florida | Customer Service Solutions, Inc.

Home  /  Ensure Your Voice of the Fan Approach Includes These Key Points  /  florida

Don’t Harp on the Customer’s Mistake - 6/24/25


Seth’s daughter, Sarah, had missed some swim classes, and Seth remembered that the aquatics center had several make-up classes available late in the summer.  So Seth pulled up the class schedule on his phone, found one that worked on his and Sarah’s schedules, and planned to attend a session Read more

Create Customers for Life - 6/17/25


Veronica has gone to the same automotive service shop for at least 20 years.  She bought a new car about a year ago, and this is the third car she’s brought to the shop instead of taking her car to the dealer where she bought it.  She’s had three Read more

Don’t Turn the Customer into the QA Department - 6/10/25


Roberta received a form with information filled in by the company after her conversation with the account rep.  Roberta just needed to review the information, fill in some of the blanks, sign it, and resend it in order to set up a new account. She noticed that the effective date Read more

Imitate to Improve - 6/3/25


Oscar Wilde said that “Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.”  Now this doesn’t mean that plagiarism is the sincerest form of flattery.  Nor does it mean that great impersonators such as Rich Little, Dana Carvey, or Frank Caliendo are always offering flattering portrayals of those that they imitate. Wilde’s Read more

How the Customer Perceives a Truth as a Lie - 5/27/25


You’re the customer, you’re asking about an unused item that you’re returning, and you hear the employee say: “The refund process takes 7-10 days.”  You’re thinking: “Great!  I can get the refund check as early as a week from today!”  The reality is that the company means that they’ll Read more

Tell Customers What’s Next - 5/20/25


In most businesses that have been around for a while, how a process was originally designed is not how it currently operates.  Sometimes this change is referred to as “practical drift,” where the actual process moves further and further away from the documented steps over time.  Maybe the changes Read more

Questions to Guide You to Empathy - 5/13/25


“If I was him, I would do ABC…” If you’ve ever heard somebody say this - whether it’s a friend or acquaintance, whether it’s some TV reporter or podcaster - you may get as frustrated or as annoyed as I do. I get annoyed because we are not that other person. Read more

Negate the Nervousness - 5/6/25


The customer needed a loan, so he walked into the bank, but he was a little nervous.  He knew that launching his business would be easier if he had some working capital, but that’s about all he knew.  He was anxious because he didn’t know what to expect in Read more

Don’t Rush to Resolve Quickly - 4/29/25


The customer is angry, so you use the CSS LEAD technique as designed.  You, listen, empathize, accept responsibility, and deliver on a remedy.  But it doesn’t work.  The customer is still upset, and maybe even a little more frustrated than when you started…why?! If the use of this technique fails, Read more

Energy v. Apathy - 4/22/25


I asked a couple friends who are much more scientifically-oriented the question: What is energy?  I didn’t mean E=MC2.  I meant physiologically, what is energy? They described a lot of things that sounded really good, yet far too advanced for my non-medical mind. Part of the reason why energy is of Read more

•••••

Ensure Your Voice of the Fan Approach Includes These Key Points

Posted on May 1, 2014 in Business Advice, Sports Please leave a comment

Blog 5-1-14Voice of the Fan – we use that phrase with many of our clients, but to clarify its meaning, sometimes it helps to look at examples.

The University of Florida’s “University Athletic Association” (UAA) is forming a fan advisory group that will provide feedback on how to improve the fan experience at UF football games, in particular. According to the article UAA to improve gameday experience through new fan advisory council, the advisory group “will select representatives from several season-ticket-holder demographics, including current students and boosters…The issue that needs to be discussed is how we can help students come in, but at the same time help people who have been season ticket holders for 40 years still have a good time at the game.”

These comments go to the heart of why a Voice of the Fan strategy is so important in sports. We can’t make the assumption that all fans are the same. Conversely, we can’t make the assumption that the long-time fans don’t matter – which often turns out to be a concern in the heavily marketing/sales-oriented world of sports.

We have to develop a strategy of dialogue with our fan base, that not only includes the surveys and 1-on-1 discussions with staff, but it also includes the sit-down discussions that get you depth on issues, creativity on solutions, and the fan’s perspective on potential changes being considered for the future.

Develop a Voice of the Fan approach that has at least these characteristics:

  • Includes a quantifiable component to evaluate multiple aspects of the fan experience, preferences, renewal drivers, etc.
  • Includes trended data through ongoing (including real-time) research or point-in-time annualized surveys.
  • Includes Focus Groups for deep dives on specific issues or about consideration of future changes/improvements.
  • Includes Advisory Boards that provide some consistent feedback mechanism as ideas are developed, refined, and moved toward implementation.
  • Crosses all key demographics or fan types.
  • Has predictive characteristics about retention/growth likelihood.
  • Uses multiple platforms (face-to-face, web, social media, e-mail, telephone, etc.) to ensure breadth of response.
  • Results in actionable information.
  • Shares back with fans the results and actions taken.

When you’re thinking about an advisory board, focus group, survey, or other research method, first make sure it’s getting at the voice of your true fans. Create a strategic approach to listening to and utilizing the Voice of the Fan.

Did you like this post? Here are other Sports-related posts:

Learn about our CSS Sports services at: http://cssamerica.com/sports/