Know Your Fan

One of my biggest drives in working in the sports industry is the fan. They are the biggest stakeholders in sport. Yes, you have the television networks, the boosters and the community; but above all of those is the fan. They buy the product, talk about the product, watch the product and consume all media. In order to get the most out of whatever it is you sell, you must understand the "fan."

I like to look at five major factors when I look at the "fan." These can not only be beneficial in sport but in any business. They are:

Age
Social Standing
Economic Status
Geographical Factors
Other Interests


In my opinion, all of those factors can tell you all you need to know about your fan. They can set your marketing plan, drive your pricing, determine who you solicit, and soooooo much more (even determine what concessions you sell). While most of these seem pretty standard in business, I want to take a chance to apply it to sport. I think this will make my point that much more apparent.

Let's take three separate examples in the same conference:

Alabama

Most of the fans are of an older age and have been around the team, sport and school. The economic status is one that tends to be more affluent based on the booster donations that are given each year. They are one of two MAJOR football teams in the state of Alabama, and probably the biggest draw in the state for any sporting event. That also plays into the fact that it is the "it" thing to do during this time of year.

What it means - This is a sophisticated fan. There is also very little competition for the entertainment dollar. Overall you can price your product higher because of those factors, among others. The age also plays into the fact that your fan may not react well to the internet or technology. They are about tradition and you must market them as such.

Missouri

This is a new, emerging team with a younger fan base. Their fans are generally younger, and do not have the aura of bigger schools in that conference when it comes to booster funds and overall economic security. There is some pretty legitimate competition for the sports dollar there as well; with a multitude of sports teams in that region, as well as fans that tend to not stay there.

What it means - You can have fun with this one! You can play all of the new, innovative games and styles that you need because the organization is still forging its identity. In order to compete with all of the other entities you must price more attractively and really understand that there are so many opportunities with this team.

Georgia

These fans are affluent and passionate, but still a mix of old and new. They have the booster and the alumni backing, but still have a younger crowd that can be easily reached in new markets. There is a very large amount of competition, but with the tradition and passion, that trumps most of that.

What it means - There is really no wrong answer to how you capitalize on the Georgia fan. You have to stay middle of the road and please the masses, because of the diversity of the consumer. It is essentially a mix of the other two, which is both helpful and hurtful.

I think looking at the diversity of these three options is great justification of my points. You cannot use twitter to get at the heart of an Alabama booster, it's just not going to work. On the other hand, you cannot price a ticket to a Missouri football game at $85 because you are pricing yourself out of the market.

Sport is different than regular business in this sense. Sometimes, you can change or alter a product to appeal to more people or enter a new market when there is a hurt. Sports though, have specific fans and market that experience. It is hard to change the product, therefore you make that product attractive to your constituency. This particular line of though can be applied to all sports. Baseball, basketball and even golf can have different fans, needs and ways to market. Knowing the fan is truly paramount in getting the most out of the sport product.

Dear Dunk City,

HELLO READERS!!! Yes, hello to all 10 of you (and hopefully more after I promote this post). It has been far far far too long since my last post, but I have been inspired by recent events and decided to come back to “The Web” to impart some of my wisdom and opinions. It also helps that I don’t have toooooo much homework to do this week.

I have been inspired, as most of you have, by the basketball team from Dunk City. The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles have been the darlings of the sports world for two weeks running until their recent exit from the tournament at the hands of the “big brother” Florida Gators. This success got me thinking though, what would I do to capitalize on the success? I came up with five things I would do in order to capitalize on the frenzy that has become Dunk City.

1. Do WHATEVER I can do to keep Andy Enfield. I know what you are saying, “Web, they already lost him to USC.” I know….and that could very well prove to allow FGCU to fall from the lime light faster than they rose to it. If I were making the decisions I would have done anything to keep Enfield. Though I am not sold on him as a coach, which is another discussion all together, I feel like he was FGCU. He could have been the face of the movement. Players come and go but the coach can be a lasting impression. Coach K at Duke and John Calapari and Kentucky are prime examples, though Enfield would be a much much smaller scale. FGCU should have done everything in their power to get the money to keep him; sell the beachfront property, take out a bank loan, have a bake sale…ANYTHING. As you can see though, this was not done. It may not prove to be vital, but it certainly would have been a huge help.

2. Work with your alumni. Yes, all 50 of them. No no, I know there are more, but the oldest alumni are only between the ages of 35 and 40. You must market to them. What I suggest is discounted season tickets for the alumni of the school. FGCU is starting to have donations for their season tickets, make that a tad bit less for alumni or even lower the base ticket price. You need to have the alumni on your side. The more alumni that are buying in to the program, the more they will spend in the future. As they get older their pockets will get deeper and FGCU may have the funds to grow a program to a perennial competitor.

3. Market the location. I don’t know if you know about the campus at FGCU, but it is beautiful. If you saw the video of the tour with Sherwood Brown, you can see how amazing it is. This can be a recruiting tool. Ft. Myers is a good place for high school basketball, but if you get a kid from northern Pennsylvania to come and visit he will be hooked; and who knows, maybe his parents have found their new retirement destination!

4. Capitalize on the current success financially. One thing that I know FGCU is doing is taking deposits on season tickets already, trying to capitalize on the buzz around the team. This is a great idea, but I would even take it a step further. You could offer incentives to the first, say, 250 season ticket renewals/new orders giving them something like personalized seats or cushions or something that gives them a bit of incentive to get their tickets locked up. Trust me this stuff works almost as good as telling college kids there will be free food and t-shirts.

5. Market Dunk City. Finally, I would stop just short of running the “Dunk City” moniker into the ground. It became a calling card. You can make it a nickname for the arena or even fashion it into a name for the student section. I would also put it on as much merchandise I could so that the name sticks. It really is a catchy name, and should be marketed as such.

FGCU could very well be a school on the rise, but things need to be done off the court in order to ensure that the do not fall off the face of the earth after this sudden success. They need to look at the likes of Butler, VCU and Gonzaga and strive to be what they are. With their location, growing alumni base, and the excitement they generated FGCU has the potential to be something great. They need to use this success and parlay it into a future plan of action. You cannot let this go to waste if you are FGCU, because in the fickle world of sports you may never get this opportunity again.