Courtesy of https://www.theticketingbusiness.com, the original article by Ian Nuttall can be found here
The lack of training and professional development materials is a frequent topic of discussion at every TheTicketingBusiness Forum. For an industry as old as ours, it’s amazing how few books and resources there are.
There’s still a long way to go but it’s great to see that David Lynam – one of the UK’s most respected sports ticketing experts and the founder of Kaizen Ticketing – has put the effort in to deliver this practical guide for football clubs to “turn ticketing into a consistent driver of revenue and growth”.
This is not a guide to the future of ticketing, tech integrations per se, or where AI is going to take us, but instead looks inwards – into the football club and the ticketing people within it – with a manifesto for change and success.
Framework for success
In essence, it’s a step-by-step framework to build a core Ticketing Strategy that “drives sales, engages supporters and builds loyalty”. He introduces his Five C’s methodology: Clarity; Captivate; Cutting-edge Tech; Communication; and Confidence. These are explored with practical guidance and a smattering of case studies.
It begins with some sympathetic thoughts on where ticketing often ends up within a football club’s list of priorities, but argues the case for its elevation to a core function (and not one to be exiled to the “windowless underground offices or Portakabin across the rain-drenched car park”).
The importance of ‘buy-in’ (from within the club and across the supporter base) is stressed throughout – to build consensus around the strategy.
The core pillars are built upon in the main part of the book (the ‘tactical tools’), with latter chapters exploring more strategic ideas – from fan engagement and pricing (revenue optimisation) through to operational excellence.
From ticketing, to ticketing
David writes as an industry insider – often, as he notes “the best generalists in any sports or entertainment business” – and he includes several anecdotes that will resonate with colleagues all over the world.
His own headline-making, ticket printing confession will resonate with anyone who’s worked too many hours against deadlines: after all “you haven’t really made it in this industry until you’ve been involved in a situation labelled as a shambles”.
The book delivers what it “says on the tin” but perhaps would benefit from a few diagrams and charts to illustrate key points. He diplomatically holds back on too much promotion of his own Kaizen Ticketing business, but it’s evident that he practices what he preaches with its impressive client base across UK football.
And while written with football in mind, the core approach and techniques can be applied (with, of course, the relevant changes in terminology) to help any sports, membership or entertainment organisation.
We won’t give too much away here – it wouldn’t be fair on the author – but this book is certainly worth £16 for the paperback (or £6 on Kindle) for everyone in the ticketing front- and back-office.
And while you’re ordering, add a few more copies to the basket to send up to the Boardroom. As David makes clear, ticketing needs to be embraced, understood and supported from the top if any strategy is to be a success. As he writes: Stop guessing and start growing!
