A Fan Engagement Hole-in-One: Mapping the In Person Sports Experience
How to build a fulfilling and revenue-generating experience for every fan at the venue with journey mapping
If you are new around here, here’s why I started writing.
We have all thought about the phrase ‘fan engagement’ or some subset about it. For those of us in sports, we have tried to tackle it in the most advanced ways. I can’t go to a sporting event without analyzing most aspects of the experience and taking mental notes of how it went. As I have spent time analyzing this concept, I have looked back to one of my classes in business school, which was focused on experience mapping. Experience mapping can be super helpful in thinking through all aspects of the planned journey.
Let’s start with the game day experience for the in person attendee, which I’ll generalize into one all encompassing persona for these purposes. It’s key to break this down for every persona of fan that the organization might have, from families to groups to solo attendees.
We can break this experience up into four steps:
Preparing to Attend
Arrival
In venue
Post-event
Each step of the game day experience can cause issues and/or a bad fan experience, so the more that an organization can be a positive influence - the better. The best way to find out friction points in your system? Dive in yourself.
Journey mapping takes on several forms, but I’ve simplified this to the four steps, their touchpoints, and simplified goals for how you might want a fan to feel. Other concepts that can be included are key themes, fan emotions, and even deeper mapping. For this purpose, here’s a simple way to create a framework for this:
Preparing to attend
I’ve written about my experience working in sales and service at Texas Athletics for my second year of business school here. Many of our calls were about season tickets, but even more were about game day prep:
How do I get there? What time does the game start? Where is the ADA shuttle / parking? Is there a ride share drop off? What is the inclement weather plan? What is the bag policy? My mobile tickets aren’t showing up in my “wallet”! Is the stadium cashless?
These types of questions are not unique to those making the journey in burnt orange Texas gear for a game day in Austin. Making sure these answers are accessible and easy to find on social media, online, or in app are key to a positive experience and a prepared fan. Most first timers will turn to search to find the answers to their questions so it’s important to ensure the site map is cataloged correctly. Finally, it’s key to have a phone number available for those who desire the traditional experience and would like to speak with the service team.
An organization may also want fans to make it to the venue early to bring revenue into the surrounding businesses or inside the venue itself. As you map this pre-arrival step out, it’s important to ensure that you have that outlined in your goals. This will help ensure that the touchpoints and plans line up with what you are trying to accomplish.
Arrival Experience
Did the ride share driver drop me off less than a few blocks away? Was parking cheap? Can I bring my phone? (ok, maybe not in the case of the Masters)
Again, fans might be looking for all sorts of answers as they arrive at the venue area. These all could look different depending on the organization. Some venues are in the middle of downtown, while others are in a parking lot outside of town. Regardless, your fans’ experiences will continue to be affected as soon as they arrive. Using your pre-event ticketing data, you should be able to outline and map out where ticket purchasers might be coming from, which will help inform staffing and other support needed across various arrival avenues.
They might want to link up with friends, check out a new brewery, or be part of pre-game festivities outside. This is where having the right activation partners and phone connectivity can play a crucial role in the arrival experience. As the ‘ticket expert’ in my group of friends, I always seem to remember to make sure my friends have theirs downloaded and in their wallet. Meanwhile, I have been panicked outside a venue trying to gain access to my own. I’ve even connected to a friend’s phone personal hotspot before a game because I couldn’t get my phone service to work.
I would never blame this on the organization as this is clearly my fault, but it has affected my experience. As hard as it can be to find the right vendor, this is why it’s key to ensure that phone connectivity is at its prime outside the venue - just as important as inside.
Once everyone has their ticket - it’s time to go through security and enter the venue. Security can affect experiences, too. Does the fan feel safer because of the security? Were the lines long? Is there an entrance to go through for away versus home fans? Making this as seamless and straightforward as possible can help everyone feel safe and relaxed.
Once the ticket is scanned, it’s time to kick off the in venue experience.
In Venue Experience
We have entered the venue: the celebration of sportsmanship, athleticism, and camaraderie. In my opinion, there is nothing better than that first step into a new venue. But could it be better?
What if I received a mobile push notification for the closest concession stand and bathroom with the shortest lines? Directions to my seat? As technology evolves, we are seeing more options for teams to personalize this entire experience, but I consider this as the most important aspect of the day. This is where doing the right thing can increase revenue and monetization to a captive audience, turn all the previous wrongs into rights (parking issues, for example), and win or lose, provide for an extraordinary experience.
In order to make this happen, connectivity and signage are key. When the WiFi stops working, fans still need to know where to go for their seats, food, and the restroom. When it is working, fans want to share their memories through social media and talk to their friends. No matter what - one of my favorite tenants of sports lives on - people want swag. There is nothing more fascinating than sitting in sports venues and watching the crowd go wild for a tshirt cannon.
The last part of the in-venue experience we will discuss is everyone’s favorite topic - the seat neighbors. Being in the stands at a game is something many dream of for most of their lives. You're surrounded by folks who share your love for the sport, and that camaraderie is contagious. High-fives, chants, and even friendly banter with your seat neighbors—it's all part of the experience. But, there are pros and cons to it. On the upside, there's nothing quite like the energy of the crowd. It's electric, especially when your team is winning. Sharing those moments with fellow fans is priceless. Plus, you might just make a new friend or two in the process. On the other hand, you end up next to that one fan who just won't stop yelling at the ref or spilling their drink on you. As an organization, the best way to manage the cons is to have a plan in place - whether it be a text hotline to report poor behavior (or ‘anti-social’ behavior as the Aussies call it at the MCG) or remind fans of appropriate behavior (or in the case of soccer and a few other sports, separating away fans).
With that, the whistle is blown and the game is over. Win or lose, it’s time to go home.
Post-Event
This phase starts as fans regress from the stadium and head to their next destination. The University of Texas has found a way to reward fans after a win with a $5 coupon to Pluckers Wing Bar, one of their sponsors - this has become a punch line for my friends as we’ve collected coupons in our clear bags. Again, signage, push notifications, and staff can be key aspects of this experience, making sure people make it to their next destination safely. Depending on the time of day, there might be varying levels of fan behavior and decision-making.
What’s next after the fan heads home (or to the pub)? Getting feedback. Too many times post-game surveys are complicated and sometimes sent to the wrong person - make sure if a ticket has been transferred or sold that it goes to the right person (we will cover this in another blog) and there’s a day or two to match this data between primary and secondary sources. Here are a few do’s and don’t’s for post-game surveys, best served via an app or quick form.
Do's:
Keep the survey concise and easy to understand.
Ask specific questions about various aspects of the fan experience, such as seating, concessions, and restroom facilities.
Include open-ended questions to allow fans to provide detailed feedback in their own words.
Offer incentives, such as discounts on future tickets or merchandise, to encourage participation.
Send follow-up emails to thank fans for their feedback and communicate any changes or improvements based on their responses.
Don'ts:
Don't overload the survey with too many questions, which can lead to survey fatigue and decreased participation.
Avoid leading questions that may bias responses or steer fans towards a particular viewpoint.
Don't neglect to acknowledge and address any negative feedback received.
Avoid using technical jargon or complex language that may confuse respondents.
Don't forget to respect fans' time by keeping the survey brief and focused on the most important aspects of the fan experience.
Wrapping Up
So, there you have it - the perfect game day fan experience! I’ve written this to be qualitative in nature - of course to make much of this happen, your data and technology needs to be up to date and on point, which is easier said than done. We will dive into that further in the future. If you leave with one thing today, remember - fans want free swag.
Thanks for reading, sharing, and commenting!