Ticketmaster is one of the largest ticket sales and distribution companies in the world. Founded in 1976, it sells tickets for concerts, sporting events, theater shows, and other live events. Ticketmaster also provides ticket resale services and owns several live event venues. With operations in over 30 countries, Ticketmaster sells over 500 million tickets per year.
Given Ticketmaster’s focus on ticket sales and distribution, some may wonder if it functions as a customer relationship management (CRM) system. CRM systems help companies manage interactions and data associated with customers and potential customers. By tracking customer data and interactions, CRMs can improve customer relationships and assist with sales and marketing efforts.
So does Ticketmaster’s ticketing platform also provide CRM capabilities? Or is it better understood as an ecommerce and distribution system? This article will examine whether Ticketmaster has the features and functionality of a CRM system.
What is a CRM System?
To understand if Ticketmaster is a CRM, we first need to define what a CRM system is and its key capabilities.
CRM stands for customer relationship management. A CRM system helps businesses manage relationships and interactions with customers and prospects. It serves as a centralized database for all customer data, including contact details, purchase history, communication records, and more.
Key functions and features of CRM systems include:
– Contact management – Collecting and storing contact details for customers and leads.
– Opportunity tracking – Tracking potential sales opportunities from leads.
– Sales automation – Automating parts of the sales process with workflows.
– Marketing automation – Automating marketing campaigns and communications.
– Customer service – Recording service interactions and managing cases.
– Reporting and analytics – Generating reports on sales performance, customer data, and more.
– Integration – Syncing with other systems like email, ecommerce, and accounting software.
The overall goal of a CRM is to help companies enhance customer relationships over time. This supports sales, marketing, and customer retention initiatives.
Having defined what a CRM system is, we can now better evaluate if Ticketmaster meets the criteria.
Key Features of Ticketmaster
As an ecommerce ticketing platform, what are some of Ticketmaster’s main capabilities?
– Event database – Inventory system of live events for sale.
– Ticket sales – Primary booking platform and point-of-sale for ticket sales.
– Seat mapping – Interactive maps for seat selection and upgrades.
– Distribution network – Global distribution to local box offices and third-party sellers.
– Website and apps – Direct sales channels to consumers.
– Resale marketplace – Secondary market to re-sell and exchange tickets.
– Venue management – Ownership of major event venues.
– Security systems – Ticket transfer and anti-fraud technology.
– Payment processing – Range of payment options for ticket purchases.
So from this overview, we can see Ticketmaster handles ticket inventory, direct and indirect sales, distribution, and payment processing. It also has some limited customer account features for ticket management and communication.
Does Ticketmaster Have CRM Functionality?
When comparing Ticketmaster’s capabilities to standard CRM features, there are some areas of overlap but also key differences:
**Contact Management**
– Ticketmaster allows customer accounts to be created. This includes capturing basic contact details like name, email, and physical address.
– There is minimal contact segmentation or tracking beyond purchases.
**Opportunity Tracking**
– The concept of “opportunities” does not really apply. Ticket sales are highly transactional.
**Sales Automation**
– The ticketing platform does facilitate automated parts of ticket sales. But no sales reps or pipelines.
**Marketing Automation**
– Ticketmaster sends basic email confirmations and notifications. But no robust email marketing tools.
**Customer Service**
– Customers can contact support regarding orders and tickets. But limited service tracking.
**Reporting and Analytics**
– Ticketmaster has ticket sales data. But no CRM-style reporting on customer lifetime value, campaign ROI, etc.
**Integration**
– There is API-level integration with payment gateways, distribution channels, and partners. But not the typical CRM integrations.
From this comparison, we can see Ticketmaster matches some of the transactional elements of a CRM system related to ticket sales. But it lacks the holistic relationship tracking, marketing automation, and analytics capabilities that define full-featured CRM solutions.
Is Ticketmaster’s Ticketing Platform a Specialized CRM?
Given its large customer base and ticket sales data, could Ticketmaster be considered a very specialized CRM system tuned for event ticket sales?
There are a few reasons why Ticketmaster is likely not considered a true CRM:
– The platform is not focused on managing an ongoing relationship before, during, and after sales. The relationship is quite transactional.
– It does not track “leads” or “opportunities” through a typical sales pipeline. Again, the event ticket sale is a one-time transaction.
– There is no concept of accounts being assigned to sales reps or territories. It operates as a self-service ecommerce system.
– The data structure is optimized around event ticket inventory rather than profiles of individual customer needs and preferences.
– The system is not designed to leverage ticket purchase history for targeted marketing and cross-selling. There is minimal marketing automation.
So while Ticketmaster’s platform facilitates ticket sales and has customer accounts, it lacks the relationship focus, pipeline management, and marketing tools that are hallmarks of full CRM systems. The platform’s purpose is to efficiently sell inventory on behalf of event organizers and venues.
Does Ticketmaster Integrate with CRMs?
Given Ticketmaster’s large client base of event organizers, sports teams, and entertainment companies, does it integrate with external CRM platforms used by these clients?
There are a few examples of integrations:
– Some sports teams will sync Ticketmaster customer data with their own CRM platforms to better track fan preferences and buying behavior.
– Event promoters may integrate ticket sales data with marketing CRMs to segment audiences and target future show announcements.
– Venues can combine Ticketmaster transaction data with their in-house customer data for concessions and merchandise.
– Third-party distribution outlets may sync inventory data from Ticketmaster to update their own CRM and sales records.
However, these types of integrations appear to be secondary purposes. Ticketmaster’s APIs and databases are structured for real-time ticketing inventory rather than serving as a core CRM. The platform syncs transaction details with partners rather than managing the ongoing customer lifecycle.
Does Ticketmaster Need a Full CRM System?
Given that Ticketmaster’s current platform lacks many core CRM capabilities, would the company benefit from a more robust CRM system? There are a few considerations:
**Benefits:**
– 360-degree customer view – Combine transaction data with demographic, behavioral and communication data for a complete view of customers.
– Marketing automation – Use purchase history and activity data to segment audiences and personalize promotions for events they are likely to attend.
– Cross-selling – Increase ancillary purchases like parking, concessions, and merchandise based on integrated customer data.
– Loyalty programs – Offer rewards programs and VIP access to incentivize frequent ticket buyers to purchase directly through Ticketmaster.
**Challenges:**
– Highly fragmented customer base – Most customers only sporadically purchase tickets versus being “loyal” fans and buyers. Makes marketing difficult.
– Inventory limitations – Ability to upsell and cross-sell is constrained by event availability. Can’t easily predict and influence future purchases.
– Customer data restrictions – Much customer data is owned by partners rather than Ticketmaster directly. Limits holistic view.
– Transaction focus – The platform is built for efficient ticket processing versus relationship building. Major overhaul required.
Considering these factors, a full-fledged CRM system could provide some benefits but also faces limitations with Ticketmaster’s business model. The company’s recent partnerships with customer data platforms (CDPs) indicate it aims to capture more customer insights without rebuilding its core ticketing infrastructure and processes.
Conclusion
In summary, Ticketmaster should not be considered a true customer relationship management (CRM) system. While it has some overlapping features like customer accounts and order history, Ticketmaster lacks the in-depth relationship tracking, pipeline management, and marketing automation that define CRM solutions. The platform is optimized as an event ticketing inventory and sales engine. Adding more robust CRM capabilities on top of Ticketmaster’s infrastructure would require significant changes that may not align with its transaction-driven business model. The company is better suited improving customer data integration with third-party CRM and marketing platforms used by its venue and event organizer partners.
