Ticketing and visitor engagement are on the precipice of something new.
A once-in-a-generation technological change is happening and a new metaverse-savvy customer is coming towards us.
While some in the sector are supercharging their investment in Web 3.0, others are having to deal with the threat of the cost of living crisis. Thriving in the real world, never mind the virtual world, will be all-consuming for many event organisers.
For this reason, 2023 is a year where more than ever, the museum and heritage sector needs one foot in the present and one in the future.
Today, right now, we need to focus on what can be done to get through what will undoubtedly be a tough economic time.
Yet in parallel to this, we need to ensure we are planning for the future, taking advantage of the opportunities offered by these new and disruptive technologies.
As we plan for the next 12 months and beyond, here are our thoughts on what will define the ticketing sector in 2023.
1.Build audiences through community marketing
With the loss of third-party cookies and increased privacy regulation, in 2023 museums are looking at ways to capture zero-party data. Zero-party data is information that customers voluntarily share with organisations and is a valuable asset for any marketer looking to sell tickets.
Visitors are at the heart of museums and early engagement with them through recognition and rewards is key to delivering a successful event.
Forward-thinking organisations are increasingly focused on creating and building their own communities – a platform which opens up channels for conversations, offers opportunities for people to produce content, and a space where ticket sellers can listen to their loyal visitors. Linking the community to ticketing provides a seamless, easy customer journey and generates a strong ROI for the organisation’s investment in building its own community.
In 2023, we expect to see more organisations investing in membership schemes. For those with established communities, in both the physical and digital worlds, we will see them taking their community to the next level by overlaying new technologies such as the metaverse. For those new to online community marketing, we advise starting with a free membership and focusing on driving numbers and engagement from there.
2. Cost of Living Crisis Will Create A Two-Tier Economy
The cost of living crisis will be very challenging and is a real double blow to the industry on top of the Covid years.
As discretionary spending falls, pressures on ticket sales rise. It’s going to be tough.
We’re already seeing the increased costs of putting on an event being passed onto customers through higher ticket prices. But the industry won’t all be affected the same, and we expect to see the emergence of a two-tier economy.
People will still find the money to see the big exhibitions. The top-tier, best events will still sell out. The real impact will be on the second tier – the smaller, less well-known venues.
Our focus will be on helping clients in both tiers to really know their audience and engage with them using CRM and BI tools. As the public think more carefully about their disposable income and how to spend it, we expect to see more spontaneous behaviour from them. If they have more money to spare, or the opposite and find themselves having less than expected, we will see an increase in last-minute ticket sales or changes to dates. This requires a need for organisers to facilitate customer self-service tools, particularly on mobile, which will reduce staff time spent on handling change requests and ensuring a smooth customer journey at all times.
We saw, post-Covid, that clients who were close to their audiences came out stronger. It will be the same again with this crisis. Having a single customer view allows clients to target their products better, build loyal fans and find new audiences. Ownership of rich data will continue to be one of the most powerful assets to help
organisations through this tough time.
3. The Rise of Web 3.0
If you’re grappling with all the talk of the metaverse, digital assets and Web 3.0, the good news is that you’re not alone, and you’re not too late to the party. 2023 is the time to start planning for new technologies and the needs of your next-generation audiences.
Many are talking about what to do with Web3, but very few are taking action right now. Those on the front foot will stop hypothesising about the potential of the blockchain, digital assets, and metaverse, and instead start working with the right partners to focus on developing a strategy to build a digital-asset ecosystem.
The metaverse will not replace attending an exhibition, but it is down to the industry to rise to the challenge that technological advances throw at us. It might be out of your comfort zone, but for many GenZ and future fans, this ‘meta-live’ hybrid will be very appealing.
Audiences are changing. They are no longer just content consumers but also producers of it. We call this type of customer a ‘prosumer’. Prosumers use and engage in various metaverses and are also able to build their own experiences, services and digital assets that others can in-turn own and experience.
We should see prosumers and new technologies as an opportunity. By being seen and experienced by a larger, global audience in the digital world, the IRL (in real life) live event will become more special and valuable. Demand to be there in person will only get higher.
At SECUTIX we recognise that Web3 is an opportunity and we know our clients need help to navigate it, so that’s why we’ve built a new team of Web3 developers and blockchain experts that can advise on the best strategy to enter this space as well as provide the infrastructure and tools needed to succeed. Our ambition is for SECUTIX to become the default Web3 wallet that organisers use to identify, reward and engage with true customers in a more direct peer-to-peer way.
