There’s a lot happening in the use of technology to improve athlete performance and influence competitiveness. There is also a widespread euphoria when it comes to having a social media strategy in place, and multi-channel engagement is an inevitable option since fans are active beyond regulation time and always looking for a personalized engagement and contextual conversation. But when it comes to the core of sports business, the front office and its executives – and what supportive material they use to make decisions – there is still a lot to be changed.
We are seeing a slow but consistent adoption of technology on the business-side of sports, especially in ticket sales (even if it is just to process orders or sell) and marketing. However, we are still missing a major break-off from doing business as usual, guess-working as a part of defining a strategy, and using the available data to measure and resolve specific problems or achieve objectives. The necessary next big thing in this industry will be a cultural change at the executive leadership level, which will be responsible to face the challenge to change the mental model built for analog operations and move towards a digitally dynamic, data driven culture. Like in any other industry, these changes will work only if championed by the top Executive and if there is a will to move from aspirations to results.
The lack of competition, especially within the US Major Leagues and their controlled territory systems (with rare exceptions, there is never more than one NFL, NBA, MLS, etc. teams in the same territory), creates an exaggerated focus from some of the decision-makers on predictable and limited inventory revenue sources such as tickets or venue sponsorship. Even if these revenue sources are profitable, it creates a sense of security that downplays the possibility of expanding profitability. The fan is forgotten in most cases because these organizations know they are the only ones delivering the product with a drive based on “build, and they will come”. This might be true for game days, but the real challenge lies in the remaining days and the fact that we are now dealing with an “Always-On audience”. That’s why it is extremely important to analyze very closely what fans want and how they behave.
The data from fans is no longer linear, there is way more than attendance and event consumption information to drive strategy. Sports events and its related data is also no longer localized. Sports content and/or merchandise might be consumed globally and fan engagement channels are possibly madly hybrid. In each case you will find different patterns and ways in which fans are consuming or interacting with your brand. If you take full advantage of those particular elements, the fan experience will be enhanced and with it the business value on the experience in terms of engagement and data capture.
Data is capacity and its value will continue to grow. But to extract value from your data you need to know what is the real problem and what you are trying to achieve, and these KPIs should come from the top. Capacitating your organization to achieve digital intelligence is not just the case of using technology. To become a data-driven organization, a multifaceted tech approach and specialized skills are required, but a key element is a leadership that not only supports but drives their teams to adopt a dynamic data driven culture as well.
Organizations that are fully digital do not ask their customers what they want. They modify their processes and offerings in accordance to their market as of result of a culture that is always listening and measuring. With today’s technology, that can be done almost instantly.
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