Sport Digital Transformation: the new direction of Customer and Fan Experience

Digital transformation, in recent years, has been one of the main topics of discussion in various industries, attracting the attention of companies, and their management, due to the impact on processes, infrastructures and business models. With great probability, therefore, in the near future, it will continue to be a topic of comparison, especially among insiders. That is, those who, by trade, should manage and direct this transformation, making it sustainable and profitable in their areas of competence. The digital revolution is undoubtedly a process in progress, with technology dictating the timing of a new vision that, as we have often emphasized, in sport industry 4.0, together with others, is materializing day after day.

It can be said, in this sense, that the ongoing change, driven by technological acceleration and the development of new interaction models, in Sport but also in many other segments of the market, will represent everyday life, a normal state of affairs. A constant evolution, in short, for the world in which we live, in which nothing is unchanging, or destined to remain equal to itself, for too long. As happened with other companies, in fact, sports companies are also focusing on digital transformation with the aim of improving the integration between the various touchpoints and physical-digital communication channels, making the processes more streamlined and friction-free for the user, introducing more scalable technologies and platforms to add new revenue sources. Creating, in this way, around the fan 4.0, an omnichannel experience.

The use of events, the elimination of distances, continuous communication, mobile entertainment, new payment methods and proximity, are some of the pillars that drive sport manager 4.0 towards the creation of specific and innovative digital assets, to be integrated with structural ones. A process that is similar, very similar, to that of retail.

For this reason, Sport Digital Transformation catalyses the attention of sports clubs, in an evolutionary process that goes far beyond new technologies and information systems but reaches the culture and the corporate governance and organization model. In the current scenario, therefore, the ability to analyse and rethink the entire customer experience, in this case of the fan, is fundamental, and includes all the contact points of the new fan experience. And when we talk about the new experience of the customer and the supporter, a lot has to do with people’s time, with their attention, their involvement, and with the consequent complexity introduced by the ‘distraction’ generated by the big online sales giants and from the new digital platforms. Chats, phone calls, messages, emails, social networks, notifications.

Great fragmentation, little attention.

The goal, in this informative chaos, is to create a new fan journey, before, during and after the match, integrating the contact points between clubs and enthusiasts. An omnichannel approach with emotional paths, stimuli, in which the search for the ticket, the actual purchase, the journey to the stadium, the experience in the arena, the consummation during the match, the social sharing, the post-game, must represent a unique continuum with new physical places to be structured, for a constant relationship and a ‘total’ interaction-conversation, just like that of retailers.

But let’s take a step back.

Digital Transformation and Omnichanneling: entertainment, relevance and experience

When we speak of omnichanneling we must refer, as I said, to retail companies and new initiatives that their marketers try to apply, all based on two lines that meet more and more often, or those that identify the time and the space. The moments of contact with the brand increase, therefore, for a consumer who no longer has problems with the ‘place’ in which to proceed with the purchase, with a symbiosis, gradually clearer, between the real world and the virtual world.

There`s no longer any difference between stores, web, mobile, social and other channels, to reach people, but an omnichannel model in which there is a unitary management of the distribution of the offer, whatever it is, giving vital importance to the knowledge of the interlocutor, of the host, putting customers at ease because of a relationship of trust with the brand, and more inclined to give all the information necessary for the construction of a personal proposal.

So, what should clubs be doing?

Orientate between the new needs of the sponsors, defining the digital objectives according to the turnover, remapping processes and systems. Digital transformation is the transformation of the business itself, a business in which it is no longer enough to say, but which needs to show. The new marketing is broadcasting, entertainment, for an audience to analyse and for which to optimize their action. The way of thinking changes. It is the company that decides how.

But how do these dynamics translate into sport management 4.0? What are the tools available to sport manager 4.0? In what way is it possible to best integrate the physical and the digital? Building an omnichannel experience for the client. The fan. The technologies are new, new marketing strategies, in fact, for a digital transformation that, in sport, revolves around the fan.

Sport Digital Transformation and Omnichannel: disintermediation for monetization

Sports companies, before others, like others, for all that I have written so far, evolve into media companiesbecause they need to enter into the life of their audience, to stay there for a long time. And they must do it; it’s a necessity, according to an omnichannel logic. With a well-structured and integrated strategy:

• information;
• activation;
• interaction;
• involvement;
• monetization.

For a progressive profiling that leads to loyalty.

“We see our customers as invited guests to a party, where we are the hosts. It’s our job every day to make every important aspect of the customer experience a little bit better.”

In the words of Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, the new model of sports business 4.0, as well as any other industry, as a function of sport experience 4.0, because the fan feels privileged, and aspires to be more and more, passing, from simple user, to becoming a member.

Capitalizing on love and passion. Time. Attention.

The concept of relevance, which I mentioned earlier, has to do with something that lasts over time, which satisfies a long-term need and not just a momentary need. This is why, in sport, relevance precedes the arrival of the supporter, of the client, onto their own channels, and is consequent to the ideation and selection of content that becomes indispensable for an interaction that continues, day after day, repeatedly. The end? An experience in which the digital dimension, and that in real time, are combined in a single solution, and are versatile, customizable and built for the individual, who has taken a more dynamic, now fluid attitude. It’s everywhere. And bought everywhere, if there`s a way and is encouraged. Especially during the highly emotional moments with which sport must feed itself much beyond the games.

Fluid, therefore, communication must be, in the total integration of multiple channels that are based on a single input, in a perfect balance. The website, then, e-commerce, the official app, virtual reality, should be imagined for 90 minutes in the stadium and far beyond this time frame. With a before and after organized according to the physicaland digital.

Think of the concept of temporary stores, which become, in our case, the colours of the team, in partnership with the technical sponsor, for example, located throughout the city, or the museum, with memorabilia and the history of the club. But also the sports centre, to watch training, to ‘experience’ like the games, in an atmosphere even more relaxed, and potentially participatory, even with families and children. As well as the fan zones, so far created near the stadium, but why not locate them elsewhere; perhaps in shopping centres, becoming in turn entertainment points. Indoor and warm, in winter. Outdoors, in summer.

Time, fun, emotion, participation.

Hi-tech corners always present, contact points. The fan, the customer, a gateway for the experience, the moment of purchase, access. Their data. Proximity marketing, beacons, mobile, big data. The future of retail 4.0 is almost everything here. And it is also that of sport 4.0.With a unified management that integrates the various technologies, which allows unique registrations, which recognizes the supporter during access to the various places in which it is involved, with a connection in real time that also takes place thanks to digital stations, in points strategically chosen, which allow the acquisition of information, and then structure tailor-made commercial offers.

How many times have you been here? How old are you? Are you alone or with your partner? Ah, are you married? Do you have children? Boys or girls? How many? Do you know the amount of data to be exploited? And the new spaces to be created? The old idea of advertising to rethink? Unexpressed potential. We are at the starting whistle. And the nice thing is that everything can be done in total involvement, without even realizing it.

Thanks to a global experience.

The evolution of communication strategies, the optimization of logistics and decision-making processes, new sponsorships, the creation of parallel business opportunities, customer care, interactions with fans. New authorizations. Sport industry 4.0 changes its principles, with data analysis to define new paths, but also to create and disseminate its content, just like match 4.0, with TV competing with augmented reality, the virtual one, streaming social, web and mobile.

Disintermediation is a requirement. A sport platform, the solution.

A cultural, strategic, as well as a technological change. The media par excellence, ‘against’ the new media, united in an element that simplifies and optimizes. Available to clubs to make direct contact with supporters. Because, in the Sport Experience 4.0, as I pointed out, all the channels must be aimed at interaction and not just for simple use. A centralized platform for fan engagement and loyalty actions to support the digital strategy of clubs. A unique tool that ‘combines’ the online sale, the ‘physical’, the ticketing system, the total database and each individual asset and touchpoint, which allows you to deliver live, personalized content and to better manage the official communications conveyed online and offline, becoming the starting point for acquisition and profiling activities.

Platform and processes.

For a real telemetry of the different systems, using elements of machine learningand data analysis, to understand the interests of each individual supporter. Why sell to 80,000 people in a stadium, when you have millions of fans? It is enough to have the method and the structure to analyse them and activate marketing campaigns, essentially automated and super optimized. The advantages?

• data autonomy;
• knowledge of their own fanbase;
• direct communication;
• customization of service levels;
• extension of the business.

The possibility, in short, to offer services, products and ‘individualized’ actions. In line with the needs of users and their interests. Shops, merchandising, ticketing, in-app purchase. What else? A high level of profiled users offers partners and sponsors a powerful tool to make contact with their targets. In particular, by transmitting communications and commercial offers to those who might be more interested. Sponsorships, advertising, targeted actions. The only limit, creativity.

With smartphones representing a business card on the move.

Taking advantage of the data, clean, associated in a unitary way, as an opportunity. As a prize for a competition whose goal is to win people’s attention, to whom to propose the equivalent of an ecosystem of physical and digital points that is ‘liquid’ and complete. With entertainment and information, in the background, to increase contact times and opportunities for visibility and monetization. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Multichannel. Omnichannel. Proximity. Experience. Interaction. Profiling. Sales.

Customer and Fan Experience, the game has already started.