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You’ve Got a Friend in Me: Friendliness at the Box Office

Today’s blog post is written by Kate Levine, Client Support Specialist, PatronManager.

At the end of my senior year in high school, I was awarded the superlative of “friendliest” by my peers in the senior class. At the time, I was really surprised that my classmates voted for me to have this specific title, not because I wasn’t friendly, but because I was a fairly quiet teenager! Nevertheless, I was honored to be thought of in this way and graduated feeling hopeful that I would carry this trait with me throughout my life. 

As I started my career in box office management, and now in customer support with PatronManager, I have found friendliness to be a vital asset for my work! With a few years under my belt being on the front lines in various customer service roles, I can safely say that simply being a nice person is a huge part of what has made me successful. But beyond basic human decency, why is this idea of being friendly such a big deal in our industry? To quote a blog post I recently stumbled upon: Read the Article

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Introducing STS Online Gift Card Redemption

It’s the first day of fall, which means the holidays are right around the corner. We understand that this is a fiscally important time for arts organizations with end-of-year fundraising campaigns and big ticketing pushes. With this in mind, we’re pleased to announce the much-anticipated added functionality of online Gift Card Redemption as part of our September 2019 release. Read the Article

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The Evolution of E-commerce: What It Means for Your Arts Organization

Today’s blog post is written by Alyssa Jean, Sales Development Representative, PatronManager.

With smartphones, tablets, laptops, and various other WiFi-enabled devices at our fingertips, e-commerce and online shopping trends have changed quite drastically over the past few years. Physical shopping malls and retail stores are no longer the primary sources for purchasing clothing, electronics, and even furniture. People are turning to the ease and convenience of online shopping from the comfort of their own homes more and more. 

According to this article from Digital Commerce 360, based on a survey conducted this year, millennials complete 60% of their purchases online, which is a 47% climb from a separate survey conducted in 2017. In just two years, that’s almost a 50% increase in online shopping versus in-store shopping! These trends, however, are not just exclusive to the retail industry; consumer studies have shown a rapid increase in online ticket sales as well, particularly on mobile. Let’s look at another study.Read the Article

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How to Say No

Today’s blog post is written by Jude Shimer, Associate Director of Client Operations, PatronManager.

Ten years ago, when I worked in a technical support call center, the platitude “The customer is always right” was part of our core training. It baffled me. Customers were not always right. They often asked for things that were unreasonable, or even impossible. They were rude and sometimes belligerent. I didn’t understand why I was expected to meet unreasonable demands, not to mention how I could meet impossible ones.

No one at the call center ever explained this to me, and no one explained what to do if I had to say no. Left at sea, I developed my own imperfect method: say no as sympathetically as possible, explain why, and, if the client pushed back, repeat “no + reason” with increasing firmness until they gave up in frustration and ended the call.

To be clear, this is not the correct way to say no to a customer.Read the Article

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Introducing Automated Patron Communications & Credit Card Brand Exclusive Pre-Sales

At PatronManager, we’re constantly seeking new ways to help our clients build stronger (and more profitable) relationships with their patrons. We’ve found the best way to do this is to actively solicit feedback from you, the people on the frontlines using our system. 

With this in mind, as part of our August 2019 release, we’re thrilled to announce the arrival of one of our most highly requested features, Automated Communications! With this upgrade, you’ll be able to send automatic pre- and post-show emails to your patrons all from within PatronManager, no third-party apps or other email systems necessary. Want to send an event reminder with parking directions to your ticket-buyers two days before a show? No problem. How about a follow-up survey to all attendees twelve hours after curtain? You got it!Read the Article

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Moving Beyond the Transactional:
Become a Trusted Advisor

Today’s blog post is written by Alyssa Jean, Sales Development Representative, PatronManager.

A “trusted advisor” can generally be described as a person whom someone trusts to guide them through a transactional process. Their role in a sales transaction is to help people make an informed decision based on their specific wants and needs, rather than swaying them one way or the other based on business incentives. Odds are, you’ve had an experience with a trusted advisor at some point in your life, whether it was shopping for a new car, seeking out advice on which washing machine to buy, or making any other significant purchase where an outsider’s knowledge in a particular industry was helpful.

I think you see where I’m going with this… in a similar manner, we in the arts should be employing our box office and customer service representatives to work on behalf of our patrons as trusted advisors. Think about it! At the end of the day, your organization should want your patrons to purchase tickets to shows and events that they will enjoy and that will ultimately inspire them to come back over and over again. So what exactly does it take to evolve from just a ticket-seller to a trusted advisor? Put simply, a deep understanding of what your organization has to offer as well as a deep understanding of what your patrons’ wants and needs are.Read the Article

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