I know it’s more expensive, but I click the button anyway.
You know what I’m talking about?
NOT theater tickets.
I’m talking about Uber Eats.
I’m also talking about Uber.
Buying from Uber Eats is more expensive than ordering directly from the restaurant. An Uber is more expensive than a taxi.
But so many people do it anyway. Why? That company, and so many like it, have made the purchasing decision so easy, so frictionless, that you’re able to accomplish what you want (and often MORE than you want – add-ons, etc.) with a few clicks.
Of course, many an online Broadway ticket seller, including Broadway.com and TodayTix, have done the same thing.
As Producers on Broadway, Off Broadway or anywhere, we most likely don’t control how tickets are bought and sold. The platform comes with the theater.
But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn from the Ubers of the world, especially when we need to maximize our revenue with every purchase.
Your website, app, box office and more should be as frictionless as possible. Go . . . open your website right now (or another website), and go through the ticket purchasing process. How quickly do you SEE the button that takes you to get tickets? How many clicks does it take?
And . . . are you on your phone or a computer? Better check both.
Then ask yourself . . . what can I do to make this an easier process for my buyers? Removing one click, or making a button easier to find, or bigger, or on every page, can increase the speed in which you make a sale. And may even increase the amount that your buyers are spending. (We saw great results from promoting our premium experience tickets for The Neil Diamond Musical everywhere on our site.)
Customers pay for things that have value. And when something is easy to do, and saves them time, it has value.
Reduce the friction in your purchasing process and you’ll be uber successful.
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Podcasting
Ken created one of the first Broadway podcasts, recording over 250 episodes over 7 years. It features interviews with A-listers in the theater about how they “made it”, including 2 Pulitzer Prize Winners, 7 Academy Award Winners and 76 Tony Award winners. Notable guests include Pasek & Paul, Kenny Leon, Lynn Ahrens and more.