Ticketing is a winning bet at Lingfield Park

Lingfield Park is one of the most established and prestigious racecourses in the United Kingdom. Set in attractive surroundings on the borders of Kent, Sussex and Surrey, the racecourse offers a unique combination of national hunt racing, flat racing on the turf and all weather racing. Visitors enjoy regular race meets throughout the year, with first class dining and hospitality suites available on site.

Speed and convenience

Arena Leisure Plc, which owns the racecourse, are using the award-winning online sales and marketing service ticketingsolutions to maximise growth in membership and ticket sales and offer innovative ticketing to meet the needs of both seasoned race-goers and Lingfield Park’s new online audience. As Julie Tandy, Operations Manager at Lingfield Park, explains, “Online booking with IRIS Web means that we can now offer our customers a much faster and more convenient way to buy their tickets. Online transactions are processed in a matter of minutes and once complete, customers receive an email confirmation which they can print out and use to fast-track the collection of their badges on the day, eliminating lengthy queues at the gate.”

Effective planning benefits the ticket office

The benefits of IRIS Web have been welcomed at the ticket office too. As Julie says, “The implementation of the system has not only resulted in notable cost-savings for us where administration and ticket delivery are concerned, it has also enabled us to plan more effectively for each race day. With the real-time reporting in the system we can calculate visitor numbers at the click of a button.”

Increased data capture & flexible emarketing

The inbuilt marketing capabilities within IRIS Web have also streamlined Lingfield Park’s communications to existing and new customers. Organisers at the racecourse are now able to build a detailed database of customers for e-marketing activity and targeted online promotions, as well as to cross-sell its restaurant and leisure facilities. As Julie explains, “Since we started using IRIS Web we have increased email data capture from 20% to 90%, enabling us to easily market upcoming events and special offers to our customers. We did this recently for our annual firework display when we ran an online ticket promotion with 1 adult ticket permitting free entry for 2 children. Not only did we see a significant rise in sales on the year before, we were also able to email all pre-paid attendees with details of the night’s entertainment and provide them with a good reason to come early and enjoy the whole evening at the racecourse.”

A complete experience

Having keenly embraced the flexibility within the IRIS Web system, Lingfield Park is leading the way in the provision of high quality customer service. As Julie concludes, “Our offering to customers is now better than ever, and advance ticket sales keep on rising. With IRIS Web, visitors can now buy a complete experience from Lingfield Park, not just an event.”