Why your sports club needs a Customer Data Platform today

The world of sports is no stranger to data. From player stats to fan demographics or athlete metrics for sports science, information is the lifeblood of any successful sports club. Clubs excel at managing athlete data in sports. Still, they are not fully utilising the potential of their fan data in business.

That's where a Customer Data Platform (CDP) comes in, offering a game-changing solution for sports organisations looking to elevate fan engagement & understanding and drive revenue growth.

Think of a CDP as the ultimate fan intelligence hub. It's a powerful platform that gathers data from every corner of your organisation – ticket sales, merchandise purchases, app interactions, and more – and transforms it into a unified, 360-degree view of each fan.

Why should sports organisations care about CDPs?

In one word: personalisation. Today's consumers expect personalised experiences with brands, and sports fans are no different, and a CDP empowers you to deliver just that. By understanding your fans' preferences, behaviours, and motivations, you can craft targeted campaigns, personalised offers, and engaging content that resonates deeper. The old marketing paradigm, the right message in the right channel at the right time, is more valid than ever, and a CDP with full marketing automation features makes that possible.

The benefits of a Customer Data and Marketing Automation Platform like go far beyond personalisation

• Enhanced fan engagement: Deliver the right message to the right fan at the right time across all channels.
• Increased revenue: Identify upsell and cross-sell opportunities, optimise ticket sales, and boost sponsorship value.
• Data-driven decision-making: Gain valuable insights into fan behaviour and preferences to inform your marketing strategies.
• Sponsor or partner collaboration: Show your stakeholders exactly what kind of fanbase you have and what makes them tick. Offering them joint marketing opportunities to target only a specific segment takes collaborating with you to a different level.
• Improved operational efficiency: Streamline data management processes and reduce reliance on IT.

Centralised supporter data

A Customer Data Platform (CDP) consolidates valuable customer data from multiple channels and sources into a single database. For sports clubs, this means streamlining access to deep, specific supporter insights. A CDP stores first-party data, which clubs can enrich with second and third-party data to create a complete view of their supporters.

Supporter data includes:

• In-stadium purchases like food and beverages
• Ticket purchases (from ticket systems like Eventim or Ticketmaster)
• Stadium entrance data
• Merchandise data (from e-commerce and physical stores
• Personal data
• Demographic data
• Mobile app behavior
• Any other relevant data related to the supporter.

The information is gathered into a CDP from various sources to establish a single, unified customer profile. Suddenly, organisations can easily access detailed and specific customer insights and use all the data in their marketing.

After data has been collected within the Customer Data Platform (CDP) and analysed to gain these valuable insights, it can be connected to other tools and systems such as marketing platforms, websites, apps, and social media platforms. Some CDPs, like Custobar, come with full multichannel marketing capabilities and are called Customer Data and Marketing Automation Platforms. Organisations can take direct marketing action based on the data and its insights on those platforms.

What kind of data fuels the CDP engine?

A CDP thrives on data, and the more, the merrier.  It can ingest data from a wide range of sources, including:

• Zero-party data: Information actively shared by fans, such as preferences and interests, favourite player, if they have children playing your sport and more.
• First-party data: Data collected directly from your interactions with fans, such as website visits, ticket purchases and merchandise purchase history.

We dig deeper into the different data types in the "Marketer's Manual to European Data Protection" whitepaper.

Choosing the right CDP: Navigating the vendor landscape

The CDP market is booming, with various vendors offering solutions tailored to different needs and budgets. To help you navigate this landscape, the CDP Institute has identified four main categories:

• Data CDPs: Focus on collecting and storing customer data.
• Analytics CDPs: Offer data assembly and analytical tools for segmentation and insights.
• Campaigns CDPs: Provide capabilities for creating and executing targeted marketing campaigns.
• Delivery CDPs: Include features for delivering personalised messages across various channels.

For example, Custobar is a Customer Data and Marketing Automation Platform with all the above features.

When evaluating CDP vendors, be sure to ask these key questions:

• Data ingestion: Can the CDP handle all your data sources, both online and offline?
• Identity resolution: How effectively does the CDP unify data from different sources to create a single fan view?
• Segmentation and analysis: What tools and capabilities are available for segmenting your audience and analysing their behaviour?
• Marketing automation: Does the CDP integrate with your existing marketing automation tools or include automation capabilities?
• Real-time capabilities: Can the CDP process and activate data in real-time to deliver personalised experiences?
• Data security and privacy: Does the CDP comply with relevant data privacy regulations like GDPR?

Building vs. buying: The CDP implementation dilemma

Once you've decided to embrace the power of a CDP, you'll face a crucial decision: build your solution in-house or purchase a ready-made platform from a vendor.

Building your own CDP can be tempting, offering complete control and customisation. However, it's also a significant undertaking that requires substantial technical expertise, time, and resources.

On the other hand, buying a CDP solution from a vendor offers a faster, more cost-effective path to implementation as long as you choose one with a flexible data model. You'll benefit from pre-built integrations, ongoing support, and continuous updates, allowing you to focus on what you do best: engaging your fans and growing your organisation.

CDP in action: Real-world use cases for sports organisations

Ready to see how a CDP can transform your sports organisation? Here are a few inspiring use cases:

Boosting Fan Engagement and Loyalty

• Personalised welcome series: When a fan joins your email list, registers to your app, or becomes a part of your supporter club, trigger a welcome automation series that introduces them to your club, finds out more about their tastes, highlights key players, and showcases upcoming events. You can also personalise the series based on the source and direction.
• Targeted content recommendations: Based on a fan's favourite players or past interactions, deliver personalised content recommendations, such as news articles, videos, or social media posts.
• Exclusive content for loyal fans: Reward your most engaged fans with exclusive content, such as behind-the-scenes footage, player interviews, or early access to ticket sales.
• Gamified loyalty programs: Create interactive loyalty programs that reward fans for their engagement, such as attending games, purchasing merchandise, or interacting with your social media channels.
• Fan feedback and surveys: Use surveys and feedback forms to gather insights into fan preferences and tailor your offerings accordingly.

Driving Ticket Sales and Revenue

• Targeted ticket offers: Send personalised ticket offers to fans based on their past purchase history, favourite matches, or preferred seating locations. For example, when the new season starts, you could provide a special offer to fans who had a season ticket last season but haven't yet bought one.
• Abandoned cart recovery: Recover lost e-commerce sales by sending automated emails to fans who abandon their online merchandise shopping carts.
• Last-minute ticket sales: Promote last-minute ticket deals to fans interested in attending specific games. Or who live close to the stadium based on their address and could come and fill the stands the same day.
• Renewal campaigns for season ticket holders: Automate season ticket renewal campaigns with personalised messaging and incentives.

Enhancing the in-stadium experience

• Personalised concessions offer: Send fans targeted offers for food and drinks or fan products based on past purchases or preferences.
• In-stadium navigation and wayfinding: Give fans real-time directions and information about stadium amenities through your mobile app, SMS or WhatsApp. These can be triggered when a fan arrives and reads their ticket in the stadium.
• Interactive fan experiences: Create interactive experiences, such as augmented reality games or photo booths, to enhance the in-stadium experience.
• Real-time game updates and stats: Deliver live updates and player stats to fans' mobile devices.
• Post-game surveys and feedback: Gather feedback from fans after games to improve the in-stadium experience.

Optimising merchandise sales

• Personalised product recommendations: Recommend merchandise based on a fan's favourite teams, players, or past purchases. They may have bought kids merch before and can kit the whole family this season.
• Targeted promotions and discounts: Offer exclusive promotions and discounts to specific fan segments.
• Back-in-stock notifications: Alert fans when items they've previously shown interest are back in stock.
• Cross-selling and upselling: Suggest complementary products or higher-priced items to increase average order value.
• Activate passive fans: Activate fans to buy the kit/jersey for this season if they haven't yet done that. It is essential to automate this for all season ticket holders.

Leveraging social media and digital channels

• Supercharge ad targeting with your 1st party data: Meta, Google and others don't have access to all your customer data, but with a CDP, you can improve the cost-effectiveness and targeting of ads there, e.g. exclude everyone from new seasons season ticket campaigns if they already bought one
• Social media engagement campaigns: Run targeted campaigns based on your 1st party customer data to increase fan engagement and drive traffic to your website or app.
• Personalised social media content: Deliver tailored social media content based on fan interests and preferences.

Improving customer service and support

• Personalised support interactions: Provide fans with personalised support based on past interactions and preferences.
• Automated support responses: Use chatbots or automated email responses to handle common support inquiries.
• Proactive Support Outreach: Reach out to fans who, based on their feedback, may be experiencing issues or have questions.
• Fan feedback and issue resolution: Gather input from fans and use it to improve your customer service processes.
• Customer satisfaction surveys: Measure fan satisfaction with your customer service and identify areas for improvement.

Maximising sponsorship value

• Targeted sponsor offers: Deliver personalised sponsor offers to fans based on their interests and demographics. Bundle different campaigns and visibility in your channels to collaboration agreements.
• Sponsor-specific content: Create content that promotes your sponsors and their products or services in different channels: email, site, app, and more.
• Sponsor integration in fan experiences: Integrate sponsors into fan experiences, such as online contests and all relevant communications.
• Sponsor ROI tracking: Track the effectiveness of your sponsorship campaigns and provide sponsors with detailed reports.

The final round: Choosing the right CDP partner

Selecting the right CDP vendor is crucial for your success. When evaluating potential partners, consider their:

• Experience and expertise: Look for a vendor with a proven track record in the sports industry. Talk to Aleksi for more information about Finland's leading CDP, Custobar, also in sports!
• Technology and integrations: Ensure the CDP integrates seamlessly with your existing technology stack and offers the needed features, like marketing automation.
• Support and services: Choose a vendor with excellent customer support and ongoing guidance.
• Security and compliance: Verify that the vendor meets your data security and privacy requirements.

The finish line

In the competitive world of sports, a CDP is no longer a luxury – it's a necessity. By harnessing the power of fan data, you can create personalised experiences, drive revenue growth, and build lasting relationships with your most valuable asset: your fans.

So, are you ready to step up your game and unlock the full potential of your fan data? The journey to CDP success starts now.