Customer Snapshot
- Total event attendees: 7,000+
- Events per year: 3
- Favorite features: Tickets App, email, websites.
A couple years ago Lisa McClendon, Dallas Parks and Recreation Service Area Manager, was tasked with revitalizing a 400 acre farm that had sat vacant for 20 years. It sat just outside the city, and out of view of the public, making the challenge even bigger. But she had a plan. “Anytime you want someone to know something exists the best thing to do is throw a big event,” said Lisa.
Their first was Holiday at the Farm. It’s a Holiday-themed event, complete with stations to write letters to Santa, and buy gifts from local vendors. The event itself was a success. But the software they had to sell tickets to the event was far less successful.
“We had issues with check-ins taking a long time and the software crashing during the event.” It was an internally built system that lacked a lot of functionality they needed. Lisa knew the current system couldn’t keep up, but wasn’t sure what the best solution would be. Luckily, the solution came to her.
“Jake (TicketSignup Director of Sales) gave me a call out of the blue and asked if I had a minute to chat, and that’s how it all started.”
Making the switch
Lisa – a runner in her free time – was familiar with RunSignup. She had even used it for some events in a previously. However, she wasn’t familiar with TicketSignup. She was immediately impressed by the websites others had built and how well it aligned with their other digital properties. “The branding was so great. We liked how we could customize the site and build it to fit our brand.”
The great looking, free, websites and ease-of-use of TicketSignup contrasted against their aging internal system motivated Lisa to make the pitch to switch. “There was a lot of red tape to go through.” But, Lisa was prepared.
“We kept track of all the issues we had with the internal tool, so when it came time to make the case internally for TicketSignup we had a lot of proof that the current tool wasn’t able to keep up with our needs.”
They were also able to show examples of other Parks and Rec teams using TicketSignup. “Jake showed us some other cities that were using the tool, which was helpful in our conversations with leadership.” Once they got approval from leadership they made the switch over to TicketSignup.
New possibilities
Having a tool that was easy to use, and not at risk of crashing mid-event – TicketSignup has a near perfect uptime – was a huge improvement. However, those were far from the only benefits they enjoyed after making the switch.
Having access to the Tickets App made it possible for them to have multiple check-in points for events, like their Totality event which had almost 5000 attendees. “We had two check-in points for Totality, which was easy to do because we weren’t tethered to a computer.” With their old system they couldn’t check people in from a mobile device.
A lack of a mobile option was also a challenge for their Holiday at the Farm event because they have additional experiences like hayrack rides, and smores making stations. “Attendees had to go back to the welcome center to get their ticket. They couldn’t check in at the actual starting point for the hay rack ride.” But with the Tickets App that’s a worry of the past.
Another new possibility TicketSignup opened for Lisa and team is the ability to sell merchandise, with the store feature. They sold a number of different things like t-shirts, cups, koozies, and eclipse glasses. And those sales added up, generating around $10k of additional revenue.
Value beyond event-day
TicketSignup provided a ton of value on event day, but it also made a lot of their post event work easier, too. Having the analytics dashboard made reporting event numbers back to leadership super simple.
“Any time an event wraps up we have to send our final numbers…It’s helpful to be able to easily pull those reports.” Things like tickets sold, revenue generated, and total attendance are all automatically collected.
Along with keeping track of the numbers, TicketSignup also helped them keep in touch with attendees through the free email tools. They can easily cross-promote other events on their calendar, since TicketSignup automatically generates email lists of attendees.
There are a number of default lists, as well as the option to create custom lists, too. It was a huge improvement over their previous modes of email management – Outlook and an Excel spreadsheet, to say the least.
Another new tool they had access to through TicketSignup was the ability to collect donations. They have a scholarship for their Recreation Summer Camp that allows them to offer families in need of financial assistance a discounted rate for their kids to attend the camp. And they were able to almost fully fund the scholarship from one event. “The donations from Totality alone almost funded the scholarship entirely.”
Looking forward
We look forward to partnering with the Dallas Parks and Rec team for years to come, as they continue putting on incredible events for their community. We’re glad TicketSignup created a better experience for Lisa when creating events, and hope it’s made the attendee experience better, too.
If you’re interested in setting up a free event with TicketSignup you can do so here.