This written recap is a follow up from the live webinar hosted on 6/18/2020 about the value of the Secondary Market in sports.
Follow-up #1- Price Integrity:
One of the first questions we received on the call was about how the secondary market helps maintain price integrity. I thought two quotes from Dan Hessling at the Texas Rangers summed it up perfectly. First, he mentioned, “Consumers have more choices than ever for where to buy tickets. Don’t deny the trend – embrace it and take control of your price integrity and maximize value for all paths to purchase.”
To his point, if there is no control of the secondary market, the secondary pricing will inevitably be so much different than the pricing on the primary side. The value will be gone and fans will purchase elsewhere. The goal has to be to align your objectives with your partner to stabilize the market, which Dan also covered when saying, “Working with a partner provides value for your team – but also your fans – by stabilizing the market.”
In the end, it’s vital to maintain price integrity to create value for your fans, your organizations and your partners. You need to have detailed a secondary market plan that aligns objectives and pricing across the board to create a healthy, stable market.
Follow-up #2- Distribution:
We were able to cover a lot of different areas of the secondary market over the hour but another interesting question came up on how working with a secondary market partner impacts a contract/relationship with a distribution platform.
In this case, Stubhub was mentioned because of their collegiate partnerships. As Colin Hargis at NC State mentioned, there is a lot of value in partnerships with a specific distribution platform. He mentioned “Any data coming from the secondary market is brought into our marketing funnel for ongoing engagement.” In addition to that, the ability for season ticket holders to list tickets quickly, at the correct price (as shown above in a healthy market with price integrity), knowing they won’t be fraudulent is really important.
However, it’s also important to remember that the right secondary market partner can come alongside that agreement and distribute tickets to all platforms a fan may buy on. As Colin mentioned, “It’s all one marketplace today – figure out how to make it benefit you and your fans”. This allows the partner to serve as an extension of your sales team and make sure tickets are listed where fans are looking, when they are looking, and at the right price.
Follow-up #3- Correct partner:
Another question that came from the webinar was talking through the importance of having the right partner.
The biggest thing I’ve learned since coming to the secondary market from the primary side is... who has your tickets is just as important as how many tickets are on the market. Knowing and trusting who you work with is so important and you must build a good relationship with that person and their company. Don’t be afraid to ask your friends in the industry who they work with and trust and/or ask for references. Trust is built over time through the repeated positive actions that benefit everyone, so begin to build that trust. Have frequent partnership calls and it will be abundantly clear if someone is not holding up their side of the agreement through their data, pricing, and actions on purchasing.
I’m thankful for the opportunity to work at TFL, who's goal is to work alongside of our partners’ objectives and provide a first-class, transparent partnership built on trust. We’re able to help expand an organization’s sales reach, maintain price integrity, provide data and analytics support, and so much more. Plus, we have a team that has expertise in so many areas, including the primary side. We want to get to know you, your organization and your goals to form the best collaborative partnership and we look forward to that conversation!
Hope you enjoy the webinar.
Ryan Kindt is the Director of Partnerships for Tickets For Less. Tickets for Less works with sports properties, professional teams, college athletic departments, venues, fans and partners to improve the event going experience and drive event attendance. Prior to Tickets for Less Ryan worked as the Director of Ticket Sales at NC State Athletics and was Director of Sales at Liberty University. A graduate of Liberty University with both his Bachelor's and Master's Degrees Ryan now resides in Kansas.