Converting Single Game Buyers into Mini Plan Holders Key to Long-Term Success

Converting Single Game Buyers into Mini Plan Holders Key to Long-Term Success

Some fans are undoubtedly getting priced out of some big four (and top college) sporting events.

But the column we published in mid-November surfacing the troublesome trend failed to differentiate between classes of fans (think: avid versus casual) or explain how the savviest organizations are leveraging dynamic pricing and the ongoing convergence of primary and secondary ticketing markets to build more sustainable businesses. 

“Anytime a game gets hot, or ticket prices get high, smart teams are reaching out to fans buying seats at a markup on secondary and telling them that they could have saved money if they had a mini plan,” Patrick Ryan (co-founder, Eventellect) said.

The approach seems to be working. 

“There are many teams who sell fewer full season tickets then they did in the past but have seen no loss of revenue because they sell more mini plans,” Ryan said.

And some have actually grown the top line by effectively packaging games.

Converting single game buyers into partial season ticket holders requires a level of data scrubbing and customer intelligence, and oftentimes some additional sales and/or marketing support. However, that investment is increasingly becoming necessary with the cost of attendance continuing to rise. 

“The long-term winners in sports are going to be the ones who do a good job of getting people to go from buying one or two games a year to buying ten via a mini plan,” Ryan said.

Going to every game simply isn’t in the cards anymore for most fans and having a partial plan enables supporters to attend a good number at a fair price—and it allows the team to keep its guaranteed revenues climbing.

There was nothing fundamentally incorrect about the column we wrote entitled Convergence of Primary, Secondary Ticketing Markets Contributing to Troublesome Trend, or the overarching premise that gouging fans, particularly on postseason tickets, is bad business (even if it means some short-term revenue gains).

But it did leave out some subtleties that muddy the conversation surrounding pricing strategy.

For starters, it’s important to remember that sports properties do not value all their fans equally (nor should they). 

“At the end of the day, you wouldn’t label someone who only comes to one or two games a year an avid fan because they're simply not showing that behavior,” Ryan said.

And rights owners have become increasingly comfortable charging casual fans more than avids to attend games. 

The logic is if someone is only going to “buy a one-off game, they are going to pay a one-off price,” Ryan said.

That is particularly true if the game is in high demand. The convergence of primary and secondary markets has made it easier for rights owners dynamically pricing inventory to maximize single game gate receipts.

Avids are, by definition, fans who regularly spend money on the right owners’ product. Members of this group tend to have a ticket plan. 

Organizations value these customers more because they have made a commitment that extends beyond attending a single, often high-profile, game. 

But that does not necessarily mean they are purchasing a full or half-season slate of games, like it once did.

“Quite frankly, those options didn’t meet the needs of the vast majority of people,” Ryan said.

The landscape has changed within the last five years. The best pro sports organizations have figured out how to effectively package the right number of games with the precise matchups needed to meet various fan budgets, lifestyles, and motivations. 

“Teams have done a much better job of two things,” Ryan said. “One, yes, getting more money on the single game market than they had before.”

In addition to dynamically pricing primary market inventory, clubs now control more seats to the best games. 

“When people were forced to buy half or full season plans, many sold a bunch of games on the secondary market,” Ryan said. “And quite frankly, sometimes they made a lot of money that the teams didn’t participate in. It didn’t make sense to sell a ticket plan and then have the fan re-sell the most profitable games out of it.”

That revenue leakage was a catalyst for primary and secondary market consolidation.

“But then two, converting some percentage of single game buyers purchasing seats at a large markup on the secondary market into mini plan holders,” Ryan said.

A portion of those individuals have long held a strong affinity for the franchise or product and simply had never been presented with the right offering before.

Organizations successful at getting fans into right-sized ticket plans have started to construct more sustainable business models.

They’ve also supercharged loyalty amongst plan holders. Remember, those fans now have access to playoff inventory and other high-demand events at the venue at prices often below secondary market value.

To be clear, opportunities remain for fans unwilling or unable to commit to a ticket plan to affordably attend big four sporting events in most cities.

“Local media will focus on how the Lakers are coming to town and the get in price is $200. That makes the news,” Ryan said. “They don't talk about the next night when the team is literally running a four for $40 special. There’s a lot of promotion going on to fill stadiums around the country for many games.”

Sure, those kinds of discounted offerings do not exist in every city. And there are some, like New York and Los Angeles, where tickets to sporting events are expensive on most nights. 

“But those are unique markets where even milk is expensive,” Ryan said.

In most pro cities single game seats can still be had at a family-friendly price. Fans may just need to be more flexible with when they go, where they sit, and who they see the home team play. 

And again, that’s by design. At least, amongst organizations that understand the most in-demand games can be used to get ‘big spenders’ to open up their wallets a bit wider.

“If you're a fan and planning to come to a handful of games, including the best ones, the team wants you to buy a plan directly from them,” Ryan said.

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