Everyone loves to support a winning team, but who supports
the team when they are losing? The people who support their teams even when
they are losing are called “loyal fans”. “During the good times and the bad,
these fans are always there to show their support.” Loyal fans contribute to an organization’s
revenue. They pay for tickets to games, pay for parking at the venue, and pay
for food at the venue all generating revenue, even when they are losing. Loyal
fans are important to sports organizations because they “keep the lights on.”
Teams are currently studying and coming up with new ways to increase fan
loyalty and engagement.
Organizations are turning to technology to increase fan
loyalty. A big issue at sport venues across the country is the lack of Wi-Fi
access. People want to post video and/or post to their social media accounts
showing what they are doing and where they are doing it. The new Sacramento Kings arena is scheduled to open in October 2016 and, "slated to be the techiest arena
in the league.” Keeping the millennial in mind, the venue will be able to accommodate
500,000 snap chat posts per second. The Detroit Piston’s created a game day
email that can be updated in real time every time you open it. Before the game,
you can get real time stats on the players. During the game, when you have to
go to the bathroom, and don’t want to walk away from the game, you can get real
time score updates as you wait in line. The Detroit fans have responded
favorably to the new email with 49% increased mobile engagement.
For organizations trying to build more and keep their loyal fans in attendance,
they must come up with creative ways to engage them before, during, and after
the game.
There are various ways to engage fans. The Golden State
Warriors have done a great job of engaging fans before the game. It is known
that if you arrive to a Warriors game an hour and a half early, you will see
Steph Curry put on a show with his 15 minute warm up routine. After his warm
up, he takes the time to meet and greet with fans in the venue. This has spread
from Warrior home games to road games as well. Allowing fans to watch the warm
ups of their favorite team is something special to them, as it is not televised.
Athletes taking the time to meet and greet with their fans is something special
that money can’t buy. The gesture makes fans feel special. During the game, team's venues should be Wi-Fi accessible and able to handle the
web traffic of the patrons. We live in a social media world. People want to
document every aspect of what they are doing. After the game, some
organizations produce small concerts with major artists to entertain fans. The
Detroit Piston’s organization has a real time travel map to give you the
quickest route in and out of the venue, so you can avoid sitting in long traffic
lines and get home quickly.
Organizations go through winning and losing streaks. It is
important that organizations keep their loyal fans engaged during both the good
times and the bad times. Loyal fans tend to pass their habits on to their
children. If you ask most people who their favorite team is and why, they will probably tell you that they grew up watching that team with their parent. You
can almost say loyalty is hereditary. With this next generation of loyal fans,
organizations must incorporate technology. The next generation rarely sits
still. They are constantly multi tasking on their phones. If
organizations do not give them the ability to use their phones at the venue,
they could risk losing a generation of fans and risk losing money in
attendance.
References:
Wagner, K. (2016, January 6). The Sacramento Kings are
building the NBA’s techiest
arena, a 21st
century coliseum. Recode.net. Retrieved from
Wander, E. (2016, April 6). The Detroit Piston’s are sending
emails that change
every time
fans check them. Adweek.com. Retrieved from
Yi, J. (2011, January 25). The value of the loyal fan.
SportsNetworker.com.
