CASE STUDY​ ​

Transitioning to online ticketing

The Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence (CHERE), was originally founded in 2012 as a program by the Hartford Consortium for Higher Education. CHERE currently works to expand the existing Consortium’s programming to a broader reach and focuses on overall success and retention rates in higher education today. The organization works as advocates to bring attention to issues involving secondary, post-secondary, and higher education.​

Challenge​​​

• Lack of quality, customer support
• Maintaining events during the pandemic/transitioning to virtual

Solution​​​

​Using a complete event management software; an easy event registration process including virtual/hybrid attendees, via Purplepass​​​

Since the pandemic, CHERE not only uses Purplepass for their in-person educational conferences, but virtually as well. And with the need for more customized and complex ticketing due to their different events, Purplepass has made it easy to create the ticket types they need.

​Using the ticketing platform in conjunction with CHERE’s efforts has also been extremely beneficial in terms of streamlining the entire registration process.​

Working through the pandemic

After the pandemic hit and lockdowns and mandates rolled out, many companies, including the Center for Higher Education Retention Excellence (CHERE), found themselves at a stalemate to lend a helping hand or even generating registrations for events.

Attracting guests to events became increasingly tedious and not cost-effective, especially as more people than ever preferred to take precautions by staying at home.

With Purplepass, CHERE has been able to host events at no cost to participants, hoping to drum up the buzz surrounding the transition to online ticketing, using both traditional in-person and virtual events online. Although CHERE has not yet returned to the same level of ticket registration prior to the 2019 global pandemic, they are slowly building a larger and even bigger mailing list for the first time. They've also adopted a "BOGO" approach to both in-person and virtual registrations​ (buy-one, get-one free) to regain some momentum post-pandemic.

​With each new approach they try, Purplepass is able to assist them in creating the ticket type or logical technology they need to get the job done.

A customized approach to building events and ticket types

When CHERE began transitioning to online ticketing, they were in search of a uniquely customized ticketing approach. One of the event types hosted by CHERE that was accommodated with the use of Purplepass included using unique logical web links for specific invitations and mailing lists. Purplepass also assisted CHERE with developing custom ticket types for specific programs that involved professionals and student educational programs. Examples include:

• Zoom events
• BOGO/offering discounts
• Student rates
• Package deals​

This year, CHERE is also working to roll out hybrid events, in which guests have the option of attending remotely or in person, depending on the event date and location. As pre-pandemic gatherings become the norm again, hybrid events, as well as in-person events, are also likely to return. Purplepass makes it easy to not only build the virtual ticket types, but CHERE can stream the events on their website using the live stream ticket widget as well.

Real, human support

Throughout the pandemic, those representing CHERE quickly found themselves tired of only being connected with robots. Purplepass knows how important personalized human support is, especially for cultivating relationships and providing services.

At Purplepass, additional customer support is available 24/7 via email as well.