Smeetz, a provider of smart all-in-one ticketing software for leisure and cultural attractions, has announced it will be continuing its rapid growth across Europe with the commencement of operations in France.
Smeetz CEO and co-founder Alexandre Martin says: "After successfully entering the UK market and positioning Smeetz as a powerful player there last year, starting operations in France seemed to be the logical continuation of our expansion plans. The diversity of the attractions and cultural venues’ landscape and the lack of data-driven solutions to successfully run their business was the hint for us to jump in."
New manager
The appointment of Jean-Marc Tille as France and Belgium's country manager will continue to fuel Smeetz's growth in Europe. With over twenty-five years of experience in the leisure and ticketing industries, Smeetz says that Tille's understanding of the French market will become an important asset for the launch of operations and future developments in the territory.
Amongst the new manager's responsibilities are establishing the company's regional office, development of business initiatives, growth of the French Smeetz team and positioning Smeetz as a leader of dynamic pricing for attractions in the country.
Shaking up the market
Tille believes the COVID-19 pandemic has been a key accelerator of the digitisation process in recent years. He says that the French ticketing industry, in particular, has changed significantly as it was less advanced than elsewhere.
Tille adds: "I think it is time to shake up the French ticketing market and that is why I joined Smeetz in the first place. I was seduced by the powerful and innovative solution they offer, the team’s dynamism and of course their dynamic pricing capability."
Attractions that have traditionally been reluctant to use online booking solutions have now realised that it can deliver a significant positive impact on the customer experience with greater accessibility and reliability.
"Digitalisation increased the need for marketing. By making experiences available online, attractions had to start thinking of strategies to market, price and promote their products.
"Pricing strategies are allowing venues to adapt to new post-covid consumer behaviours. Seen as unfair and unethical for a long time, dynamic pricing is beginning to be seen for its true value to both venues and end customers and will surely become a norm in France sooner or later.”
Upcoming events
Tille will be meeting industry peers with other members of the Smeetz team at a number of upcoming events. The company will be exhibiting at the following industry conferences and trade shows this year:
- Museum Connections in Paris, France - 30-31 March 2022
- InterFun Expo in Leeds, UK - 26-27 April 2022
- Museum + Heritage Show in London, UK, 11-12 May 2022
- IAAPA Expo Europe in London, UK, 12-15 September 2022
- The Family Attraction Expo in Birmingham, UK, 2-3 November 2022
Smeetz recently reviewed a successful year of new business, hitting a revenue milestone and onboarding a range of notable UK and Swiss clients in 2021.
