Arizona state | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

The Secret Sauce for Great Customer Service - 3/26/24


I was working with the League Office for a major American sport several years back, and one of the executives asked me to describe our Secret Sauce that helped our clients improve the fan experience and customer retention.  I gave him a sense of what makes us unique and Read more

The Miracle of an Apology - 3/19/24


Unfortunate but true story… The manager basically lost his mind.  He terminated his employee on the spot.  She had told the customer that there was going to be a delay in the shipment.  The employee called up the customer ahead of time to let the customer know what was about Read more

It’s Not About the 5-Minute Wait - 3/12/24


Robert went into his supervisor’s office to update her on a situation at the payment desk.  Robert said that a customer was about fourth or fifth in line, waiting to be served, and the customer was complaining loudly about the wait.  He was there to make a property tax Read more

Lessons from the Greats - 3/5/24


I was recently facilitating a workshop on the customer experience, and I made the point that it’s usually beneficial to look at your personal life for great experiences; identify what really resonates with you in a positive way in order to uncover ideas to improve your own customer service. So, Read more

The Empathy Roadmap - 2/27/24


For some people, empathy comes naturally.  There’s an innate desire to learn about the other person and to sincerely convey that sense of interest and caring.  But for many of us, sometimes it helps to have a communication plan.  It helps to know what to do in order to Read more

“You’re the Boss” - 2/20/24


Terrence is excellent at what he does.  From a technical standpoint, he knows how to keep the facility clean.  He’s the lead custodian, and he knows that keeping things straight does not necessarily mean keeping things sanitary.  He knows what chemicals to use and not to use, how to Read more

Customer Understanding Leads to Relationship Growth - 2/13/24


We’ve worked with educational organizations at all grade levels over the years.  One special and unique characteristic about the staff who work in these organizations is that there’s a clear intent to know about the students as individuals, to focus on them rather than purely focusing on what’s delivered Read more

Define Customer Service Success Differently - 2/6/24


When I’m watching television, listening to the radio, or listening to a podcast, it’s always interesting when the topic moves to the question:  How can you be a success?  The speakers often discuss the process of becoming a success with the assumption that people believe success is defined by Read more

Care Enough to Give Them a Heads Up - 1/30/24


Nothing bad at all might happen.  Every day in the office could seem like every other day.  Sights and sounds and smells might continue to be the same.  But we have a lot of construction going on around our offices, and the building manager knows the type of work Read more

Be Better than AI Customer Service - 1/23/24


There was a recent CBS Sunday Morning Show story called: How artificial intelligence is revamping customer call centers. The journalist described how artificial intelligence is being used in customer service, and he noted the millions of pieces of information that can be processed in a matter of seconds. There are clear Read more

Fan Loyalty is a Sun Devil of an Issue to Address

Posted on in Business Advice, Sports 1 Comment

To build fan loyalty, is it just about wins, or is it also about fan relations?

I talked with the owner of an NFL team years ago about building fan attendance, discussing with him the issues that the organization faced at the time. I asked about what initiatives the organization was taking in the area of fan relations. His response was that “only wins and weather drive fan attendance.”

Well if that were the case, then you could do mathematical calculations each year to determine how many fans would attend games. You wouldn’t need to do fan surveys, have security at games, offer concessions, have game day customer service staff, have account representatives, have sales staff (except to take orders), and generally do anything beyond open the doors to the stadium.

The real truth is that the game day experience matters. Relationships matter. Being valued as a fan matters. So do wins and weather, but there’s so much more to building loyalty than those aspects of the experience.

At Arizona State University, the athletics department is trying to build fan loyalty and relations. According to the article ASU athletics undergoing face-lift, changes in culture, fan relations, the new Vice President of Athletics, Steve Patterson, is trying to change the culture of the organization. He’s building personal accountabilities; he’s working to improve the game day experience; he’s ensuring facilities are conducive to communications and relationship-building with prospective and current student-athletes (and their families). He created a championship vision, and he’s trying to create a championship environment for the students, coaches, and fans. He’s trying to create an environment where success is facilitated.

To facilitate means “to make easy.” But there’s nothing easy about becoming a champion. However, individuals on the business side of athletics can have a significant impact on the ultimate success of a program in the minds of the fans. These individuals can impact relationships, word-of-mouth, reputations, and loyalty. They can impact the business side and help foster enthusiasm on the sports side.

Fan loyalty isn’t just about “Wins and Weather.” Fan loyalty is about the fan.

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