Superboletos lifts sales and customer service with Oracle

Superboletos is a Mexican company specializing in the sale of electronic tickets for events via web portals, mobile apps, and instant messaging platforms such as Facebook Messenger.

But it hasn’t always offered such robust digital services. Founded in 2003 by Avalanz Group, the company covers any type of public or private function, including concerts, theater performances, sports, and cultural and family events, and sells more than 14 million tickets annually. With a 40% market share in Mexico, Superboletos is the country’s second-largest ticketing company.

Until fairly recently, however, the company sold those tickets via “traditional” methods: box offices, strategically located outlets, telemarketing, and web pages. But to maintain and increase its market share in the face of active competition, Superboletos must continually find ways to stand out. And with ticket sales, the main differentiator between services is the speed, efficiency, and ease with which a customer can get those tickets—via any channel—including digital ones.

In addition, whereas a couple of years ago 30% of people used digital channels to purchase event tickets, that number has risen to 50% today, according to Superboletos data.

To better serve that growing market, the company needed a technology platform that would connect with its proprietary event management system and allow it to provide intelligent, personalized service across web, mobile, and social channels.

In keeping with its vision of “offering a ticket sales service with the best technological platform in Latin America,” the company chose Oracle Digital Assistant, a platform that allows organizations to create and deploy artificial intelligence (AI)-driven interfaces (digital assistants) that help users accomplish a variety of tasks by using natural language conversations.

Superboletos used APIs to connect Oracle Digital Assistant to its proprietary event management system. Now users who download the Superboletos app can type the name of an athlete, sports team, entertainer, or artist into an instant messaging window, and then navigate a dynamic menu to see more detailed content, such as event dates, venues, and tickets.

A Superboletos chatbot also provides a map of each venue, so would-be concertgoers can see which seats are available and how much they cost. Users can share Superboletos’ event information with their friends, who then can view ticket options and place orders from their own chat windows.

The aim is to bring this medium closer to younger users, as well as being a sales channel that is closely related to a mobile device. “We’ve connected event information from web, mobile, and social channels, and made it available on one platform,” says CIO Sergio Adrián Chávez.

The new platform also has helped Superboletos create innovative interactions with customers via smart chatbots. Machine learning algorithms are constantly teaching the bot to learn more about users’ unique interests and personal preferences. “You can be in Facebook Messenger, and ask our bot things like ‘What’s going on in Monterrey this weekend?’ or ‘Show me tickets for events tonight under $200,’ and it will return relevant event listings, complete with clickable graphics that match to your known habits and tastes,” Chávez says.

Oracle, he says, has been “our technological ally” during this transformation.

Since the technology platform’s deployment, Superboletos has increased its sales by 60%. Likewise, the new system represents time saved for the customer and for the company’s staff, which translates into offering better customer service without needing to increase the call centers’ staff.

“Overall, this represents at least a 15% growth in the customer satisfaction rate,” Chávez says.

And although competition is tough in a country like Mexico, Superboletos has managed to distinguish itself from its competition by offering its customers a better service with a wider range of payment options.

“We’ve capitalized on all the experience we’ve gained in customer insights for our market, and we always try to translate that into innovative solutions,” he says.

In turn, the technology’s deployment has helped the company drive new market niches.

“Another differentiator is our digital ticket generator, which allows small venues to take advantage of the consumption of these types of tickets—something they could not before,” Chávez says.

Given the success of the system, Superboletos already seeks to go beyond chatbots and implement greater innovations—for example, the company is exploring biometric solutions that will solve the problems that arise in access control, especially in large events.