Leeds United launches automated ticket sales line

The Championship club has launched a first of-it's-kind telephone service for fans that processes ticket sales automatically. Developed by Software4Sport, the new service lets supporters book tickets 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for home fixtures.

To book tickets, season ticket holders and members simply call to the automated telephone line, key in their customer and pin number, follow the simple step by step instructions and the tickets are delivered to their door.

The technology behind the service was developed by Software4Sport, part of Computer Software Group plc, as a new facility for clubs using the ticketing and CRM System, TALENT Sport. The club is the first to take up the 'Automated Telephone Sales' (ATS) module, and further league clubs have also signed up.

Glenn Jackson, Managing Director for Software4Sport says, "In a sports club, the ticket office faces incredibly tight timescales in which to sell thousands of tickets. Automated Telephone Sales helps to reduce queues by channelling routine calls through an automated route, as well as offering customers the chance to buy after ticket office closing times."

ATS sells tickets straight from the TALENT Sport system in real-time. Katie Holmes explains the significance of this: "If you are selling through a third party, there's always the risk that you'll miss out on sales by allocating too many or too few tickets. With TALENT Sport's ATS, the sale is processed straight away from the main inventory, and we can track how many tickets are available minute-by-minute across all sales channels."

One of the main benefits of ATS is that the club can order extra phone lines to meet demand. Katie Holmes continues, "Previously, whenever we were coming up to a busy period we had two options: either hire and train temporary staff - which you often haven't got the time for - or outsource to a call centre, but with this, the costs can be high. With ATS, we can order additional lines whenever it is getting busy. Afterwards, we can switch them off when the queues have gone down, so we are only paying for what we use."

Another advantage is that fans can book tickets after the ticket office is closed. Katie continues: "Our supporters can now book tickets 24 hours a day - it's a great alternative for people who haven't got access to the website or prefer to use the phone. We've now also got the time to focus on helping customers who need it."