MAAG ticketing improvements and time saving with Smeetz unified commerce platform

‍How MAAG Moments slashed event setup time and boosted online ticket sales with Smeetz

The evolution of digital ticketing systems has gone beyond moving sales online. Today, venues and event managers need advanced features like dynamic pricing, which can automatically change the price of tickets based on factors like demand, time before the event, and day of the week. Also, other automation tools, powered by AI, save time and free staff from tedious manual tasks that cost hundreds of employee hours. 

New AI-powered unified commerce platforms, like the one we offer at Smeetz, make these improvements possible. But, they also create a divide between venues and event managers who have these new tools and those who don't. Unique Swiss entertainment venue MAAG Moments was one of those places that had fallen behind the curve. Here's how Smeetz helped them streamline their ticketing setup and sales process. 

The challenges of MAAG’s legacy ticketing system

MAAG Moments’ legacy ticketing system presented a host of challenges. First, it had an outdated interface that led to a poor user experience for ticket buyers. In the age of well-designed sites and apps, this was an especially glaring problem.

Things weren't any better behind the scenes. MAAG Moments hosts numerous events. The slow ticketing setup process for each event created a headache for employees. They had to manually set up each ticket sale and go through a complex set of steps to create promo codes and other features for each sale. Also, price changes were complicated, making dynamic pricing for events impossible.

Needing an upgrade, MAAG looked to the Smeetz unified commerce platform for attractions for the solution.

The solutions offered by Smeetz

Smeetz was able to customize the solutions for MAAG. This vision-driven partnership allowed MAAG to keep their brand and tailor the solutions to fit their needs. The API and integrations helped the venue create a ticketing solution that met its needs.

•           Smeetz let MAAG simplify the setup for new events. Automating manual setup tasks saved MAAG employees a lot of time. The venue reported saving about 30 minutes on each new event setup.

•           The system vastly improved the user experience, with customers appreciating features like seat view images and venue maps.

•           Features like the Atlas AI-powered chatbot offered customer assistance with booking. This gave customers immediate support without demanding that employees respond to each query manually.

•           Dynamic pricing let MAAG adjust prices using time-to-booking and occupancy (the share of capacity already booked), which helped increase revenue. See our dynamic pricing blog post for more on the benefits of this feature. 

•      Introduced an optional “Flex” rebooking add-on sold per ticket. With Flex, buyers can change their ticket to another available date/time up to 8 hours before the event start directly online. Rebooking isn’t available without a Flex add-on.

•           Previously, time-consuming tasks like promo-code creation and data collection became much easier with the unified commerce platform.

•           The unified commerce platform made data collection for analysis and personalisation much easier. Customers could get personalized information and communications, and staff could see important sales data in real time, making adjustments to sales or pricing if needed.

Smeetz offered competitive pricing and a complete end-to-end ticketing solution. The comprehensive nature of the platform helped MAAG get a return on their investment.

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The results: Important KPIs

The Smeetz case study on the MAAG Moments ticketing partnership revealed impressive results. 

• ~30 minutes saved on each new event setup thanks to automations and streamlined processes.
• Flex option adoption: about 1 in 10 tickets included the Flex option.
• Actual changes: only 8% of Flex purchasers ended up modifying their booking, handled seamlessly by the system.
• Revenue impact: with around 100,000 total tickets sold and a CHF 3.50 Flex add-on, the Flex option generated ~CHF 45,000 in additional revenue.

Operational & guest experience gains

Perhaps most importantly, both operations staff and customers saw noticeable improvements after the switch to Smeetz.

MAAG ticketing manager Cyril summed up the improvements best, saying, "Smeetz makes my job easier and more fun."

He added advice to other venues or event managers thinking of giving Smeetz a try. "Just do it and go for it! Great vision, smart features, and strong integrations — it simplifies so much."

The data backs up this morale-boosting sentiment.

•           The improvements went beyond online sales. In fact, one-third of onsite ticket sales happened through self-service kiosks running the Smeetz ticketing platform.

•           Staff were free to work on higher-level tasks or deal with more complex customer issues.

•           AI-powered support offered immediate assistance, positively impacting user experience.

•           Smoother workflows made each step of the setup, management, and post-sale analysis much easier.

•           Features like image previews of each seat helped guests choose the ticket that best fit their preferences.

•           Customers were able to enjoy a personalized experience regardless of whether they used a computer, mobile device, or kiosk to find and book tickets.

Perhaps most importantly, staff morale improved, as they were no longer hampered by time-consuming manual setup tasks and customer service queries.

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Key takeaways

Here's a summary of the benefits MAAG was able to enjoy with the switch to the Smeetz unified commerce platform for ticketing. 

•           Smeetz helped MAAG streamline ticket setup and booking management with its unified commerce platform. 

•           The Smeetz platform was highly customisable, with APIs and integration allowing the venue to maintain its brand and create unique features to fit its specific needs. 

•           The changes improved the user interface for customers and improved morale for employees by simplifying the setup process and automating manual tasks. 

•           MAAG was able to increase revenue with flex tickets and simplify point of sale systems, with one-third of tickets now being sold through self-service kiosks.

•           Data collection improved personalisation and made data analysis much easier. 

•           The unified commerce platform also standardised the user experience, so users could have the same experience regardless of which channels they used. 

Smeetz provided a customized solution for MAAG, allowing them to tailor the solution for their needs. Venues and events managers who are unhappy with their ticketing platform or who haven't yet embraced AI-powered solutions or unified commerce platforms can give Smeetz a try. Book a personalized demo to see how Smeetz can elevate your venue’s revenue and guest satisfaction.