How Sports and Entertainment Companies Use Conversational AI

The world is opening up again, which means businesses and consumers feel a bit of cautious optimism. And perhaps no industry is happier about this than Sports and Entertainment businesses.

Although Sports and Entertainment companies creatively navigated virtual events during the pandemic and subsequent shutdowns, there’s nothing quite like the excitement of an in-person event. From dancing at concerts, watching plays, or cheering on the home team—fans want to get back into the action.

But Entertainment businesses run into a problem. Namely, what is the best way to alert fans and customers about reopenings, upcoming events, and health updates? Traditionally, companies share mass email blasts. But impersonal massages often fall flat when competing for people’s attention. Instead, more forward-thinking Entertainment businesses leverage Conversational AI to capture interest, boost engagement, and drive fans to purchase tickets.

By providing Sports and Entertainment businesses a way to scale personalized outreach, Conversational AI is the perfect technology to welcome back longtime customers and attract new ones too.

Welcoming Back Longtime Fans and New Customers With Conversational AI

Your doors are open, your event is scheduled, and your fans are ready to hear from you. But are you ready to reach out to them?

The unfortunate truth is that many Entertainment businesses lost staff members during the shutdowns. Now that things are opening back up, there’s an increase in opportunities—but a lack of people to follow up with those opportunities.

Our own Sales Effectiveness Report surveyed Sports and Entertainment companies to examine their efficiency in lead follow-up to a secret shopper. While research shows that timely, persistent, and personalized responses are best for converting inquiries into customers, 50% of the Entertainment businesses surveyed took more than 9 hours to deliver their first response. Another 70% only made one to two attempts at outreach. And 40% failed to personalize their follow-up responses at all.

To help fill these gaps, revenue teams lean on technologies to conduct outreach. AI Assistants—a Conversational AI solution that acts as a virtual team member—proactively reach out to longtime fans and customers with personalized messages. And unlike traditional marketing automation, an AI Assistant continues one-to-one outreach until the recipient expresses interest or declines.

Another reason Conversational AI offers an advantage is its ability to route interested contacts to a Salesperson or Account Representative. For example, a customer might have questions about one-time admission, season tickets, bundle deals, or box seats. Rather than putting the onus on customers interested in these offerings to reach out, AI Assistants engage fans in two-way conversations that push towards the next best action. Once fans raise their hand, they are connected via the AI solution with a Salesperson who can handle the specifics.

Thinly stretched teams also benefit an AI Assistant’s ability to answer common questions and disseminate important information—which is crucial when local restrictions and health considerations are in flux.

Sports and Entertainment businesses instinctively understand that delighting their audience is essential to turn one-off customers into lifelong fans. Conversational AI is one more way of making that happen.

Interested in learning more about what AI Assistants can do for your business? Watch our webinar, Rise of the Digital Sales Force: Embracing a Digital-First Sales Infrastructure.