Although it may seem early I really think we need to look at getting season tickets on sale now for next season, lower the prices and really push for sales. The earlier the better. When I say push for sales I mean we need to really publicise them, not just tweet about them and offer a discount on a shirt. Many clubs do begin selling them at this time of year and I can only see it as a good thing.

I know there'll be some that try and argue that people who want one will get one regardless of when they go on sale but I strongly disagree. I think the earlier we get them available and really push for sales with media campaigns and publicity the better. Grimsby Town relies on fan income to survive more than only 5 other profession clubs in the country (news article from earlier this season). It's essential for the clubs long term future that without more substantial investment we increase attendances as a matter of urgency.  

No excuses from the board about printers messing up or anything else. Let's actually think ahead for once and get season tickets for next season on sale. Maybe even offer something like buy a season ticket for next season now and get a discount on our remaining home games. Leaving it until June to get them on sale is not good enough and not the approach we should take!

We're living within our means which is one thing but we're not living within our means well. I feel like there's so much more the club could do to attract and retain fans, getting season tickets on sale early just a start.

I don't see why we can't be ambitious and set the target at 5k for a change and push that in the media rather than the usual 3k target. Ok we may not exactly reach  5k but setting a higher target and pushing for that number will go half way towards us selling more than we normally do!

I take it you thought of copying in the club?

Great idea!! Especially on the back of the Freemo ideas, coupled with the ‘Jolley effect!!’

I assume the reason Bradford do it is because they have a massive stadium and the incentives they give allow them to be able to do it. An example being they're offering fans to pay £50 up front to secure your seat then to pay £10 per match, realistically we probably can't do that. But I do agree I can't see why we can't start selling them now, might only shift 100 or 200 but that money is sat in the clubs bank for an extra 6-8 months which will gain a little interest.

Quoted from MarinersOnTheUp

I know there'll be some that try and argue that people who want one will get one regardless of when they go on sale but I strongly disagree. I think the earlier we get them available and really push for sales with media campaigns and publicity the better. Grimsby Town relies on fan income to survive more than only 5 other profession clubs in the country (news article from earlier this season). It's essential for the clubs long term future that without more substantial investment we increase attendances as a matter of urgency.  

No excuses from the board about printers messing up or anything else. Let's actually think ahead for once and get season tickets for next season on sale. Maybe even offer something like buy a season ticket for next season now and get a discount on our remaining home games. Leaving it until June to get them on sale is not good enough and not the approach we should take!

Completely agree. The club has absolutely nothing to lose by putting season tickets on sale now, it won't cost them any sales.  Worst case scenario the ticket sales remain the same.  The attitude highlighted in bold is exactly why we've stagnated when it's come to sales, because the club have the mindset that the 2,500 usual mugs will rock up with their £300 regardless.

Quoted from diehardmariner

Completely agree. The club has absolutely nothing to lose by putting season tickets on sale now, it won't cost them any sales.  Worst case scenario the ticket sales remain the same.  The attitude highlighted in bold is exactly why we've stagnated when it's come to sales, because the club have the mindset that the 2,500 usual mugs will rock up with their £300 regardless.

Tried and trusted format for 40 years and all the while using the same exercise book to write down the seat numbers :-/

Certainly not too early to think outside the box. At the risk of repeating myself, the demographic we must target more is/are young families. Old duffers like me don't necessarily need shirt vouchers but I would willingly pass mine on again to count as a reduction on someones family ticket. Is ticket sharing a thing anywhere? Looking at other clubs' ideas is a start. Perhaps the Trust could chat to the SLO?  Can Mr Wraith tell us the average age of Season ticket holders and target a reduction of say, 2/3 years per year, over the next 5 seasons? We are too wrinkly!

People who do not normally buy a season ticket are not going to buy one because we diehards are excited about the way the team has played for the last couple of games.

They will need some big incentives. Firstly if we can have an exciting and productive end to the season, and perhaps, more importantly, the club gets behind the Freeman Street idea 100% - people will not buy into empty promises.

Get some momentum and then really strike whilst the iron is hot (or at least getting warmer)  and I agree to go all out to increase our average attendances.

Early and significant signings in the summer, news on the stadium and a feeling we are at last on the upturn would be the platform to shift more tickets.

The biggest factor would be a new board, but if this is not going to happen then the existing one need to get their fingers out.

Quoted from MarinersOnTheUp

Although it may seem early I really think we need to look at getting season tickets on sale now for next season, lower the prices and really push for sales. The earlier the better. When I say push for sales I mean we need to really publicise them, not just tweet about them and offer a discount on a shirt. Many clubs do begin selling them at this time of year and I can only see it as a good thing.

I know there'll be some that try and argue that people who want one will get one regardless of when they go on sale but I strongly disagree. I think the earlier we get them available and really push for sales with media campaigns and publicity the better. Grimsby Town relies on fan income to survive more than only 5 other profession clubs in the country (news article from earlier this season). It's essential for the clubs long term future that without more substantial investment we increase attendances as a matter of urgency.  

No excuses from the board about printers messing up or anything else. Let's actually think ahead for once and get season tickets for next season on sale. Maybe even offer something like buy a season ticket for next season now and get a discount on our remaining home games. Leaving it until June to get them on sale is not good enough and not the approach we should take!

We're living within our means which is one thing but we're not living within our means well. I feel like there's so much more the club could do to attract and retain fans, getting season tickets on sale early just a start.

I don't see why we can't be ambitious and set the target at 5k for a change and push that in the media rather than the usual 3k target. Ok we may not exactly reach  5k but setting a higher target and pushing for that number will go half way towards us selling more than we normally do!

We don't know what League we will be in so how can we sell them ?  Is the first response.  
At least wait til we get 50 + points.....but then if we reach 60+ points rapidly and stand a chance of play offs, Wembley...promotion.....the club will raise the prices so cant possibly sell now for that reason either... :o  :o

I am sure the club are already putting several scenario's together behind the scenes ready to launch a brand new strategy for shifting additional tickets for next season......none of which include a big book, a pencil, a rubber and prices frozen if you renew before June July oh alright then extended again until August. ...no really, i am sure they are.

Quoted from Croxton

Certainly not too early to think outside the box. At the risk of repeating myself, the demographic we must target more is/are young families. Old duffers like me don't necessarily need shirt vouchers but I would willingly pass mine on again to count as a reduction on someones family ticket. Is ticket sharing a thing anywhere? Looking at other clubs' ideas is a start. Perhaps the Trust could chat to the SLO?  Can Mr Wraith tell us the average age of Season ticket holders and target a reduction of say, 2/3 years per year, over the next 5 seasons? We are too wrinkly!

I don`t think Mr Wraith wants to do anything other than what he normally does in relation to selling season tickets is my impression?

The membership scheme Hull had would’ve been quite a good idea had they not refused to offer concessions.

A direct debit membership with a 12 month tie in would be a winner. Treat it like a gym membership.

Our prices are too high and we don’t give people enough options to spend their money.

Quoted from 1mickylyons

Tried and trusted format for 40 years and all the while using the same exercise book to write down the seat numbers :-/

Just because we have the oldest stand in the league doesn't mean we have to have to oldest backroom technology in the league.  I've not had a season ticket since I was a teenager (20+ years ago) but we went in on the 'Selection Box' tickets this Christmas as the kids are really getting into it now.  I was incredulous to watch all the details being written down in a book and being told they still use Windows 98!

This is 2019, we should be able to choose the exact seats we want online; concert venues have been using this technology for years. Tickets could have an option to print at home or swipe/chipped cards.

One reason I've not had a had a season ticket in years is that I don't come with the same people every week.  My middle daughter would come to every match, but my mum and brother maybe only 3 or 4 matches a year. A more joined up digital system would be able to reallocate our season tickets so we could all sit together.

I understand every penny spent off the pitch isn't available on it, but an investment like this could save a wage in the ticket office and increase sales through convenience.  The extra data available to email "Hey! We notice you've not been for a few weeks, here's 50p off a cup of tea/sausage roll" type incentives as well.

No, The prices are reasonable at the minute, and haven't gone up for years

Quoted from Jarmo.Is.God

No, The prices are reasonable at the minute, and haven't gone up for years

The club hasn't progressed with their mindset for at least 40 years either!

They went up last year.
I think the prices are too expensive.

Will lowering the prices by 10%, get you more than 10% more season ticket holders?

If the club think it will, then it's worth them doing

Not gone down that well at Lincoln with everyone.. Expense/Away games coming up etc..

https://www.redimps.co.uk/news/2019/february/190206-st---early-renewals/

The club doesn't do enough to push for sales. What do we do? A shirt offer, early bird discount and tweet about them every day for a few months? We need to do more, really push for sales, advertise through local media outlets and offer more incentive for getting a season ticket. I know people say good football attracts fans but I think it should work both ways, increased gate numbers = more income = better players/better football = further increase in gates, speculate to accumulate. Look at Accrington and what they do to attract younger fans, GTFC should take note. We're not going to get any investment from the current board so without a takeover (which we desperately need), unless gates increase we can't ever be sustainable at a higher level in the long term - as I said in my original post, only 5 other professional clubs in the country rely on income from fans to survive more than we do.  

While we're heading in the right direction on the pitch, off it the club still doesn't do enough, especially with PR/Publicity. We really need to go on a drive to increase attendances by any means possible, including lowering prices and going free shirts to kids at local schools, even if that does reduce income slightly initially, in the long term more fans will attend, increasing gate receipts, catering sales and club shop sales.

We won't lose anything by getting them on sale early either, as somebody mentioned the worse that could happen is that we don't sell any more than we normally do but I think if we got them on sale early and really pushed for sales there's no reason why we can't see an increase in numbers. Look at the season we got relegated, when we were fighting to stay up there was a lot of publicity and the club/media really pushed for higher gates and if I remember correctly we got 7k during some games. There's absolutely no reason why that can't happen again especially now we have a better team.

We need more fans through the gates, I believe their are people in Grimsby and the surrounding areas who would get behind the club, it's about attracting them and keeping them - especially when it comes to the next generation of fans.

We may be  living within our means but we're not doing it well.

Quoted from Croxton

Certainly not too early to think outside the box. At the risk of repeating myself, the demographic we must target more is/are young families. Old duffers like me don't necessarily need shirt vouchers but I would willingly pass mine on again to count as a reduction on someones family ticket. Is ticket sharing a thing anywhere? Looking at other clubs' ideas is a start. Perhaps the Trust could chat to the SLO?  Can Mr Wraith tell us the average age of Season ticket holders and target a reduction of say, 2/3 years per year, over the next 5 seasons? We are too wrinkly!

i think anyone who uses the term "think outside the box" needs to think outside the box when using management speak as that is so 90's...no wonder we are stuck in a rut using such old terminology.  ;)
I would prefer the sales team to have a thought shower and see if they can identify any low hanging fruit to boost sales , even if it means punching a puppy or two along the way.

Quoted from moosey_club

i think anyone who uses the term "think outside the box" needs to think outside the box when using management speak as that is so 90's...no wonder we are stuck in a rut using such old terminology.  ;)
I would prefer the sales team to have a thought shower and see if they can identify any low hanging fruit to boost sales , even if it means punching a puppy or two along the way.

Sorry mate, it was a flashback to years of Staff Training days! Modern media phrases also grate. Hopefully the club won't kick the can down the road instead drill down through their data and be the best version of themselves they can be.  ;)

I see Swansea City issued reduced price early-bird season-tickets in Dec for 2019-20. These proved popular as xmas presents. They have extended the deadline to 31 Jan.

They are also offering season-tickets, with no price increases, up to 31 Mar.

It is never wrong to get cash in early.  In our case, we should tap-in to our recent improvements on the pitch.

Quoted from moosey_club

i think anyone who uses the term "think outside the box" needs to think outside the box when using management speak as that is so 90's...no wonder we are stuck in a rut using such old terminology.  ;)
I would prefer the sales team to have a thought shower and see if they can identify any low hanging fruit to boost sales , even if it means punching a puppy or two along the way.

Thinking inside the box is an under-rated virtue. ;)

Quoted from TownSNAFU5

I see Swansea City issued reduced price early-bird season-tickets in Dec for 2019-20. These proved popular as xmas presents. They have extended the deadline to 31 Jan.

They are also offering season-tickets, with no price increases, up to 31 Mar.

It is never wrong to get cash in early.  In our case, we should tap-in to our recent improvements on the pitch.

I think some kind of reward for buying a ST before the season ends is an avenue worth pursuing. Even 5% on the cost would be some kind of reward  but of course that is no guarantee that the final sales will increase. Increased sales will only come with improved performances from now until the end of the season. It's new fans we need and they will only be attracted if they think we will do well.

Quoted from rancido

I think some kind of reward for buying a ST before the season ends is an avenue worth pursuing. Even 5% on the cost would be some kind of reward  but of course that is no guarantee that the final sales will increase. Increased sales will only come with improved performances from now until the end of the season. It's new fans we need and they will only be attracted if they think we will do well.

Will they? Has anything been tried to boost attendances?

I certainly think our ticket system needs to be more user friendly online. I was talking to a Lincoln fan a few weeks ago and their away tickets to the Everton cup game sold out in 30 minutes because they were only available on Eventbrite.

Quoted from jamesgtfc

I certainly think our ticket system needs to be more user friendly online. I was talking to a Lincoln fan a few weeks ago and their away tickets to the Everton cup game sold out in 30 minutes because they were only available on Eventbrite.

Don/t those companies take a sizeable percentage of the ticket price or charge a fee on top?

Do a deal where if you buy a discounted kids season ticket now you get free kids entry for the rest of this season.

Buy an adult one and get in cheaper for this term.

Get that it’s not a great incentive for existing STH but it just might boost the fan base.

Also they should do the deal where if you buy an adult season ticket in the main you get a kids one free. There’s always a fair bit of space to fill in there.

Quoted from KingstonMariner

Don/t those companies take a sizeable percentage of the ticket price or charge a fee on top?

Would imagine it’s cheaper than paying a team of staff to stand around writing it in an exercise book.

I thought the online system at Stevenage was good and very simple to use. Even a “view from my seat” feature for restricted view seats would be a step forward as they’re taken off-sale online and via the phones when they’re the only ones left. When they’re only available for people who can visit the shop, why should exiles, elderly & those too busy to go down be disadvantaged?

Quoted from ska face

Would imagine it’s cheaper than paying a team of staff to stand around writing it in an exercise book.

I thought the online system at Stevenage was good and very simple to use. Even a “view from my seat” feature for restricted view seats would be a step forward as they’re taken off-sale online and via the phones when they’re the only ones left. When they’re only available for people who can visit the shop, why should exiles, elderly & those too busy to go down be disadvantaged?

Possibly true. As long as they don't go for the option like Wembley did the other year and you have to pay a fee on top of the tickets.