Attractions & Events

Customer Relationship Management: What You Need To Know

Q&A with Dave Langran, Technical Director, Gateway Ticketing Systems

Dave LangranFor more than 15 years, Dave Langran has been helping attraction venues nurture deeper relationships with their members through powerful technologies. Recently, Dave developed a seamless integration between Galaxy® point-of-sale software and Microsoft Dynamics to create CRM Plus, an invaluable customer relationship tool for museums, zoos and aquariums, and other attractions to gain a stronger understanding of their visitors and take informed actions to nurture them.

At its core, what is Customer Relationship Management or CRM?

Dave: It’s knowing who your customers are. It can start out as gathering simple demographics such as age, gender, income and marital status. But the magic really happens when you gather more in-depth information such as transactional history, interests and engagement patterns.

How does having this detail benefit an attraction?

Dave: Armed with this information, they can develop marketing programs that provide mutual benefit for their customers and ultimately, their venue. Let’s imagine that you can run a report and see all your past visitors who have young children but haven’t visited your museum in the past 12 months. If you have a new exhibit on dinosaurs, you might want to do a targeted email campaign to these parents or grandparents touting the interactive features of this exhibit.

Are there other benefits of CRM?

Dave: Absolutely. In addition to being a marketing tool, CRM can maximise fundraising and donation opportunities for nonprofits. It can also give insight into the viability of commercial opportunities such as sponsorships, or events and conferences. Plus, with an integrated approach like Gateway’s CRM Plus, it can reduce administrative burden by providing that crucial 360° view of the customer through one solution.

Tell me about CRM Plus | Powered by Galaxy, what makes it unique over other CRM software?

Dave: A lot. It’s next-generation customer relationship management. The secret is in the seamless integration with Galaxy® point-of-sale software. Galaxy is where all the purchase and usage history lives for customers, members and donors – from ticket or retail purchases on-site at your venue to online ordering of tickets, meal packages and more. This information is fed back real-time into CRM Plus, allowing an invaluable snapshot of your customers at any moment.

CRM Plus also enables you to develop powerful, configurable workflows that automate customer touchpoints such as pre- and post-visit emails. To ensure the right message is getting to the right people at the right time, CRM Plus has insightful segmentation capabilities that allow you to group similar customers together to deliver highly personalised marketing messages. Finally, CRM Plus integrates with commonly used platforms including email providers, social media and other web applications providing a continuous feedback loop.

How would you summarise customer relationship management and CRM Plus?

Dave: CRM is a strategy supported by technology. And CRM Plus | Powered by Galaxy is the only technology that provides a real-time 360° customer view through one solution.

 

For more information, download CRM Plus Product Sheet

Cloud-Based Platform Galaxy Connect™ Receives IAAPA Brass Ring Best New Product Award

Recognising the innovation of one of Gateway Ticketing Systems’ newest technological solutions, the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) awarded Galaxy Connect an IAAPA Brass Ring Best New Product Award. The second-place award is for Technology Applied to Amusements: Facilities and presented to Gateway at the IAAPA Attractions Expo, recently held in Orlando.

Galaxy Connect is a cloud-based platform that enables attractions the ability to integrate with any number of online travel agencies with one integration to sell live tickets. In addition to providing guests with direct-to-gate admission, Galaxy Connect also helps venues increase ticket sales while saving money on costly one-off IT integrations and eliminating the time-consuming voucher reconciliation process.

“We innovate every day to help make our customers successful through technology,” says Michael Andre, President and Chief Executive Officer, Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc. “It’s a tremendous honour to be recognised with the prestigious IAAPA Brass Ring Award.”

Gateway previously won an IAAPA Brass Ring Best New Product Award for its eGalaxy Reseller Web Store that automates the process of consignment ticket sales.

Galaxy Connect™ Gains Momentum in UK Market

Galaxy Connect™ Gains Momentum in UK Market as Venues Look to Increase Ticket Sales and Enhance the Guest Experience

Attractions and representatives of the travel trade recently gathered at Church House Westminster, London, to discuss ways to broaden awareness and increase ticket sales through the new cloud-based platform, Galaxy Connect.

Galaxy Connect allows for easy integration of attraction venues and resellers to sell live tickets to customers.

“Galaxy Connect makes it easier for attractions to partner with distributors and resellers, quickly engaging with customers around the world to increase exposure and ticket sales,” says Andy Povey of Gateway Ticketing Systems. “What’s more, Galaxy Connect is easy to set up with no need for additional training for front of house teams.”

Another benefit of Galaxy Connect is immediate admission. “Because sales through Galaxy Connect are live tickets not vouchers, guests can use their smartphones to gain direct access to the venue rather than queuing for the box office,” explains Don Eash, Executive Vice President/Chief Operating Officer, Gateway Ticketing Systems.

“Galaxy Connect is a massive improvement for distributors. On top of offering more flexibility and real-time access to venues’ ticket systems, it will also create an electronic data trail reducing fraud. We are also looking at new opportunities to generate revenue through the use of mobile app and geolocation,” says Andre Flambard, 365Tickets .

 

Galaxy Connect main benefits:

  • Enhance the guest experience – guests arrive with a live ticket or e-ticket and can enjoy direct-to-gate admission reducing front-gate lines
  • Enjoy real-time access to venue ticket systems – enabling resellers to sell capacity-managed events while avoiding sell-out situations
  • Streamline the reconciliation processes between attraction venues and resellers
  • Save costly IT resource time – connect with any number of online travel agencies and/or attractions with only one integration
  • Eliminate time-consuming voucher process – by selling live tickets, you can save countless hours of manual processing as well as reduce fraud issues

 

To learn more about Galaxy Connect, visit www.galaxyconnect.com or contact us on 0207 912 2022 or email sales@gatewayticketing.co.uk 

Kidzania Reaps Rewards of Integrated CRM & Ticketing

Gateway Ticketing UK (Gateway) supplies timed ticketing and integrated CRM tools for Kidzania London to ensure smooth sales and marketing processes for a busy mall environment

 

The timed ticketing and integrated CRM delivered by Gateway allows KidZania to manage demand, visitor flow and avoid long queues in Westfield Shopping Centre, while increasing revenue by enabling the sale of more tickets at a better yield.

When planning for Kidzania commenced it became clear that its popularity with young families and its location in a very busy mall environment could create a large volume of traffic which the mall would be unable to cope with. Both the check in desk and the mall environment had the potential to become congested and this needed to be addressed immediately to ensure overcrowding was avoided.

A solution was sought which would help reduce queues, maximize revenue generation and integrate seamlessly with KidZoft. After an extensive search Gateway ticketing UK was selected to do the job.

 

“The main attractions with Gateway were the tried and tested software, the experience of their team and the strength of their existing client portfolio and we have already been impressed by their approach to our needs as a new customer” said Helen Carpendale, COO

 

In order to streamline the flow of visitors it was decided to allow families into the attraction at regular intervals during the day; effectively spreading out the families’ arrival at the check in desk. By encouraging visitors to arrive through the day, rather than at the regular 2 timeslots each day, the families wait time was significantly reduced on entering the mall environment and at the check in desk.

During the planning phase of Kidzania London it was shown that the combination of controlled capacity timeslots and the loss of the midday changeover allowed the attraction to increase its theoretical capacity by around 25% whilst at the same time reducing queue times and increasing guest satisfaction.

Gateway software provides KidZania with the tools and training to manage the capacity of each timeslot on an ad-hoc basis meaning they can increase and decrease capacity and timeslots based on each day’s trading. This requires no changes to the software itself and can be done in house by any trained and responsible team member.

With Gateway providing the software KidZania London were also able to utilize online sales which allows families to pre-book into any timeslot available which is tightly capacity controlled. When a timeslot becomes full it becomes unavailable for purchase and the customer is shown only those slots with tickets available. By encouraging pre-booking with guaranteed entry times and online only discounts Kidzania London is able to control demand on busy days and give a VIP experience to those customers who pay in advance and choose the best timeslots. The webstore also allows parents to pre-pay for food packages meaning the children do not need to carry real world money around the City and ensuring each child spends in Food & Beverage locations.

Not only have KidZania London seen a large increase in capacity of the attraction but the flexible software has enabled them to also increase revenue. Price-programs built into the system give KidZania London complete control of pricing so that pricing can be controlled by timeslot, day and season. By applying a slightly higher price to oversubscribed entry times KidZania London can increase revenue and encourage visitors to choose a less busy day; smoothing demand whilst also adding to their bottom line.

The first 6 months of trading saw KidZania London flow smoothly even with the exceptionally busy Christmas Trading Period in the Mall and increase revenue through a number of strategies including adding Food & Beverage offerings to online sales, encouraging repeat visits of school children and by managing the capacity and pricing of entry very closely.

The integration of Galaxy software into KidZania London allows the team a great deal of flexibility but also the ability to get to grips with their business through in depth analysis of their visitors. By using Gateway Insight to analyse their customer data KidZania London gain useful insight into what people are buying, where they are travelling from and much more. Easy to interpret dashboards allow high level data to be shown live in offices all around the site in order for teams to work more effectively.

 

Andy Povey – Business Development Director at Gateway Ticketing Systems UK said “Working closely with the Kidzania teams in London and Mexico City has been a great experience. Integrating our proven timed ticketing solution into the bespoke Kidzoft system has resulted in the best of both worlds for Kidzania London. The Kidzania development team are now able to focus on their specialist area while the Kidzania London team are able to take advantage of our world leading ticketing, booking and integrated CRM tools. We look forward to our continued partnership with KidZania and working together on future projects.”

 

About Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc.

Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc. is the world leader in admission control and ticketing software for the attraction, amusement, and transportation industries.

 

About Gateway Ticketing Systems UK

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK was established in 2012 and provides admissions solutions and integrated CRM to museums and galleries; heritage attractions and historic houses; zoos and gardens and theme parks and events.

In under three years of operation in the UK, Gateway has secured ten new clients including the Roman Baths & Fashion Museum, Bath, Kew Gardens, London and V&A Museum, London.

For more information go to www.gatewayticketing.co.uk

 

 

Euro UGM 2016 – London

The entire Gateway Ticketing Systems family is excited to announce our 2016 European User Group Meeting in beautiful London! This year’s Euro UGM agenda is packed with the perfect balance of valuable training sessions, demonstrations, networking opportunities, open forum discussions and fun with others in the Gateway Community. We think you’ll agree this event keeps getting better and better each year and we look forward to seeing you there!

 
Where: London, United Kingdom | Dorsett Shepherds Bush – London

Dorsett Shepherds Bush is located in the heart of vibrant Shepherds Bush in West London. The area boasts an excellent transport and communications network. The location is a short bus ride from Hammersmith with a direct connection to Heathrow Airport. The hotel is perfectly located to both Shepherds Bush Over Ground Station and Tube Station offering easy accessibility to Notting Hill, London’s West End and major tourist spots.

When: 4 May 2016 (9:30 am – 19:00 pm); 5 May 2016 (9:30 am – 13:00 pm)

Cost: Free!

Spaces are limited so please Register Now!

 

Hotel Accommodation: A special hotel room rate is available to Euro UGM Attendees at the Dorsett Shepherds Bush – London. Rooms are £125* inclusive of VAT and include breakfast.

The group rate is available when booked by phone or email:
+44 203 262 1026
Anna.mechlinska@dorsetthotels.com
Use Block Code: GATE030516 
*Important: Book by 30 April for a guaranteed room at the Dorsett. After 30 April, rooms are subject to availability.

Drayton Manor Theme Park Selects Gateway UK to Supply Ticketing and CRM Integration

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK has been chosen to partner with Drayton Manor Theme Park.

Recently implementing the Galaxy® Product Suite at its venue, Drayton Manor Theme Park can now sell tickets, season passes and other products at the front gate, over the phone and online with direct integration into its existing CRM solution. This will play an integral role in growing the attraction’s business and building stronger relationships with guests in the future.

 

“Gateway has a proven track record with some of the biggest theme parks and resorts in the world so the decision to appoint them as our ticketing supplier was an easy one. We look forward to combining our operational experience with their industry expertise to ensure the user experience for our customers is the best it can possibly be and I have no doubt that visitors will really benefit from this,” said William Bryan, Managing Director at Drayton Manor Theme Park.

 
Gateway Ticketing Systems’ Galaxy® Product Suite will allow Drayton Manor Theme Park to focus on increasing advanced sales and ensuring data collection is maximized at every touchpoint.

Drayton Manor Theme Park is home to many rides and attractions including Europe’s only Thomas Land™ as well as a 15-acre zoo, campsite, the Drayton Manor Hotel and conference facilities. The Galaxy® Product Suite with CRM solution will now enable these teams to work together seamlessly. The ticketing system will be instrumental in allowing tickets to cover individual elements across the park and hotel then give operations personnel a full view of all sales.

CRM integration will allow Drayton Manor Theme Park to improve the customer experience and build stronger relationships with its guests. Combined data and ticketing offers can also be used to help increase season passes and retention rates.

 

“Being the chosen supplier for Drayton Manor Theme Park is fantastic news for Gateway Ticketing UK. We have spent much time and effort in recent years working with nonprofit organisations to support revenue generation and improve customer relationships and we look forward to sharing this expertise with a commercial business,” said Andy Povey, Business Development Director at Gateway Ticketing Systems UK.

 

About Gateway Ticketing Systems UK
Gateway Ticketing Systems UK was established in 2012 and provides admissions solutions to museums and galleries, heritage attractions and historic houses, zoos and gardens, and theme parks and events. Some of its clients include the Roman Baths & Fashion Museum, Bath, Kew Gardens, London and V&A Museum, London. For more information go to www.gatewayticketing.co.uk
 
About Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc.
Gateway Ticketing Systems, Inc. is the world leader in ticketing software, access control and revenue generation for industries including attractions, theme parks, waterparks, tours, zoos, aquariums, museums and historic sites. Located in Gilbertsville, Pennsylvania, Gateway Ticketing Systems provides strategic consultation, sales, service and support for point-of-sale and ticketing systems throughout North America and worldwide. Gateway’s robust Galaxy® Product Suite integrates ticketing, access control, resource management, group sales, online ticketing sales, retail, food and beverage, and membership management.

About Drayton Manor Theme Park
Drayton Manor Theme Park Ltd, opened to the public in 1950 by the Bryan family, is one of the UK’s most popular family attractions with over one million visitors a year. George and Vera Bryan OBE, converted 80 acres of derelict land, which once belonged to Sir Robert Peel; MP & PM to Queen Victoria and her family, into today’s wonderful multi award-winning family attraction, combining thrill rides with a conservation zoo plus catering and conference facilities.

Today, Drayton Manor Theme Park, still family owned and run by second and third generation family members, covers 286 acres of beautiful woodland and countryside and features some of the wildest and scariest rides around. Rides include: Roller-Coasters – Shockwave, Ben 10: Ultimate Mission and G-force. Major rides: Maelstrom, Apocalypse and Storm Force 10, the wettest ride. It is home to the hugely popular Thomas Land™ featuring many named Thomas & Friends™ character rides for the children and adults alike. Thomas Land™ at Drayton Manor is the only one of its kind in Europe. The park’s 152 seat 4D Cinema, over 50 rides and attractions makes for a truly unforgettable day.

Gateway Ticketing Attends Euro Attractions Show

Successful First Euro Attractions Show in Scandinavia

Approximately 7,000 visitors attend Europe’s leading conference and trade show for the attractions industry. Held in Gothenburg over three days (6 – 8 October) the European attractions industry was in Sweden to discover the latest developments in the amusement park and leisure industry. This conference and trade show is organised in a different European location each year.

In 2015 Euro Attractions Show (EAS) moved to the Scandinavian region (Gothenburg) for the first time. Karen Staley, Sr. Vice-President for IAAPA EMEA, stated:

“Going north was a good idea; EAS 2015 performed above expectations. The location of Liseberg right next to the Swedish Exhibition & Congress Centre provided attendees with a fully integrated park and Expo experience. This made the entire event inspiring, hands-on, and very enjoyable for all attendees.”

 

Trade show floor features variety of innovations

According to the initial reports, approximately 7,000 visitors attended the Expo in the second largest city in Sweden. They came from 96 countries with 30 percent from Scandinavia. Remarkable was the amount of visitors from Eastern Europe. In addition to visitors from the attractions sector, many attendees also represented campsites, shopping centres, water parks and family entertainment centres. No fewer than 408 companies exhibited their newest products for rides, attractions, ticketing and entry systems, 3D films, games, and much more on the 10,500 m2 trade show floor, making it the second largest show in the history of the event. There was a striking trend to interactivity and attractions combining several technologies. Examples of the latest technologies and products are slides combined with games and virtual reality glasses for roller coasters.

 

First fully park-integrated EAS trade show

EAS 2015 took place in the Swedish Exhibition and Congress Centre. Liseberg, one of the most well-known amusement parks in Europe with 3.1 million visitors per year, located directly across the street, was fully integrated in this years’ trade show. Not only the education sessions took place here, but also a backstage tour, special events, and evening events. Christian von Elverfeldt (Mack Rides, Germany):

“Gothenburg as host for the EAS 2015 was a great choice. The proximity to Liseberg extended the show floor and formed a great venue for the IAAPA events. We are honoured with great interest for our products during the show.”

 

Some social media reactions from visitors to this years’ event: “Lots of new connections”, “Liseberg was a perfect host”, “amazing Swedish hospitality”, “interesting and inspiring presentations”.

 

Inspiring seminars

Parallel to the Expo there was also an extensive educational programme with more than 30 hours of seminars. The interest in this programme was also overwhelming. Leading speakers from the industry shared their visions on topics including attractions management, revenue operations and profit generation, customer satisfaction, marketing, and leadership and developments in emerging markets . There were specialty day-long programmes for specific groups such as the IAAPA Institute for Attractions Managers, the IAAPA Safety Institute, the Young Professionals Forum, a forum for water park managers, and a symposium for family entertainment centres (FEC) and indoor arcades. Attendees also took part in excursions to a few parks in Sweden and Denmark where they had a look behind the scenes. Special events at Liseberg The Leadership Breakfast, featured a keynote address by Björn Ulvaeus, former member of the famous pop group ABBA, on intellectual property, had a capacity audience. The Opening Reception at Liseberg was also a huge success where attendees took the opportunity, besides riding the attractions and enjoying typical Swedish food, to network with colleagues.

EAS moves to Barcelona in 2016

Euro Attractions Show 2016 will take place at the Fira Barcelona Gran Via Convention Center, 20 to 22 September 2016. Industry professionals will gather here to discover the newest developments in the attractions industry. Many exhibitors have already booked their exhibit space to participate in this trade show. Additional information on EAS 2016 will available shortly at www.IAAPA.org/EAS

Access Control for UK Pavilion Milan Expo by Gateway

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK, the leading provider of ticketing, revenue management, and access control solutions for visitor attractions in the UK and Ireland, has announced that it will provide timed access control and ticketing solutions for the UK Pavilion at the Milan Expo 2015, May 1 – October 31 2015.

The Milan Expo 2015 will focus on finding innovative solutions for feeding the world in a sustainable fashion. With over 145 participating countries and 1.1 million m² of exhibition space, this year is set to be the most popular yet with 20 million visitors expected to attend.

The UK Pavilion, designed by artist Wolfgang Buttress and architectural practice BDP and constructed and manufactured by Stage One, is inspired by recent scientific research and technology and showcases the role of the bee in our ecosystem.

High attendance figures are expected after the success of the UK Pavilion in Shanghai 2010, with the potential for tickets to sell out.  Gateway’s timed ticketing and access control solution keeps visitor flow constant and controlled offering guests the choice of time to visit and maximising the visitation of the Pavilion.

The system will improve the visitor experience by reducing queue times and allowing advanced ticket reservations. Tickets will be available via a webstore, self-service kiosks and point of sale units to provide a quick and easy transaction for the customer.

“The sheer size of this event means that effective ticketing is the difference between success and shambles, not to mention health and safety considerations with large numbers. We were excited to demonstrate where an overlay of our systems and expertise could improve Expo Milano immeasurably for 2015”, said Andy Povey, Business Development Director at Gateway Ticketing Systems UK.

Established in 2012, Gateway Ticketing Systems UK it has secured ten clients in its first 30 months of operation including the Roman Baths in Bath, Kew Gardens in London and BeWILDerwood in Norfolk.  The company is a joint venture between Gateway Ticketing Systems Inc. and software services specialist Metafour and is backed by over 25 years’ of experience in the U.S. market.

Kidzania London Opens with Gateway Ticketing

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK (Gateway) is providing a live timed ticketing software solution for KidZania London, which was newly opened at Westfield London on June 25.

The timed ticketing delivered by Gateway allows KidZania to manage demand, visitor flow and avoid long queues in Westfield, while increasing revenue by enabling the sale of more tickets. This exciting revenue management solution perfectly matches the exciting, ground breaking nature of the educational entertainment experience.

The ticketing technology, which is also used at the Houses of Parliament and the V&A Museum, has been integrated with KidZania’s in-house systems to streamline existing software. The dual solution was first tested out prior to the official public opening during a week-long launch event with an attendance of 5000 people.

As part of this project, Gateway has provided a comprehensive attraction management solution; its support and consultancy services supplied to KidZania have covered sales, marketing, operations, IT and finance.

KidZania London is the UK’s first educational entertainment experience where children can learn real-life skills in a fun and safe environment. A timed ticketing software solution was selected to help assist with the flow of a forecasted 1700 daily visitors.

Having welcomed over 42 million visitors worldwide, KidZania is a global phenomenon and one of the world’s fastest growing educational entertainment brands with 19 locations across five continents. Children are in charge of their own aspirations and learning journey, and the world of work is demonstrated through active participation and role-play.

“We’re incredibly excited to have launched KidZania London, and Gateway’s support has been integral to the success of this project. KidZania is an innovative and exciting new attraction that deserves to be supported by the very best, cutting-edge ticketing technology – which is why we turned to Gateway for a comprehensive programme”, said Natascha Crump, Chief Operating Officer at KidZania.

“We are excited to have installed our systems at KidZania London and believe the expertise and technical support that we’ll be adding will vastly improve the overall visitor experience. Having tailored the product to specifically match the needs of this site, we look forward to working together past the initial successful launch”, said Andy Povey, Operations Director at Gateway Ticketing Systems UK.

Gateway Ticketing Systems UK is the leading provider of ticketing, revenue management, and admission control solutions for visitor attractions in the UK and Ireland. Established in 2012, it has secured ten clients in its first 30 months of operation.