Are you interested in sports fan analytics? Are you curious about how small professional sport clubs can disconnect commercial from sporting success in order to deliver lasting value towards their fans? Then I have something for you. With this post I kickstart my new project, where I will create content on the latest CRM trends in the sports industry.
Last weekend, I visited a football game of my hometown club FC Luzern. Freezing temperatures, a very uninspired display, which resulted in a 3 – 0 defeat and a red card. At the end of the game I asked myself, what the hell am I doing here? To be fair, I would not call myself a devoted fan (more on that later), but I still visit games from time to time, more often if there is sporting success.
Viewing ≠ Attending
Norwegian researchers Harry Arne Solberg and Ingar Mehus found out that too much televised football matches can reduce attendance at stadia. In addition, Martin Kringstad claims that live football broadcast from the biggest European leagues also has a negative effect on smaller league’s stadium attendance. I am completely aware of the fact that TV rights deals are very lucrative for sports clubs nowadays and only a small percentage of the club’s financial success comes from factual attendance. But, especially for minor clubs, I believe it is important to have these lifelong dedicated fans who are actually attending the sport event and are part of the whole experience. Therefore, as some sort of a “sport traditionalist”, I am not going to write about the tension between sport event attendance and broadcasting on television.
Understand Your Fans
As a starting point, I suggest small sport clubs to understand their fan community. But how can you approach this?
Back in 2014, Repucom launched a meta-analysis of previously conducted fan surveys. As a result, seven groups of fans emerged, which can be distinguished based on characteristics, behavioural tendencies and attitudes to sport and sponsors. The following video explains these seven distinct types of fans. Just have a look at it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqC-m2ANrUY
Moreover, I noticed another useful article on conceptual fan classification from American researchers Kenneth A. Hunt, Terry Bristol and R. Edward Bashaw. Based on motivation and behaviour, they differentiate between five different types, which I will briefly outline hereafter.
The Temporary Fan
The temporary fan’s commitment to a sports object is time constrained. This means that when a particular phenomenon of interest is over, this fan will no longer show devotion and returns to usual behaviour patterns. As an example, you can think of all these “fans” which have no interest in football, but turn crazy about it during the World Cup.
The Local Fan
As you expect the local fan’s interest is bounded by geographic constraints. More precisely, this type devotes to a team or an athlete because of the identification with a geographic area.
The Devoted Fan
Initially, this sort of fan originated from the temporary or local fan. However, the key term to explain the behaviour of the devoted fan is attachment. He or she often is emotionally attached and has a remaining interest in a team or athlete beyond time and place.
The Fanatical Fan
The fanatical fan has an increased involvement compared to the devoted fan. It is the kind of fan who travels to every game whether it is away or at home and wears the team jersey. Moreover, this behaviour is accepted by like-minded fans because it is supportive and shows real commitment.
The Dysfunctional Fan
The previous types of fans all show supportive behaviour towards their targets. In contrast to that, the dysfunctional fan identifies itself with rather disruptive and anti-social acting. Hooligans or ultras are classic examples of dysfunctional fan types.
Back to Business
At the beginning, I stated that I would not consider myself a devoted fan of FC Luzern. Based on the above classifications and explanations, I could probably be categorised as the local but also temporary fan (depending on the sporting success).
But how could small professional clubs make use of that segmentation approach? Well, the “understand your fans” part is only the start. In a next step, it is time to think about specific goals for each fan type and start to develop appropriate strategies. Are you already curious? I will pursue writing on this topic over the next few weeks. Stay tuned!
Sources
-Header image: www.flaticon.com
-Video: www.youtube.com, Repucom Fan DNA
Hey Linus, interesting article, already curious to see what will come out of the strategies!
Thanks Daniela!
Never heard of Fan DNA but sounds very interesting. It would take ages to be applicable in my home country lol
Hi Blend, thanks for your comment. The technology is still very young, but if it is successful I think it will be implemented in many sports venues around the globe.