management and operator training independent of what ticketing system they use to ensure the appropriate tone and persona in asking customers if they wish to make donations or buy a membership – we take our time to get it right.
“Our review was prompted by the Spektrix Report and a desire to illustrate that a specialist ticketing Contact Centre, such as Ticket Zone, can incrementally help arts venues in securing donations.
“As one of the few remaining ticketing specialists who process telephone bookings, along with online bookings, we already know there remains a real need for a traditional telephone call centre. It seems as if the human touch really does make a difference!”
The Arts Council England funding cuts to theatres across the UK means that the future of some venues is uncertain.
