Understanding Sports Customers
Analyze the unique characteristics of the sports fans as customers and asses the major implications of the sports marketing.
Sports customers may have various interests, reasons and motivations to attend the games. The sports customers can be analyzed based on behavior and their degree attachment of the particular sports. Sports fans and consumers are typically highly involved in the sports and they follow the sports closely. The behavior of the customers might be affected by different traits of the sports products. In present time, very minimal attention is paid on enhancing the involvement of the customers for the sports products. The objective of this study is to analyze the unique characteristics of the sports fans as customers and asses the major implications of the sports marketing. Strong brand image can be developed based on the mutual trust that basically occurs from enhanced consumer satisfaction. Various sports companies are looking for tactics so that customer satisfaction can be improved. The sports customers reveal various characteristics in terms of values, behaviors and attitudes (Smith & Westerbeek, 2003).
The engagement of sports fans provides the strategic advantage to the sport clubs and organization. Sport fans are involved with the brand personality and consume the product and services offered various sports organizations or clubs. Sport clubs have high level of engagement of fans in order to enjoy sustained development across the world. So, it is observed that sport fans actively seek for the opportunity to attend various sport events like attending games, and being present at the special activities for meeting the players. Sport fans are always committed towards financial and emotional energy to interact with the favorite sport club. In basic words, sports fans are sport customers that spend on club products and services for the fan engagement such as fans are engaged to purchase the sports products like match tickets, clothes and general products regulary (Funk, 2008).
The connection between the engagement of fans and their buying behavior can be explained by the customer engagement theory. Basically, this theory argued that customers always conduct a cognitive evaluation for the specific product which fulfills their personal values, moral and ethical preferences. In simple words, the theory introduces the marketing concepts for seeking the relationship with the customers by emotional similarity for the sales. Relationship marketing is difficult as it is based on the trust and identifying the brand. Sports fans are related to relationship marketing as it reveals the incorporation of sports fan experiences with the brand. The relationship marketing shows long-term commitment and investments of the fans for the brand of professional sport club (Bauer, Stokburger-Sauer & Exler, 2008).
Sports fans or consumers can be described as people who decide, purchase, and consume sports-related products and services. For this manner, sports marketers and organizations do proper research related to consumer behavior in order to analyze how to utilize the marketing mix in the sports marketing i.e. product, price, place, promotion, process, professional, performance and program. With the help of research, marketers are able to identify how the sports related products or services are providing opportunities for developing effective marketing strategies in order to communicate with the customers. Basically, sports fans or consumer behavior study reveals how individuals are devoted towards available resources in the sports consumption activities. According to Blumrodt, and Bodin (2013), the study of human behavior is crucial in order to understand the sport consumer. The study includes:
- Psychology principles which reveals that every person is different so, each person has unique personality, life experiences, various perceptions, interest and capabilities, values, beliefs and different attitudes.
- Sociological principles which is undertaken individually as well as in the groups
Engaging Sports Fans
By applying the loyalty concept in the fan behavior, the activities of the loyal sport customer can be analyzed. The activities include attending games live in the stadium, consuming club-related media, watching favorite game on media, purchasing products related to sport, wearing logo or colors of the favorite sport team and trying to convince others for supporting favorite sports. Further, cross buying activity of the sport fan refers to the practices of purchasing additional products and services from the valuable product brand. This is possible because sport marketers today have brand extension strategies by which they are expanding the range of branded products and services beyond the sport products. So, it is important for sport organization to adopt some recommendations i.e.
- Using behavior approach for shaping the sport consumer,
- Segmenting them by using their social, cultural and demographic perspectives and articulating them with their behavior (Norris, Wann & Zapalac, 2014)
- Identifying the impact of these segments in the sport businesses, and
- Implementing the specific marketing mix in order to target the customers and behavior audience.
So, sports fan act in the market like the customers of the other products and the sport fans are basically committed and loyal towards their sports clubs.
Based on managerial and sociological description about sports fans, there are three unique features of the fans as consumers which are identified. Those characteristics are described below:
Fans have an intense and strong affection with the consumption products-
The emotional connection is used to differentiate the fans from basic and general customers. There are differences between watching a TV drama series and becoming fans of those series. This reveals the intensity of emotional or intellectual involvement of fans for the drama series. Fans are closely connected with the specific form of intensity as compared to the general customers. In case of sport customers, they form psychological affiliation to specific sports or teams that are resistant and persistent to change. Customers are also the part of the team who demonstrate the strong psychological commitment.
Fans exhibit various loyalty behaviors-
Fans always behave as the loyal customers and show various loyalty behaviors like repeating their purchases and staying connected with brands and products. Repeated and regular consumption of the products is the indicator which shows specific emotional investment of the fans towards the brand. There is the relationship between emotional affiliation and regular consumption of sport products by the fans. Most of the customers who labeled themselves as fans pointed to their regular consumption patterns. The loyal behavior is an attitude shows by fans which measure the degree to which customers purchase the brand repeatedly and regularly (Stewart, Smith & Nicholson, 2003).
Fans show informal membership behavior-
The relationship products and fans are always active and proactive. The active participation in the purchasing process differentiates fans from the general customers. Fans are those specialist customers whose consumption habits are highly conventional and likely to remain stable. Fans basically want to stay connected with the production process of the products rather than simply purchasing or possessing it. The intensity of the consumption of fans is valued by the sports organizations (Leal & Moutinho, 2008).
In the marketing terms, consumers who have high level of affiliation with the companies as the informal membership are highly loyal customers and actively involved with the organizational activities of the as the co-producer. The sports fans have stronger emotional commitment as compared to non-fans of sports. Sport fan can be defined as the passionate supporter of some specific sports consumptive products. More committed fans of the sports activities show their continuous interest towards sports products and teams. The term ‘fan’ can be defined as the emotionally connected customers for the sport events (Stander & Beer, 2016).
Relationship Marketing in Sports
In the sports marketing, loyalty of sports consumers is very important. In the sports marketing, flow of money is in various directions i.e. from fans to ticketing, from fans to pay-tv and from fans to products. Fans are important elements in order to secure the revenues of sport clubs. The flow of the money is based on the attendance of fans in the stadium and at homes on TV. Because of the availability of spaces in the stadium, there is a new term arise i.e. sport viewership’. These are those people who watch their team play. This means games are attended by electronic media. The more loyal fans are then the more they will be engaged in watching the games. Highly loyal sports fans sometimes plan their whole timings around watching games. Along with this, these fans basically have more satisfaction level and more emotional affiliations while watching the sports as compared to casual fans. It seems that watching the games enhance the relationship between the sports fans and sports team in the effective manner (Yoshida & James, 2010). The ecosystem of sports is described in the figure.
Figure 1: Sports system
(Source: Collignon & Sultan, 2014)
For understanding the money making process by sports professionals, various sports events in different countries like Premier League in United Kingdom, Super Bowl in England or Wimbledon in United States can be used. It is observed that there are five basic elements in order to generate revenue for the sports club i.e. media, fans, brands, leagues and club. Fans are always excited to spend their money in order to buy packages for watching the matches on various platforms like website, TV and apps. Further, leagues are basically organized in particular seasons so they also play an important role in generating revenues (Biscaia et al, 2013). Various clubs are also able to generate their revenues by adopting marketing tactics i.e. selling tickets, licensed products, media rights and sponsorships. In order to enhance the marketing and revenue, sports clubs need to achieve three important indicators which are as follows:
- Performance i.e. generating interest in fans and media revenue,
- Presence of star players for sponsorships, merchandise and ticketing, and
- Loyalty by the membership for assisting the clubs for more revenue (Dionísio, Leal and Moutinho, 2008)
There is a cycle in the sports management and marketing which is helpful in targeting the consumers and generating revenue. The virtuous cycle of sports marketing is described in the given figure.
Figure 2: Virtuous cycle
(Source: Collignon & Sultan, 2014)
According to Clark (2011) and The Future of Sports (2015), sports clubs need to consider the sport as business in order to encourage the fans and to get more revenues. Various sports in European and American clubs are found out that the strong sport club is the unfolding arrangement and prepared league. Leagues provide all the arranged products and services for the fans and media and make the business with the sponsorship in order to improve the revenues. For instance, North and European leagues have achieved good results in terms of setting the matches by focusing on family viewing, suitable ticket pricings along with special offers and discounts for family, better viewing angles, and broadcasting in at least two languages like local and in English (Shilbury, 2009). Further, their marketing activities include promotions by sports celebrities as ambassadors of different teams and connecting with various schools and colleges by providing them tickets to attract the audiences. Along with this, sport clubs and leagues have also developed supporting infrastructure and facilities like fast-food chains, restaurants, books and music stores and merchandise stores etc. The sport clubs have made in-stadium sport as the place of entertainment and unforgettable experience for the sport fans (Blumrodt, Desbordes & Bodin, 2013).
The Study of Sports Consumer Behavior
Conclusion: Final consideration
It is analyzed that market driven strategies allow the sport clubs to respond to the needs and requirements of the fans and customers. Various sports have turned to be entertainment and financial success in order to become more important element of the consumer’s lives. The sport business is now becoming more consumer-oriented. In order to attract more fans and consumers for events and to make more revenues, sport clubs are focusing on structured and organized leagues as sports clubs are connected to leagues.
It is recommended to follow four steps for the success of sports events i.e. develop the understandings about consumers or fans in order to learn about their needs and requirements. It is important to analyze the perception of the fans towards sports club brand. Further, brands can interact with the fans or consumers for the significant improvements. Rather than forcing the customers to pay, representative and intentional offers can be provided. By these efforts, Sports clubs and organizations can be able to attract more sport consumers.
In case of personal statement, I am a fan of cricket. Cricket is the sport that has the place in the mind, soul, and heart of every person. For me, this is the innocuous game so it is important to understand the relationship this sport shares with people who consume it. Although, there are various behaviors are the expression of fan loyalty i.e. television viewing, purchasing team merchandises and radio listening but I rely on attendance in order to measure the loyalty towards cricket. Total attendance and extent of repeat attendance in the cricket stadium show my loyalty towards cricket. As the sport fan, I like cricket and all the events like test series and premier league. I spend my all time watching this game on my TV. Reason of liking this sport is that players play this sport with the brilliant and mind-blowing way.
With each and every test series and premier league I have emotional and connection with the sport. One of the important point that attracts me towards cricket is that cricket is signified for the societal and economical status. It is the games of royals and it is widely accepted in the society. The cricket team is also a collection of individuals from various parts of the country. I basically find that there is new desire and self belief with this sport which can be expressed by the bold stroke play and attacking mindset of batsman. Further, I never miss to attend premier leagues as this provides the opportunity to young generation to rise with fearless and adventurous way. This nature is reflected on the cricket field also because the cricketers of this generation are passionate and active for their sport.It would not be wrong to say that cricket is popular in the society and many people like this sport because this game is played according to the set of laws. The cricketers, their performances, their attitudes and the way it has been played are the resons for me to follow this sport
References
Biscaia, R., Correia, A., Ross, S., Rosado, A., & Maroco, J. (2013). Spectator-Based Brand Equity in Professional Soccer: Sport Marketing Quarterly. 22(1). 20-32
Blumrodt, J. Desbordes, M. & Bodin, D. (2013). Professional Football Clubs and Corporate Social Responsibility: Sport Business and Management. 3(3). 205-225.
Dionísio, P. Leal, C. and Moutinho, L. (2008). Fandom affiliation and tribal behaviour: a sports marketing application. Qualitative Market Research: An International Journal. 11(1). pp.17 – 39
Funk, D. C. (2008). Consumer Behaviour in Sport and Events: Marketing Action. Boston: Elsevier
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Norris, J. I. Wann, D. L. & Zapalac, R. K. (2014). Sport Fan Maximizing: Following the Best Team or Being the Best Fan: Journal of Consumer Marketing. 32(3). 157-166.
Shilbury, D. (2009). Sport Management Series. (3rd). Sydney: Allen & Unwin
Smith, A. & Westerbeek, H. (2003). Sport Business in the Global Marketplace. New York: Palgrave, Macmillan
Stander, F. W. & Beer, L. T. (2016). Towards Engagement: A Comparison of Fan Groups in the Context of a Major South African Football Club: SA Journal of Industrial Psychology. 42(1). 1-10.
Stewart, B., Smith, A., & Nicholson, M. (2003). Sport Consumer Typologies: A Critical Review. Sport Marketing Quarterly. 12(4). 206-216.
Yoshida, M. & James, J. D. (2010). Customer Satisfaction with Game and Service Experiences: Antecedents and Consequences: Journal of Sport Management. 24. 338-361.
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