How to solve poor ticketing checkout conversion

Why your ticketing platform is losing you customers at checkout

Getting a third-party ticketing and payment service felt like the practical choice for your leisure venue. They are easy to set up, and there’s no big commitment. However, if you look closer at your revenue, you might see that this choice is causing you to lose revenue at checkout.

If visitors have started the booking process, they want to purchase activities, buy tickets, or reserve services. You’ve already done the hard part: marketing your venue and convincing them to choose you over your competitors. With a third-party provider handling the ticketing and checkout, the booking process can give them second thoughts and actually cause them to change their mind.

They might have concerns when they are redirected to a third-party site or have to download an app to make the payment. Even if they have booked before, they might be frustrated by a forgotten password and the need to re-verify their email or phone number.

A negative leisure booking experience might cause them to abandon the purchase altogether. At the very least, it can lower their level of trust and give them second thoughts the next time they’re looking for a leisure venue.

Here is a closer look at how third-party services can hurt your ticketing checkout conversion figures, and what you can do to remedy the problem.

Frustration with online ticketing flow

Imagine a family that has decided to go to their local trampoline park, planning a fun Saturday afternoon. They've seen your ad, the kids are excited, and the parents get on your park's website to book their spot. Dad clicks "Buy Tickets" and is redirected to an unfamiliar third-party booking page. The URL has changed, the branding looks different, and he's asked to log in to an account he vaguely remembers creating two years ago for a completely different venue.

The parents are slightly uncomfortable with the branding change and redirect, but the kids are already excited, so they decide to book anyway. Dad tries to log in by guessing the password, then decides to try resetting the password via email. By this time, the kids are impatient, and the parents decide to try another venue rather than waiting for the password reset email to arrive.

This scenario is quite common. Every redirect, password request, and extra step can cause frustration and mistrust to build to the point when the customer decides to cancel the purchase.

Can your venue avoid this type of negative leisure booking experience?

A branded checkout on your own website would solve the issue.  But, wouldn't that require an expensive upgrade and an in-house IT expert to manage the page?

A white-label ticketing solution

A white-label ticketing solution like the one offered by Smeetz gives you a branded checkout page on your own website.

With this solution, the booking and payment system is fully designed to look and feel like it belongs to your venue. The page has your logo, your colors, and your domain name. However, the technology powering it behind the scenes comes from a specialist platform like Smeetz. There’s no need for an in-house expert to run and fine-tune the system.

It's important that every touchpoint carries your brand. People don't want to feel like they've been handed off to a third party. Also, you have limited control over the booking experience once customers leave your site. As in the example scenario, trust issues and frustration can quickly snowball and lead to lost revenue.

What do customers see with a white-label ticketing system?

With a white-label booking engine, customers will remain on your site as they select the activities and check out. They will be able to see available time slots (if applicable) and prices and make selections based on these variables.

The booking process won't get interrupted by ads or requests from third parties. Even more importantly, the checkout page, where customers actually enter their payment info, will still carry your branding and website URL, as will the receipt and confirmation details.

The compounding benefits of branded, smooth online ticketing flow

The benefits of a white-label ticketing system compound over time. Even a modest reduction in abandoned checkouts will have a significant impact on your revenue over time.

For example, a venue that serves 500 families a week that recovers 5% of its lost bookings is adding dozens of additional transactions every week.

And, your smooth, branded booking process earns trust, so many of these recovered customers may become repeat visitors who spend money on food, merchandise, and premium experiences in addition to tickets.

To see the full benefit of this upgrade, multiply recovered bookings across a full season and factor in return visits and word-of-mouth buzz. As you can see, what started as a small improvement in ticketing checkout conversion becomes a significant revenue boost for your business.

Other benefits of white-label venue booking software

A smooth ticketing experience doesn't just benefit the customer; it also lowers inbound customer service inquiries. Frustrated customers will contact you with their booking problems. Your team will have to answer the calls, emails, or chat messages. They may have to interface with the third-party provider, complicating the entire process and taking up employee hours.

A familiar, intuitive checkout process and clear, branded confirmation details will reduce the number of booking-related service calls you get.

With Smeetz, you can also use a chatbot to guide customers through the booking process and answer common questions without human intervention.

This leads to another compounding effect. Your customer service team will spend less time fielding questions and complaints and more time delivering the kind of customer service experience that keeps visitors coming back to your venue again and again.

Start improving your ticketing checkout conversion today

White-label ticketing software can bring more revenue and enhance your brand. Want to see what a branded, embedded booking flow looks like for your venue? Book a demo, and we'll show you in 20 minutes.