#130 Sell out those season tickets this summer

Hello and welcome to "Sports CDP Crash Course," the podcast where we dive deep into the strategies and insights that can help sports organisations thrive by propelling them to the centre of fans’ hearts and actions so they can become a core part of their fans’ lives. 'm your host, Lorraine Moalosi, and today we’re talking about a crucial topic for ticketing managers and marketing managers: how to sell more season tickets during the summer. Whether you're part of a federation, a league, or a club, these five concrete examples will help you boost your season ticket sales and ensure packed stands when the new season kicks off. Btw we have also created a cheat sheet that sports organisations can use to sell out tickets no matter where they find themselves in the sports’ annual cycle. If you would like to receive this, make sure you contact me and I will send it over to you.

Without further ado, let’s dive into the first strategy for selling out season tickets this summer:

1. Personalised Email Campaigns

First up, personalised email campaigns. For this, it is important that all your data is collected from your various sources and merged in one place, to give a comprehensive and complete understanding of each fan and their consumption and purchase behaviour, amongst other things. This means you can send highly targeted emails based on individual preferences, past purchases, and engagement history.

Imagine being able to segment your audience and tailor your messages. You could send a special offer to a fan who hasn't renewed their season ticket yet, highlighting the games they are most likely to be interested in based on their past attendance. Or, you could send a ‘thank you’ message to loyal season ticket holders, perhaps offering them an exclusive discount for referring a friend. The personal touch not only improves open rates but also drives conversion.

You don’t have to stop it emails though, you can do this via SMS, Viber and WhatsApp too.

2. Dynamic Pricing Strategies

Next, let’s talk about dynamic pricing strategies. You can analyse purchasing behaviour and demand patterns to adjust your pricing strategy in real time. For example, if you notice a surge in interest for certain matches or seat locations, you can dynamically adjust prices to maximise revenue.

Additionally, you can identify which segments of your audience are more price-sensitive and might be incentivised by early bird specials or bundle deals. This kind of flexibility ensures that you’re not leaving money on the table while also keeping your fans engaged and happy.

3. Enhanced Social Media Targeting

Our third use case is enhanced social media targeting. Did you know that you can integrate the Data Talks Sports CDP with social media platforms such as Meta and Google Ads to sharpen your targeting precision? By integrating your CDP with social media platforms, you can create lookalike audiences based on your most loyal season ticket holders. This means you can run highly effective ad campaigns that reach potential new fans who share characteristics with your current ones.

Imagine being able to target ads specifically to fans who follow similar sports, live in the same area, or have shown interest in similar events. This precise targeting can significantly increase the likelihood of converting these new prospects into season ticket holders.

4. In-App Personalisation

Fourth on the list is in-app personalisation. If your organisation has a mobile app, integrating it with your CDP can take fan engagement to the next level. You can provide personalised content and offers based on the user’s behaviour and preferences.

For example, if a fan frequently checks scores or watches highlights of certain teams or players, your app can suggest purchasing season tickets for those specific games. Push notifications can also be tailored to remind fans of upcoming games they might be interested in, driving higher engagement and sales.

If you don’t have an app, worry not. You can look at website and form tracking instead. You can identify who has been looking at the season tickets on your website but is yet to make a purchase and target them with something relevant to them. By using website tracking in conjunction with looking at the fans’ purchase behaviour, you can target them with relevant messages such as “Remember to purchase your season ticket before they sell out” for fans who usually buy season tickets every year. For those who are thinking about doing it for the first time, you can send something along the lines of “Interested in a season ticket but can’t make up your mind. Here’s a 5% discount to get you started”. Let your data inform your messaging.

5. Predictive Analytics for Renewal Campaigns

With the power of a CDP, you can leverage predictive analytics to identify which season ticket holders are most likely to renew and which ones are at risk of not coming back. Additionally, the Data Talks Sports CDP has an RFM model - a recency, frequency and monetary model, that shows the lifetime value of each supporter.

By analysing data such as attendance patterns, engagement levels, and purchase history, you can score each fan’s likelihood of renewal. This allows you to prioritise your outreach efforts. For fans likely to renew, you can offer a seamless, one-click renewal process. For those at risk, you can create targeted retention campaigns that address their specific concerns or offer incentives, such as exclusive experiences or discounts, to encourage them to stay. This proactive approach ensures you’re not only retaining your loyal fans but also converting at-risk customers, leading to a more stable and growing season ticket holder base.

And there you have it—five powerful ways that a CDP can help sports organisations sell more season tickets during the summer. From personalised email campaigns and dynamic pricing to enhanced social media targeting, in-app personalisation, and predictive analytics for renewal campaigns, these strategies can significantly boost your sales and fan engagement.

Thank you for tuning into this episode of "Sports CDP Crash Course." I hope you found these insights valuable and are ready to take your season ticket sales to new heights. Don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review if you enjoyed the show. I'm Lorraine Moalosi, and I'll catch you in the next episode!