Like a swift, and powerful wind, the agents of digital disruption have uprooted and completely transformed the way we socialize, shop, communicate and make decisions. Television shows are streamed, groceries are bought online, and our wardrobes can be entirely purchased from a mobile device. Gone are the days when people prioritized an in-store experience.  As the buying power shifts towards a fully digital generation that demands fluid online experiences, marketers are struggling to keep up with the constant influx of new demands created by rapid technology and digital innovation.

By the end of 2018, more than a third of the entire world’s global population will be smartphone users. By 2020, digital economies will account for 25% of global GDP. Meaning? We’re just getting started. The fact is, your customers are now digital customers first and while this seems daunting, the need for a shift towards digital unlocks a wealth of new opportunities for marketers trying to reach their customers.  We now can serve our customers with personalized experiences, through multiple, targeted channels, and come away with deeper analytics and data, than ever before.

Perhaps one of the most difficult challenges for a tech-savvy marketer is the overwhelming number of options being pitched to them to support their digitally-driven marketing strategies. It’s a tough job alone to cut through the noise and determine which of these tools you need, and which will truly deliver. Tack on implementation time, limited staff, ease of use, and cost, and the task of finding effective tools that will bring your organization to life online, and reach your digital audience, seems nearly impossible.

So where to begin?

Imagine your customer, Laura, is looking to buy ballet tickets to take her sister out for her birthday. She searches online a couple of times for ballet shows in her area and, hopefully, lands on your website. She spends time on your site looking for available information on which shows are playing this season, what they’re about, how long they are, and ticket prices. She eventually finds a show she thinks her sister will really enjoy and proceeds to purchase tickets online after selecting the best seats she could find at a reasonable price point.

Laura not only wants to be able to make this transaction online, but she also needs to be able to do this from her smartphone while she is on her morning commute to work, because she knows she won’t have time to do it later in the day. Once she’s purchased the tickets, Laura worries for a moment that she will have to physically go to a box office before the show starts to pick up the tickets she’s just bought. Her window between dinner and the show is very short, and she’s afraid she won’t have the time. Nervously, she checks her email and breathes an immediate sigh of relief when she realizes all she needs to do is scan a barcode from her phone once she gets there!

Buzzing with anticipation, Laura has always been bad at keeping surprises, she tweets her sister using a sharing link she was given once her tickets were purchased, “@Charlottesway guess where we’re going this weekend?! #dance #ballet”. Your business is included in the tweet, and several of Laura’s followers click Laura’s link to your website to see what she’s so excited about.

1. Insta-e-Tickets

If your business is in events, performing arts, destinations, or another environment that demands a physical presence, a good place to start (beyond a website) would be a digital ticketing system. Ideally, you can find a content management partner that will not only provide you with a website, but also an entire digital experience that will continue the customer’s journey from the online space to the physical space.  

2. Go Digital or Go Home

There’s a lot to unpack in Laura’s simple case. For starters, Laura began her research for ballet shows online. The thought of making a phone call, or walking somewhere to purchase tickets did not even cross her mind, given that now, just about everything can be done online.

3. Aim for Easy-Peasy

Laura needs a little convincing before she makes her decision to purchase. She spends time clicking around the website looking for more specific information on shows. Load times on the webpages she hits are speedy and optimized to push her towards purchasing a ticket. Your site has also been built with unlimited freedom in design, and the longer she spends on it, the more familiar she becomes with your brand and its consistent design.

4. Trust is a Must

The familiarity and ease of use of your website has given Laura a sense of reliability. She proceeds to purchase her tickets, trusting that you are using a risk-free, fraud-free payment system that will cause her no issues or security concerns.

5. The Power is in Her Hands

Given her busy and always-on-the-go schedule, Laura needed to make the e-ticket purchase from her smartphone. Your site was created with a mobile-first design to ensure there was no missed revenue from mobile users due to a lack of restricted mobile design.

6. Avoid Redemption Woes

As a customer moves from the digital part of their engagement with your brand to the physical, they expect the same easy experience they were provided online. Laura was provided a seamless process of being able to redeem her e-tickets by scanning a barcode from her phone, eliminating any inconveniences in having to wait in line, even though the whole point of purchasing an online ticket was to avoid this irritating and time-consuming process.

7. Socially Savvy

Your simple, reliable and easy ticketing process left Laura buzzing. You could make the daunting task of buying her sister’s birthday gift painless, and as a result, Laura shares her excitement via social media. Happy customers will broadcast their positive experiences, which in turn will generate more leads to your business. It is a full circle engagement.

The Future is at Your Fingertips

We are undergoing a massive paradigm shift towards digital, and companies that do not transition with the times will not be able to compete. Making the switch over to a digital ticketing system will help you further engage your customers at all points of the buying process and ensure a high-quality experience is always associated with your brand.

Look for a strong CMS partner with mobile-first design, a focus on user experience, ticket redemption through app scanning, and fraud detection to ensure your customer’s security. The future is at your fingertips.