The Dreaded Log-in Requirement — Why?
If you’ve been reading this blog over the years, this post may seem eerily familiar as I’ve covered this topic before. However, I’m prompted to write about it again because of an experience I had this past weekend when I decided to go to the theatre. I went to an organization’s website (Organization A for this blog posts purposes) — fully committed to buying a ticket for a show that looked interesting.
After I checked the dates, selected my seat, and got ready to pay, the site asked me to log-in. I hadn’t been to this theatre in over a year, and couldn’t recall if I had ever logged in, so I put my email address in the “new customer” field. After pressing submit, I got an error message saying that I did, in fact, have login credentials so I should type my email address in the returning users box. But of course, I had no idea what my password was so I was directed to click on “lost password.”
At that point, my frustration with this checkout experience far outweighed my interest in the show, so I left the website in search of an easier ticket buying experience. Could I have persevered and gotten a new password and logged in? Sure. But there were other shows at different organizations that I had an interest in seeing. So, I went to Organization B’s website where no log-in was required and purchased a ticket in 90 seconds. Done. (And the show was fantastic! )
People, why do you let technology companies dictate your relationships with your patrons? Why even chance frustrating a new ticket buyer? Yes, there are very good reasons to create log-ins — especially if you want to avoid duplicates in your database.
However, it’s hard enough to find someone who wants to come to your show — so how about making that your priority, and dealing with the duplicates later? (I would be remiss if I didn’t say that PatronManager has a built in “data qualifier” that automates your staff’s ability to deduplicate regularly and quickly, thus eliminating the requirement to have people log-in.)
If you’re in a decision-making position about the customer experience of buying a ticket at your organization, I urge you to think about it as if you’re a new customer or a returning customer a year later. Put yourself in the shoes I was in this weekend, and I hope you’ll make your ticket buying experience frustration-free!
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