He is not talking about being tough and aggressive, but about sharing and giving.
I think this is very much applicable in many aspects of life, not strictly to business: I can see it as a very powerful way to aggregate people and generate solid and active communities in the Sport sector: the way we communicate with the fan base, the way we approach them and how we benefit them without expecting anything back.
And we will get back ten, hundred times more than what we have given: it’s the power of sharing and growing together.
I'm writing this post sitting outside a cafeteria, by a bakery and a DIY tool store.
I am thinking of the challenge to pass on to Sport Organisations the message for a successful online presence and I am projecting it on those two shops, letting my mind wander….
Imagine if the bakery was selling hammers and screwdrivers close to baguettes and ciabattas.
Not the end of world in theory, but what would be the chance that a mother of two would take home a drill with the bread for her family?
Would the environment inside the shop transmit trust either in their baking skills or in their DIY expertise?
I’d bet that one of the two categories of items sold inside the shop would suffer, being targeted to two totally different types of customer that will unlikely end up buying both kind of items.
Probably I would also bet that the shop will shut down sooner rather than later for having ignored the needs of their customers.
Now look at the US leagues and the way they target fans:
NBA is usually oriented towards Content: news, videos, interviews.
MLB is focused on Merchandising: a lot of sales initiatives, a lot of ideas to approach the fan, being it father’s day, a birthday, the start of the summer and what not.
NHL is heavily keeping fans’ attentions on their auctions of memorabilia and customising their communication around the fan’s favourite team, while NFL is heavily promoting their Fantasy Football platform.
Every Sport Organisation has got its own needs and so their audiences: this should trigger a review of the Organisation’s online own goals, strategy and technology, which should be personalised and not a mix of everything, which is a step towards failure.
The starting point is the fan and not the Organisation itself: there are so many of them acting online like a one euro (one pound, one dollar) shop: generic, untargeted and self centred.
But it’s never too late to change!
