Members are your most valuable, engaged, and loyal customers. They excitedly click on your bulk email campaign messages, they wear their lanyard or membership badge with pride at your events, and they invite all their friends to come to your future happenings. Studies suggest that members are four times as valuable as your other attendees. You can’t leave this market segment just sitting there. And by adopting a state-of-the-art Eventbrite alternative as your ticketing platform, it really couldn’t be any easier to create the connection that membership programs build. That dedication, that loyalty to your brand, and the attractions you bring to your customers are all within reach.

Remember your members.

Selling memberships is a great opportunity to build buzz and improve your bottom line. While some loyalty programs are free to customers (think airline mileage points and restaurant clubs), it’s good to associate value with that relationship. Let your members know that this isn’t just some swipe card that comes in the mail and collects points—no, let them know that it is exclusive and full of value. They will pay to be among your most honored guests, and they will feel more special in the process.

Do you already have a membership program for your attendees to join? If not, we’ll show you the easy steps you can take to get it going today! But if you already offer a membership program to your attendees, fantastic! The following details will still help you see how SimpleTix is the best Eventbrite alternative to help boost your new or existing membership program.

How to tell which customers have membership potential?

If your Eventbrite alternative event ticketing software works well with Square and Mailchimp, you will have no problem segmenting your sales and email campaign data into useable and effective target groups.

For example:

• If you hosted a Veteran’s Day celebration, you have an idea of whom to notify of future Veteran-focused events.
• If recipients clicked on your Square “Buy Now” buttons when you offered them concessions upsells via email, you’ll know who is more likely to purchase other sundries before the event, as opposed to waiting until they enter the ticket gate.

Use this information to help you categorize the attendees you want to offer memberships. And with SimpleTix, there’s no limit to the number of categories you can create.

Ask yourself the following questions to extract information that will help you refine your prospective members:

• Who are your repeat visitors?
• Which recipients are more likely to open your emails?
• Who is interested and engages with your programming?
• Have they previously purchased merch?
• Which visitors have left positive online reviews of your events?
• Have they referred other visitors to your attraction?
• Which visitors have tagged you on Instagram or other social media?
• Do they have the financial means to become members
• Which visitors have purchased season tickets to your attraction in the past?

With the right ticketing platform, you can identify these purchases and interactions and target those attendees specifically with an email platform like MailChimp. This is a prime example of making these platforms do the work for you so you can have more productivity and can focus on your future growth. Not every Eventbrite alternative gives you value like this.

What to offer members?

Obviously, the answer to this query depends quite a bit on your specific event operation, the types of ticket categories you extend to guests, your concessions and merch, and other upsells. It isn’t a cookie-cutter answer, but that’s what is perfect about SimpleTix: the platform is so flexible that it offers you almost unlimited options to present to your attendees.

Here are a few membership advantages that you might consider.

• Early access to new events, exhibits, etc.
• Special ticket types and/or rates
• Higher-tier upsells or exclusive offers
• Skip the line at your attraction
• Exclusive parking section, closest to the gate
• Complimentary bottle of chilled water as they enter the event

With the seamless integration that SimpleTix has with Mailchimp, you can remind members of these goodies, as well as have an opportunity to sell them more robust packages for your events—think concession deals, or a bundle of t-shirts at a discounted rate. Remember, these are your most engaged customers, and they want to spend money at your attraction! Give them that opportunity of an upsell and make them feel special at the same time. Leverage the functionality of this Eventbrite alternative to your benefit and your members’ benefit as well!

How to learn more about your members.

It can be more challenging than you think to pinpoint exactly why members are attracted to your operation. The previously mentioned sales information is a good place to start.

Other options for getting feedback are:

• Email surveys segmented by your customer base with Mailchimp.
• Send previous customers targeted and specific messages to try to find out more about their experience.
• Monitor social media platforms and gather information from posts where attendees tagged you.
• Have your service staff ask attendees how their experience is going at the concession stand or the merch booth.

We’re pretty sure you will find that program members are more willing to give feedback. Following up promptly after they’ve visited is a great way to assess exactly what they want so you can give them more of it while everything is still fresh in their head. How was the performance? Did they like the food? Was traffic or parking a problem? Were your staff friendly?  Engaging with these customers while they are still on their “post-event high” will yield a bounty of authentic data points that will be useful when examining the effectiveness of your membership campaign.

Integration has its benefits! Make Square, Mailchimp, and SimpleTix do the heavy lifting for your members.

With the SimpleTix – Mailchimp – Square trifecta, you have an intuitive, seamless way to stay in conversation with your customers and build your membership base. Not every Eventbrite alternative has this painless functionality.

And one last thought: let your members know the benefits you are providing them! A recent Forbes article stated that 63% of consumers will modify their spending habits to maximize the benefits of their membership program. You must let your members know what they are getting from the program, and in the process, you will experience growth in the market segment. Leverage Square and Mailchimp to help you get this information out, build stronger customer loyalty, and boost your sales. SimpleTix is the Eventbrite alternative you have been waiting for.

SimpleTix has offered an affordable, premium event ticketing platform that outperforms Eventbrite and similar apps for over 12 years. Compared to the competition, SimpleTix offers better options at a better price point. To learn more, call us at +1 (855) 550-3670 or email us here.