Maximising Fan Loyalty
What defines fandom?
Is it down to playing success?
What defines the most positive experience of fandom? And what implications does that have on how football clubs operate and engage with their fan base and the community that surrounds them?
Additionally, why is the strategy of maximising fan loyalty not a core strategy of the vast majority of clubs both domestically and globally? What role is technology playing to improve fan loyalty and is it being best deployed in the right way?
As a percentage of overall population, attendance at games is stagnant at best, in England 50% of clubs see a decrease in average attendances each season and the only singular marker for increases is linked to playing success.
In fact, around 50% of EFL attendance capacity remains empty each week.
Fragmented fan loyalty.
The notion of ‘get them there once and you have them for life’ is a strategy still used ubiquitously across the industry however we know that intergenerational (father/mother to son/daughter) support is fragmented at best having been invaded by the symptoms of modern capitalism and society.
As an industry there is a need to focus the fan experience to the types of experiences that maximise their ‘cradle to the grave’ support. This may more likely help to turn the tide on the lack of intergenerational support and to form a continuous loop of support without the caveats around club spending, constant managerial reshuffles or indeed playing success.
A definition of loyalty.
Despite what many think, fan loyalty is not determined by on-pitch performance. Loyalty is actually a marriage of values and experiences but yet many clubs are struggling to realise the objective reality of how loyalty can be built.
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Shifting attention to ways in which the fan experience can be improved to help build loyalty away from results on the pitch demands more attention. Building a stronger, higher calibre fan base, that is more resilient to the inevitable topsy turvy conditions of the game will help to increase fan lifetime value and positively impact clubs bottom line.