10+ Years with NK Maribor

10 years of cooperation with NK Maribor

NK Maribor and Mojekarte are entering the second decade of cooperation

Football club Maribor did not have everything go according to plan on the sporting side last season, and the season was also marked by turbulent events in and around the club. Despite everything, the Slovenia Cup 2015/16 made its way into the club's trophy cabinets and opened the door to the 2016/17 Europa League qualifications. Last year's quality partnership between NK Maribor and DRAGON Ticketing, which was additionally reinforced by a sponsorship agreement, brought several important developments on the business side.

COMPREHENSIVE OVERHAUL OF CLUB RETAIL OPERATIONS

Among the notable developments of last season, the retail operations of NK Maribor deserve first mention. In the autumn months of 2015, they were moved onto the new and modern DRAGON Retail information solution and integrated into a unified platform for promotion, marketing, and sales of club products -- DRAGON Venue. This was a demanding project within which direct data exchange between the DRAGON Retail software and the back-office accounting system Piramida was also implemented, enabling automatic posting of sales data to the general ledger. The compatibility of DRAGON Retail and DRAGON Venue software made it possible to sell all types of tickets at the retail tills, achieving multiple goals. On one side, the club extended its box office opening hours, since the stadium box office in Ljudski vrt had shorter hours than the new Vijolicna shop in Mercator Center. At the same time, the number of points of sale operating under the NK Maribor brand increased, which is important for strengthening the brand in the local environment. Not least, ticket sales costs were also optimized, since the Vijolicna shop in Mercator Center is located in a much higher-traffic location than the stadium box office. Listening to, understanding, and accepting the expert advice of specialists from the DRAGON Ticketing team, along with the management's decision to support the concept of an integrated multi-purpose platform for promotion, marketing, and sales of club products -- combined with DRAGON Ticketing's ability to implement that strategic decision -- laid entirely new foundations for the further development of club marketing and sales.

REDESIGN OF THE CLUB ONLINE STORE

The second important development of last season was the systemic overhaul of the online ticket store, which was moved to a new web domain and also received the new PayPal payment service. This step was a kind of preparation for a comprehensive redesign of the club's online offering. The full redesign is now in the implementation phase, and the result will be a completely redesigned online store running on modern DRAGON WebShop technology, offering all types of tickets, articles, gift cards, and other club products in one place, with its responsive design ensuring an equally good user experience on mobile devices. The opening of the new online store is planned for the start of the 2016/17 season.

CLUB BASES -- OPENING A NEW SALES CHANNEL AND EXPANDING THE OWN SALES NETWORK TO STRENGTHEN THE BRAND

As a third important organizational development, the local network of so-called "club bases" -- pubs and bars that play an important role in strengthening the NK Maribor brand in the local context -- should be highlighted. After the new sales platform was established, each "club base" was assigned a username and password to access the ticket sales system, and the club also supplied them with security paper for printing tickets. When a guest at a club base decides to buy tickets, the bartender simply logs into the club's sales system through the register, selects the desired seats in the stadium, and prints the tickets. The ability to purchase tickets at the nearest club base has naturally delighted fans and supporters of the club.

MOBILE SALES OF TICKETS AND MERCHANDISE

The fourth important development was the successful introduction of a mobile sales system. Before last season, the club set a goal to carry out promotional campaigns in the city center, shopping centers, and other high-traffic locations in Maribor, and the club's wish was to be able to sell tickets and merchandise at promotional stands. DRAGON Ticketing provided a solution running on tablets, with portable battery-powered printers used for printing receipts. The equipment takes up very little space and is very convenient to handle.

The cooperation that delivered excellent and externally visible results last season will continue between NK Maribor and DRAGON Ticketing in the 2016/17 season as well, and the club will present fans with two new developments right at the start. The opening of the newly designed and technologically overhauled online store for season cards, all types of match tickets, gift cards, merchandise, and all other club products is planned for the end of June. The second development, which represents a true innovation in Slovenian sports, is a dedicated family section at the stadium along with family tickets, encompassing both annual family passes and per-match family tickets. We believe this initiative will be well received by families and that in a few years we will witness scenes of a full family section captured by stadium cameras. Those images will be a clear indicator and a publicly expressed sign of firm determination to introduce new concepts and gradual positive changes in Slovenian football.