UK Ticketing firm creates a world first
Now, it is possible for the first time, to buy major sports venue tickets on the Internet and still have a complete choice of seats from those actually available.
Birmingham City Football Club now leads the UK sports industry with their online ticketing, provided by Data Factors.
Being able to get access to a box office or call centre at peak times is notoriously difficult in football and rugby, as well as other sports. Now, it is possible for the first time, to buy football tickets on the Internet and still have a complete choice of seats from those actually available.
Birmingham City's Commercial Manager Jason Holloway, wanted to move on a number of initiatives at the same time. These were to: -
| | - Improve the accessibility of tickets
- Improve the clubs database for future marketing purposes
- Start to build customer profiles
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He looked at various options in order to do all three things simultaneously. They selected Data Factors, based on their innovative approach. The key factors were: -
| | - It is the only system giving the fans complete freedom to choose their actual seat from those available in real time
- The investment had to make sense for the club who were not ready to make major capital investments in systems
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Jason particularly liked the mobile phone purchase confirmation, being a major feature for both fans and the club. It is easy to use for both the clubs administrators and their fans
With over 250 fans registering in the 24 hours after going live, the site allows customers to choose their seats in selected areas of the ground. At peak times, they will actually be able to see seats being booked by other customers, in real time.
Another major deciding issue was Data Factors ease of use where two systems are in place; one at the box office and another on the Internet. The Data Factors system eliminates the need for re-keying of data and extensive manual reconciliation of seats.
A Data Factors spokesperson, commenting on the system, said, "First mover advantage on the Internet is important. Once again, we have demonstrated our ability to innovate and be first on a global basis."
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