Imagine this: a customer is about to buy a ticket to your upcoming event. They’re excited – maybe they’re coming to see their child in their first musical, or it’s the Christmas show that always ushers them into the season. But then, they hit a wall: They can’t tell where their seat will be.
By using a seating map, you can help usher your customer into their experience of attending your event. When you offer a clear visual of your space, you’re inviting them in to your venue, and to your organization. They get to see where the stage will be, and choose the spot that feels right for them. This is more than just selling tickets; this is helping them understand what to expect – and get excited about what’s to come.
Why do Seating Maps matter?
Including a seating map allows your customers to feel agency in their interaction with your venue, telling them that you care about their comfort and experience. Seating maps provide a visual seat selection for the ticket buyer. They now get to see the layout of your space before they enter the building, and can choose to sit where is best for them.
Interactive seating maps give the customer choice, and that feeling of choice is a powerful one. You’re easily able to transform what could be a transactional moment, into a personalized one.
ACTION STEP: Create a Plan your Visit section on your website, where you can include directions your venue and photos of the space.
How do maps improve the buyer’s experience?
When a customer is buying tickets for your event, you want them to feel excited! But if they can’t understand your venue layout or see where they will sit ahead of time, they might become hesitant.
By building an interactive seating map for your event, you can avoid any potential customer hesitation. They can then explore the different seating options and potentially ticket price points, and can make their choice based on what suits them best. By knowing they get to sit in Row C Seat 12, they can picture what their view might be, and are able to get more excited about the event.
This type of clarity empowers the ticket buyer to be in more control of their theatre going experience, and can help avoid any second guessing during checkout. Because they know what they are getting, they’re going to be more satisfied and enthusiastic about what is to come.
ACTION STEP: Work to give the buyers as much information upfront as possible, including asking a custom question on if they have any access needs.
How will maps benefit my organization?
Interactive seating maps doesn’t just amplify the audience experience – it will benefit your organization, too. Every event is different, and using custom seating charts allows you to tailor these maps to your specific event. Flexibility is key, and the adaptability of having any seating arrangement you can imagine at your fingertips means you can host the event that’s best for you, without having to worry if it’s possible to sell tickets in the set up you need (we promise you – with BookTix, it is!)
Moreso, when customers do come to your event, you’ll be able to ensure smoother operations and a happier audience. They’ll know where they have chosen to sit ahead of time, and your staff can help guide them to those seats easily. The happier the audience is, the stronger return rate you’ll have, which will benefit you (and your sales) in the long run.
Using a custom seating chart can help you host exactly the event you want to create and save you time on performance days, all while encouraging repeat customers.
ACTION STEP: Consider making different price points of tickets for different sections of your space.
What are the types of seating maps?
There are two main types of seating within the BookTix platform – general admission (where a customer can choose their seat when they arrive), reserved seating (where all the seats in the house are reserved), and hybrid (where you can have some general admission seats and some reserved seats).
From there, there are countless layouts you can create with a BookTix seating map. You can create sections of reserved seats with any size, seat number, and shape. You can add round, square, and rectangular tables. You can add general admission sections of any shape and size.
Any type of layout you can dream up – we can make it happen!
ACTION STEP: Think about what type of layout would suit your existing venue, and how you could arrange your tickets based on pricing, using general admission and reserved seating, and more.
How can I use them?
We have had clients use BookTix and create a custom seating chart for all types of events. We have made proscenium auditoriums, thrust stages, black boxes, audiences in the round and traverse seating, immersive events, dinner theatres, fundraisers, galas, outdoor concerts, music halls and music competitions, award ceremonies, lectures, train cars, tennis courts, wrestling rings, football stadiums, swimming pools, church halls, parks, venues with over 2,000 seats and venues with 25 seats, seating charts for plays, concerts, dance recitals, community events, sports, and more.
ACTION STEP: Think outside the box on what your venue layout could be for your next event.
Make Every Seat Count
Using seating maps can make your organization feel dedicated to the customer experience, beyond the routine of buying their tickets from a ticketing software. You can market and promote the options of choosing their seat, picking their price point based on location, and use these as incentive to buy their tickets early, too. Custom maps can help increase engagement with your audience, support their feeling involved in choosing where they get to sit, make them more excited about your venue and event, and increase overall customer satisfaction.
ACTION STEP: Contact BookTix today to help you get your interactive seating map built.
