The 10 advantages for a nightclub to work with Smeetz

Case Study

Our collaboration with nightclubs allows them to:

• simplify their ticket sales,
• increase their ticketing revenue,
• have a real-time overview of their sales and participation rate,
• generate valuable analytical data,
• save time,
• reach a wider audience,
• and make better informed decisions.

In this case study, I will present you with a real case: a very popular nightclub in Switzerland organising weekly parties and some larger annual events.

Before using Smeetz, this organiser was only selling tickets online for very large events. The rest of the time, tickets were only available at the event's site, on the event's day.

With Smeetz as ticketing system, this nightclub sells tickets for each event on several online and offline channels, while managing a single stock. Sales occur on:

1. The organiser's website thanks to the Smeetz booking widget,
2. The Smeetz.com platform and other online distribution channels,
3. At the cashier with the Smeetz point-of-sales.
   

A unique system for online and at-the-door sales

1. Sale of your tickets online

Thanks to online sales, tickets are now open for sale 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This allows the club to reach a wider audience and sell tickets in advance, allowing a prediction of the success of the events.

Online tracking allows to know which channel converts the most; whether it is social media (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), ads (Facebook Ads, Google Ads, etc.), newsletters, promoters or else.

This club also uses differentiated online prices based on guests' entry time to fill the club as quickly as possible. For example, a ticket valid before midnight may cost less online and at-the-door than a ticket valid after midnight.

With this data, marketing strategies can be implemented in real time. For example, for a party that has low sales, it is possible to offer a promo code in order to generate an increase in sales.

As for the participants, they no longer have any problems at the entrance of the events: no more waiting in the cold and no more worries about payment. Online, all payment methods are accepted and a confirmation email is automatically sent when a booking is made.

To learn more about the benefits of online sales, read this blog: "The 5 main benefits of using an online booking solution".

2. Sale of your tickets at-the-door

On the day of the event, there are always people willing to purchase their tickets on-site. With Smeetz, the physical point-of-sale of the event is directly linked to the online sales system. Online and offline sales are done in parallel from a centralised system and online sales no longer have to be stopped once on-site sales have started. Availabilities for each event are updated in real-time from each sales channel.

On your Smeetz for Business account, you will have all your online and offline sales information in real time.

The on-site sales system requires a computer or tablet and a printer, if a printed ticket is required.

3. Reservation of tables and memberships

In addition to entrance tickets, it is possible to propose the booking of tables thanks to the integration of a seating plan. The sale of club membership cards can also be added. Soon, we will also add the possibility to include deals with hotels and restaurants.

For online table reservations, it is possible to add custom fields to personalise the customer experience. Thus, all details can be settled online.

4. Quick and secure scanning of your tickets at the entrance

When an online booking is finalised, a confirmation email is automatically sent to the participant with a QR code and a ticket attached in PDF format. There is no need to print the ticket. As long as the QR code is clearly visible on a mobile phone, it is scanned at the entrance without any problem.

The scanner is also a simple mobile phone. If there is a large influx of people, any authorised team members can take out their phone and start scanning tickets. In addition, a QR code has the advantage of being scannable in all directions, unlike a traditional bar code.

In addition, if a participant has forgotten his ticket or can no longer find his email, you can search for his name in the attendee manager on your Smeetz for Business account and check whether he has a valid entry.

With our unique and highly secure QR codes, participants won't be able to fraud by trying to get several people through with one ticket. Only you decide when and where the ticket can be scanned and how many times. This way, entry into the club is done professionally, quickly and securely.

For example, at a major event of this organiser during the summer, a minimum time of 45 minutes was scheduled to bring nearly a thousand people aboard a boat. Thanks to the Smeetz scanning system, the tickets were scanned in a record time, allowing the boat to leave early.

5. Single tickets for several entries

Our client is the partner of an outdoor festival that lasts 3 days. At the end of each day, there is the possibility to continue the evening in our client's nightclub. Tickets on sale are therefore for the festival during the day, the evening in the club or a combo of both for a day or several days.

Before our collaboration, this organiser used different bracelets for each type of ticket and therefore each entry. Since they use Smeetz, there are no more bracelets at this festival. For example, a single ticket is sufficient for two events in two different locations. The ticket remains valid to be scanned once at each entry.

This solution simplifies the logistics and saves money. For a festival of more than 5'000 people, each necessary bracelet can cost between CHF 0.05 and CHF 0.50. The cherry on top, it's also environmentally friendly 😊.

6. Measuring the success of promoters and free invitations

Whether you organise free or paid events, by using Smeetz you can collect valuable information about your customers without any effort on your part.

This club uses the Smeetz booking system for its free parties and for guestlist management at paid events. By using a single system continuously, data collection is simplified and it is possible to know the exact level of participation at each event.

This club also uses promoters to bring clients to the various parties. In the past, each promoter had a guestlist at the club entrance and as soon as someone on the list entered the club, the bouncer would check the name on the list. This manual process was slow and advocated many mistakes. Since promoters are paid according to the number of their guests entering the club, these data are important.

With Smeetz, each promoter has his/her own personalised promo code to allow their guests to book tickets for free. When a person comes to the club and scans its ticket, this promoter's statistics are automatically updated. Thus, it is now very simple to know which promoter brings in the most people.

Free invitations are managed by the same system as paid tickets. Thus, the exact participation rate of each event is known, as well as the number of tickets sold and free guests present.

Automatic data collection to facilitate marketing and analysis

7. A better understanding of your sales thanks to our analytical data

During ticket sales, the collected data is automatically transformed into statistics on your account.

For example, through the use of tagged links, it is possible to know where sales come from. Is it from the organiser's website? A Facebook post? A newsletter? An Instagram ad? The Smeetz platform? This data allows you to focus on the channels that yield the most. To learn more about tagged links, feel free to read this article: "Tag your product links to find out where your sales come from".

If promotional codes are used for a period of time, it is possible to know the exact impact of these strategies on the sales. To learn more about the discount codes, feel free to read this article: "How promotion codes can help you increase your tickets sales".

There are also statistics on the means of payment used and the types and quantities of tickets sold over time.

During events, the data from each scan is stored in the organiser's space. It is therefore possible to see in real time how many participants have scanned their tickets and which are the busiest times. The statistics are also broken down according to the types of tickets sold.

This overview is useful to better manage your staff between low and high traffic periods.

8. Customer database to personalise your communication

We advise our customers to integrate with HubSpot, a software that allows you to manage all tasks related to marketing, sales, CRM, customer service, etc.. HubSpot is then directly linked to your Smeetz Account.. We use this software on a daily basis and highly recommend it.

Once HubSpot is connected, you will have access to an automatically updated customer database. Each customer will have his or her own unique contact with the history of his or her Smeetz-related bookings. This allows you to track their journey and facilitates personal interaction with each customer.

HubSpot allows you to target your marketing more effectively. Using the booking data, you can define criteria and create personalised lists, either static or active. You can then use these lists for your digital advertising campaigns.

For example, your customers can receive specialised newsletters according to the parties they have attended or you can use these lists for your advertising campaigns on Facebook. For example, if a contact has started a reservation without finishing it, you will know about it thanks to HubSpot and can contact them directly with an email or a targeted ad.

9. Optimisation of your Facebook ads

Smeetz's marketing team also advertises certain events on its social networks and in its newsletters. This increases the visibility of the event and allows it to reach a wider audience.

The success of our ads is directly linked to the use of the Facebook Pixel. This tool, that links the interactions on our website and your website with Facebook users, allows us to target our ads to the users most likely to act on our message.

By connecting your Facebook Pixel to your Smeetz pro area, you can target your audience in the same way on your own social networks.

To find out more about our integration with the Facebook Pixel, please read this article.

For example, for the festival mentioned above, we published sponsored posts on Facebook the last 10 days before the event. Our ads reached more than 8'000 people and with an average cost per purchase of CHF 1.27, each franc invested generated CHF 40.35 in sales. We have also made unsponsored posts on our Facebook and Instagram pages and included links to book certain events in our newsletters sent to all our users.

If digital marketing is not your strong point, we offer personalised marketing advice to our customers. Contact us for more information: sales@smeetz.com.

10. Sales prediction and dynamic pricing

We are developing an algorithm to allow nightclubs to predict their sales for each event. This way, based on your past transactions, our algorithm will offer you the best possible pricing.

The objective is to allow you to increase your revenue by adapting your prices to meet the effective demand. This will also provide you with valuable data to better calibrate your marketing.

To learn more about the advantages of our dynamic pricing, please download our white paper below.