Thanks to the Web, teams now have direct access to their fan bases and can sell tickets, merchandise directly to fans regardless of where the fans live. In addition, team Websites offer efficient channels for sponsors to reach NFL fans at their point of highest passion - inside the favorite team environments. We expect to see more national brands activating their sponsorships on team Websites in 2009.Reaching Sports Fans Beyond the Stadium

Most forward thinking organizations today realize the value of a customer relationship management program to achieve increases in revenue, profitability and customer satisfaction, and today the Internet can provide that avenue to develop and strengthen their customer relationships. Most professional sports teams have not yet taken advantage of the capabilities of the Internet to manage their fan relationships, and my recently released book entitled “Electronic Fan Relationship Management” demonstrates how a professional sports team can successfully use the Internet to manage and develop their fan relationships.

By developing an electronic Fan Relationship Management (e-FRM) program, a professional sports team can develop long term relationships with its fans around the globe. My book establishes that a strong e-FRM program must include a team web site full of interactive features, an email and text messaging fan outreach program and in-game enhancements using the Internet, and if implemented properly fans are more likely to visit a team web site and more likely to attend future games. An aggressive e-FRM program will engage avid sports fans by introducing numerous interactive features on the team web site and will entertain the occasional fan who enjoys participating in games, contests and surveys on the team web site.

Professional sports teams have long assumed that the loyalty levels of their fans were very high and thus these fans were frequently taken for granted. By using information acquired from their fans, personalized electronic fan relationship management (e-FRM) services can be offered enhancing fan value and team profitability. To learn more, below is a link to “Electronic Fan Relationship Management”.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

   JupiterResearch, a leading authority on the impact of the Internet and emerging consumer technologies on business, has found that serious sports fans comprise 19 percent of overall online users and represent one of the most lucrative audiences online. With a tendency to spend more time online, watch more video online, and shop more online, sports sites must integrate the right mix of video and social experiences into their destinations.

Serious sports fans also value local media, with local TV, radio, and newspapers ranking among sports fans’ top six news sources. Local Web sites should not only focus on implementing social media and video features, but should also explore opportunities such as networks of local bloggers, spin-off sites, and local promotion. Here’s their research:

Serious Sports Fans

   There are two basic types of fans: avid fans and occasional fans. The avid fan buys season tickets, attends games, purchases apparel, and follows the team on television and on the Internet. The occasional fan, on the other hand, tends to have fewer loyalties and is attracted to events for their entertainment value.

Experts have found that emotional attachment is a strong predictor of customer satisfaction. The avid fan has the highest emotional attachment to a team and, therefore, the highest level of customer satisfaction. Many avid fans have an intense emotional attachment to their local team. These avid fans are just as likely to identify with their favorite team when they are winning as when they are losing. Occasional fans, however, were more likely to disassociate themselves from a losing team. The challenge of the sports franchise is to increase their fan’s level of emotional attachment so that the close relationships can be maintained in both good and bad times.

The Internet allows a company to determine what type of fan visits their site, which web pages they visit, and how long they stay at each page. Fan surveys can be implemented on a fast and inexpensive basis to learn the opinions of fans. It is ultimately important to understand why these online fans visit a team web site. It is vital to know which web site visitors are the best, most avid fans, which visitors are occasional fans, and which visitors are first-time visitors. By using these tools to understand fan behavior, likes, and dislikes, professional sports teams can develop long-term relationships with their fans; they can increase fan retention which will increase revenue and profits, and they can target new products according to the demands of their fans. e-FRM will also be able to target the occasional fan and develop a relationship that will help transition that occasional fan into a dedicated, loyal, and avid fan. Avid fans will purchase more tickets and merchandise and will bring the sports team higher profits.

BUY THE BOOK HERE

     The European Interactive Advertising Association recently released a study showing that sports fans are twice as likely to use the internet while watching TV than are ‘average’ internet users. Read more at the Online Fandom blog:

Biggest Online Fans are Sports Fans

Pat Coyle of the Indianapolis Colts reports that on the average in the NFL, 57% of “fav team” fans live inside the state where their team plays, and 43% live outside. That’s a huge number of fans that follow their favorite team but must depend on the Internet to receive up-to-date information on their teams.

This number will only grow in the future so forward thinking teams are looking for ways to connect with these fans and develop long term and profitable fan relationships.
Look Beyond the Stadium for Most Fans

The opportunities are endless for sports related social networking sites. In the BusinessWeek article below, business people are taking note of the money that can be made on the Internet tapping into this market.

“Sports-related social networks are among the fastest-growing of these new communities. SkiSpace, for example, has jumped to 10,000 members in the month since it launched. Sports social networking would seem to be a natural since fans are tribal by nature. And if the sports world has taken a while to capitalize on the obvious, that’s changing fast. In the past year pro leagues—including the NBA, NHL, Nascar, and PGA Tour—have opened up their sites, allowing fans to post comments on message boards and create interest groups. Now athletes and teams are taking social networking a step further, establishing communities outside league sites.”

It seems that Electronic Fan Relationships are becoming a reality!

Social Networks That Break a Sweat

The Minnesota Vikings have developed a Fan Web Site similar to that of the Indianapolis Colts. The Vikings site- WeAreVikingsFans.com- implements many of the principles of our Electronic Fan Relationship Management program. Here are some examples:

What can Vikings Fans do on the site?
On the Vikings Fans website members create personal profiles, photo galleries, blogs, video galleries, communities and more in order to connect with other Vikings fans and the Vikings organization.

What is My Profile page?
Your profile page is your starting line. It’s where you share your stats and interests with your teammates and access your blog, highlight reels and trading cards.

What is my Playbook?
Your playbook is a place on your profile page where you can post comments for your teammates to see or they can post comments to you. It is similar to the Wall feature on Facebook.

What is my blog?
Your blog is your own personal online journal where you can write about anything you want to share. To set up a blog, simply choose Edit next to your blog on your profile page.

What are My Trading Cards?
Your Trading Cards are your photos that you wish to share with your teammates. You can upload pictures from your computer or add links to photo albums that you have online.

The Vikings are getting their fans involved using the Internet and are showing us that they get it!

VIKINGS FAN SITE

The Phoenix Coyotes have chosen to use the popular social networking site MySpace to connect with their fans. At this point, they have a total of 1257 friends who they can connect with on a regular basis.

Using MySpace as a way to connect to your fans is popular in the music industry but untested in the world of sports. Kudos to the Coyotes for experimenting with MySpace. They even have their sponsors on board on their MySpace page. They are certainly Electronic Fan Relationship Champions!

Here’s the link:

Phoenix Coyotes MySpace Page

CRM Magazine, a leading journal for the Customer Relationship Management professional, notices the beginning of a trend as pro sports teams begin to warm up to the advantages of CRM.

“Despite the size, scope, and revenue involved in both professional and amateur sports markets, franchises operate like midsized businesses, and they’ve traditionally made similar-sized investments — and similar missteps — in the management of customer relationships, says Paul Greenberg, president of The 56 Group. Also like their midmarket brethren, franchises have only just begun to learn the importance of extending their brands and experiences beyond the hollowed halls of America’s oldest stadiums.”

Electronic Fan Relationships are becoming the wave. “It’s important that franchises pay attention to their fan base to uncover patterns such as purchasing habits,” says Chris Forrest, customer service coordinator for the WNBA’s L.A. Sparks. “With that sort of information, franchises can start offering their fans more relevant promotions, expanding their fan base at the same time.”

CRM MAGAZINE ARTICLE