CRM stands for Customer Relationship Mangement, which refers to the implementation of both software and company procedures to help an organisation gather and use information about its customers for commercial benefit.
Why do Sports Clubs need CRM?
To understand why Sports Clubs can benefit from CRM, let's look at common commercial problems they face:
- Disparate data sources residing in silos (see fig.1)
- Information about fans and business customers is merged together
- How to implement proactive and reactive sales and marketing efforts, especially in a tough economy
- The difficulty to efficiently cross-reference, cross-market and sell into target groups
- The lack of resources, time and budget
Silos of Sports Club Information
How does CRM help fix these problems?
While CRM is not a 'cure all' its successful implementation provides the basis for making a range of intelligent business decisions.
- Allows all sources of marketing and sales to be joined together
- Manages the data and information flow between a club's commercial activities
- Allows a continuous programme of outbound marketing and selling activity with direct feedback
The Disparate Data Sources of Sports Clubs
Fan Base
- Season Ticket Holders (past & present)
- Retail Sales (Online & Shops)
- Website Visitors (FLI)
- General Fan Base
- Match/Away Day Tickets Travel
- Membership Schemes
- Community Junior, Senior, Family (Business)
Commerical Base
- Corporate Hospitality
- Events Conferences & Banqueting
- Sponsorship & Advertising
- Other Club Staff, Suppliers, Officalis, Authorities, Associations
- Season & Match Day Ticketing
- Shirt/Kit Club Match, Ground, Online
- Wider Local/Regional Business Community
