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For this project, we were tasked with evaluating The data collection and interpretation processes of the Washington Nationals, and developing a road map for how they can better compete on analytics in the area of consumer marketing.
Citation preview
2011
AdamGerber,DrewHaines,Andrea
Nowack,VivekSupnekar
TheGeorgeWashingtonUniversity
10/17/2011
TheWashingtonNationals
1
TableofContents
Introduction……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………………….2
LeagueOverviewandTrends…………………………………..................................................................................2
WashingtonNationalsOverview…………………………………………………………………………………………………………...3
DataSources………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….………4
InformationManagementInfrastructure………………………………………………………………………………………..……..6
AnalyticalAssessmentToday………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………..6
DataAnalysis…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….……………8
WeAnalyticsandSocialMediaMarketing……………………………………………………………………………………………10
Recommendations……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….12
AnalyticalRoadmap……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..16
EvaluationandMaintenanceofPlan……………………………………………………………..…………………………………….17
TimelineforImplementation…………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………..18
Conclusion………………………………………………………………………..…………………………………………………………………19
Appendix……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..20
2
Introduction
We’reallfamiliarwiththeconceptof“Moneyball,”especiallynowthatitistypicallythoughtofinassociationwithBradPitt,whoplaysBillyBeanoftheOaklandAthleticsinthenew,majorHollywoodstudioproduction.MinorLeagueBaseballteamshavebeencompetingonanalyticsforyears,
developingadvancedstatisticalmodelstorecruitandattracttoptalentwhilekeepingoperatingcostsminimal.Infact,somanyteamshavecaughtontotheconceptthatitisnolongerasourceofstrategiccompetitiveadvantageformostteams.
Humanresourcesisoneoftheonlybusinessfunctionswhereteamshavehistoricallyprioritized
andcompetedonanalytics.Butasbusinessesinallindustriesarebecomingincreasinglyanalytical,teamsarebeginningtorecognizeotherfunctionsthatanalyticscanhelpsupport.Oneoftheseareasisinconsumermarketing.
OnMonday,October3rd,ourgroupmetwithScottLewis,theDirectorofConsumerMarketing
fortheWashingtonNationals,tolearnhowD.C.’sownlocalbaseballteamemploysanalyticalmodels,nottorecruittoptalent,buttofillseats.
BeforeScottcametothecompanythreeyearsago,datawasn’tjustunderutilized,itwasrarelyrequested.However,throughourconversationswithScott,wehavelearnedthattheNationalshave
comealongwaytowardmakingconsumeranalyticsasourceofcompetitiveadvantage,andwehaveidentifiedseveralopportunitiesforfuturegrowth.Inthefollowingpaper,wewilldiscussafewoftheseopportunitiesandprovidearoadmapthatTheNationalscanimplementtobecomeatrulyanalytical
competitor.
LeagueOverviewandTrends
MajorLeagueBaseballisthenation’spastimeaswellasasignificantbusinessintheUnited
States.Theleaguehasseensubstantialgrowthasithasdevelopedfroma16‐teamorganization(eightteamsintwoseparateleagues)in1903toaleaguewith30teamstoday.Whileeachofthe30teams,locatedin28differentU.S.citiesand1inCanada,operatesasitsownseparatebusiness,MajorLeague
Baseballistheregulatorandgovernoroftheentireleague.Thus,theMLBisresponsiblefortheofficialrules,regulatingteamownershipandcollectinglicensingfeesformerchandise(suchasjerseys,hats,etc.).MajorLeagueBaseballisalsoresponsibleforsellingnationalbroadcastingrights(franchisesare
abletonegotiateregionalbroadcastingrights)anddistributingfeestoeachoftheteams.
Someoftoday’smostsuccessfulfranchisesaretheNewYorkYankees,BostonRedSoxandPhiladelphiaPhillies.Eachoftheseteamsboastedincreasedrevenuesandattendancefor2011,withthePhilliesleadingtheleaguewith104%attendance(standingroomonly)andpushedtheirconsecutive
selloutstreakto204games;whichissecondonlytoBoston’s712consecutivesellouts.1However,withinthissuccessfulleague,aremanyopportunitiesforimprovement.Teams,bothwithwinningandlosingrecords,haveseensignificantdropsintheirattendancerecordsoverthepastfewyears.Evenwiththe
1“MLBAttendanceReport–2011.”ESPN.http://espn.go.com/mlb/attendance
3
reductioninticketprices,salesfiguresaredeclining.Outofthetenteamsthatcutpricesin2011,sevenofthem“haveworsesalesthanlastseason–somesignificantlyworse.”2Whilepartofthedropisdueto
therecentrecession,thereareothersignificantfactorsthatplayaroleindeterminingateam’sattendancerecords.
• In2011MajorLeagueBaseballsawa0.53%increaseinoverallattendance.3o Overallattendanceof73,425,568in2011(Phillies3,680,718).
• The30teamscombinedtohaveanaverageattendanceof30,229in2011…upfrom30,067lastyear.Thisstatisticis8%belowthe2007recordof32,785.
• Clevelandsawthebiggestincreaseinoverallattendanceandwasup31%to22,726fans.Pittsburghsawa22%increaseandTexasan18%increase.
• Evenwithagreatseason,andmakingtheplayoffs,TampaBayexperiencedbaseballsbiggestdecreaseinattendance,19%.
o 18,846fans,45,000seatingcapacity…about42%ofcapacity.• Houston,theteamwiththeworstrecordin2011,sawitsattendancedrop11%to25,546.
WashingtonNationalsOverview
In2005,theMontrealExposfranchisemovedtoWashington,D.C.andbecametheWashingtonNationals.Theyplayedtheirfirst3seasons,2005through2007,inRFKstadiumlocatednearthe
StadiumArmorymetrostation.Sincethen,theNationalshavemovedintotheirnew,state‐of‐the‐artfacilityadjacenttotheNavyYardmetrostation…NationalsPark.
TheNationalsmostsuccessfulyearintermsofattendancewas2005,theyeartheteamrelocatedtoWashington,whentheyranked11thoverallintheleaguewith33,728fans.Additionally,
whentheirnewstadiumopenedin2008,theNatsattractedmorethan29,000fanspergame,whichismuchhigherthanthe23,998theyachievedtheprioryear(thisfigureisalso16%higherthanthe2011attendanceof24,526).4In2011,theNationalsdidachieve60%oftheirseatingcapacity,upfrom55%in
2010,withtheirfansbasedonthestadium’scapacitytohold41,000.Therecenttrendhowever,untilthisyear,hasbeennegative.TheWashingtonNationalsarelookingnotonlyformorewins,butawaytoputmoreoftheirfansintheseatsonaconsistentbasis.
WashingtonNationals’Objectives:
Theshort‐termgoalsoftheWashingtonNationalsareto1)increasethenumberofcustomers
purchasingfullseasonticketplansand2)tofillseatsbasedonsinglegametickets.Inordertoachievethesegoals,theteamhastakenauniqueapproachtoreachitsfansandisoneofthefewteamsthathaveaconsumermarketingdepartmenttoanalyzethecustomerdata.Whileseveralmajorleague
teamsfillseatssimplybywinninggamesorbyhavingastrong,historicfollowing,theNationalsarenot
2Passan,Jeff.“TeamsSeekSolutionstoDecliningCrowds.”Yahoo!Sports.http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=jp‐passan_10_degrees_attendance_042511(April25,2011).3“AttendanceUpByUnderOnePercent.”AssociatedPress.http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/7035729/major‐league‐baseball‐attendance‐1‐percent(September29,2011).4“WashingtonNationalsAttendance,Stadium,andParkFactors.”Baseballreference.com.http://www.baseball‐reference.com/teams/WSN/attend.shtml
4
accustomedtothisluxury.Infact,theNationalsarestillestablishingtheir“roots”hereinWashingtonandhavefounditchallengingtoattractdiehardfansgiventheirshortlifespanof7years.Additionally,
becauseD.C.isknowntobea“transplantcity,”withmanyindividualsbringingtheirballclub’steamloyaltywiththem,itisdifficulttounderstandtheconsumersinthelocalmarket.
InourdiscussionwithScottLewis,hepointedoutthatafewofthetrendslistedabovedorelatetoattendancenumbers.Inadditiontotheoverallleaguetrendsandtherecession,Scottmentioned
significantfactors/variablescontributingtoattendanceperformancesuchasweather,opponent,dayoftheweekandtimeofday.ThesearevariablesthattheNationalsdeterminedmustbeaddressedinordertounderstandthetruenatureoftheD.C.baseballmarketandisonereasonwhytheNationalsare
heavilyfocusedonconductingdataanalysis.
SowhyexactlydotheNationalscollectsomuchconsumerdatawhenotherteamsdonot?SincetheNationalsarenotthemostcompetitiveontheballfield,itisextremelyimportantforthemtocompeteonconsumeranalyticsinordertofillseats.Whilethereisn’talwaysadirectpositive1:1
correlationofwinningandattendancerecords,5itisasignificantfactorindetermininghowmanyfansareattractedtoateamduringagivenseason.Additionally,theydon’thavetheluxuryofalonghistoryofbaseballinWashington(notincludingtheSenators).ThismeanstheNationals’fanbasehasnotyet
reacheditsfullpotential,andtheyneedtoexploreotherwaystoattractfanstothestadiumongameday.
TheWashingtonNational’sproactiveapproachtogatheringconsumerdatahasputthemaheadofotherteamsintermsofunderstandingtheirfansandtheirhabits/trends.Whiletheymightnotbe
leadingtheleagueinattendance,theyhavemadesignificantprogressinunderstandingtheiryoung,opportunetargetmarket.
DataSources
Asmentionedearlier,theWashingtonNationalsalreadygatheralotofdataaboutitsfansand
targetmarketthroughalargenumberofsources.Whilemanyofthesesourcesareinternal,theyalsodependonexternalsourcesfordataandanalytics.TheNationalsdonothavecompletecontroloveralloftheirdataandsometimesthismakesitdifficulttoaccesstherightinformationattherighttime.
5Caple,Jim.“What’sNextforTampaBayRays?”ESPN.com.http://espn.go.com/mlb/playoffs/2011/story/_/id/7059990/tampa‐bay‐rays(October5,2011)
5
Thedatasourcescanbeprimarilydividedintofourcategories.Thesecategories,datasourcesandtypesofdatacollectedareexplainedbelow:
A]PrimaryRevenueDrivers:Ticketsales(Primary&Secondary),ParkingSales,Merchandise,
ConcessionsandSponsorshipsareidentifiedasprimarysourcesofrevenue.Internalsourcesprovideinformationonparkingsalesandsponsorship.Externalsourcesprovideinformationonotherrevenuestreamssuchasmerchandiserevenuepergameorpercapandrevenuefromconcessionsinstands,in‐
seatvending,etc.Primaryticketsalesinformationlikeseasonandsinglegametickets,aswellasgroupticketsareavailablewithinternalsystembutsecondaryticketsalesinformationcomesfromexternalsourceslikeMLBAMandStubHub.com.
B]AdvancedMedia:DatarelatedtotheWashingtonNational’swebsite,socialmediacampaignsis
providedbyexternalsources.Omniturecapturesimportantinformationaboutpageviews,numberandtimingofvisits.OmnitureserviceisusedbymostoftheMLBteams.Otherimportantinformationlikeclick‐thrurates,opt‐outratesandinformationrelatedtothesuccessofvariouscampaignsonsocial
mediasitescomefromFanalytics.
C]CRM/FanData:TheWashingtonNationalscurrentlymaintainaMicrosoftCRMsystem.Faninformationsuchasmailingaddress,comments,buyinghistoryetc.ismaintainedintheCRMsystem.Additionally,theexternalsystem,MLBAMFormTool,providesinformationaboutfans.Thedatafrom
varioussurveysthatprovidevaluableinsightintothedemographicinformationoffansisalsogatheredthroughexternalsources.
D]OtherDataSources:TheWashingtonNationalsalsouseonlinetoolssuchasGoogleAdsandDoubleClicktogatherdataonitsonlineadvertising.Informationlikeview‐thru,click‐thruratesand
revenuegeneratedarereceivedviathesetools.TheNationalsalsodependonmarketresearchtoolstoprovideinformationonfandemographicsincomparisonwithoverallDCmarket.
Adetailedsummaryofalltheinformationaboveisattachedintheappendices.
TheWashingtonNationalshavenumerousdatasources,butsimilartomanyothersmall
organizations,thearefacingthechallengeofhowtocompilethedatatomakesenseofitall.Manyorganizationsdoagreatjobofcollectingdataaggressivelybutlaterfailtoutilizeit,resultinginlessthanexpectedresultsfromtheinvestmentinCRMsystems.
SusanLawler,coordinatorforconsumermarketingfortheNationalstoldusthattheteam
receivesdatainmorethanthirtydifferentforms/spreadsheets.Allthisdatacomesfromdifferentsourcesandthereisnostandardformatting,whichmakesitdifficulttoclean,compile,analyzeandinterpret.
Extractingdataoutofthesesheetsisatedious,timeconsuming,anderror‐proneprocess.The
resultisaCRMsystemthatisnotutilizedtoitsfullcapacity.Sincedataisnotconsistentlyorganizedandthereisnostandardizationacrossdifferentfunctionsoftheorganization,eachdepartmenthasitsown
6
definitionsfordifferentattributes.Unlessthereisstandardizationofdataandinformationexchangebetweendifferentdepartments,itwillbeverychallengingtoidentifyanalyticalopportunitiesthatexist.
TheWashingtonNational’scurrentlyhavealltherequiredinformationaboutseasonticket
holdersbutitssystemscannottrackanyinformationaboutbuyersbuyingtheticketsin“walkupform”atthegates.Alsothereisnowaytotrackpurchasesmadebyfansoncetheyenterthestadium(forbothseasonticketholdersandsinglegameticketholders).Therefore,theNationalscannottrackinformation
suchashowmuchmoneyaseasonorsinglegameticketholderisspending,ifhe/sheisspendingmoreonmerchandiseorfood,orwhatistheresultofdiscountsoneachsegmentetc.andthereforetheycannotpersonalizemarketingandpromotionaloffers.
InformationManagementInfrastructure
TheNationalscurrentlydonotownmostofitsITinfrastructure,includingitsownwebsite.ItswebsiteisownedbyMLBAM(whichwewilldiscussin‐deptlater).ItownsandmanagessomeIT
infrastructuresuchastheticketingsystemandtheCRMsystem.But,asmentionedearlier,thesesystemsarehighlyfragmented,andbuildinganenterprisesystemthatwouldencompassdifferentfunctionsanddepartmentswouldbehighlybeneficialfortheNationals.Itwouldprovidetheright
infrastructuretoexpanditsCRMsystemandgrowrevenueswithhighlyefficientpersonalizedmarketing.
AnalyticalAssessmentToday
AccordingtoJeanneHarris,“becomingananalyticalcompetitorcallsfirstforaclearheadedrecognitionofwhereyourcompanyispositionedintermsofitscurrentuseofandaptitudeforanalyticalprocesses.”6Thus,inordertoaccuratelydeveloparoadmapforanalyticalcompetition,wemustfirsttakeastepbackandconsiderwheretheNationalsaretoday.
Basedonthe“maturityofanalyticalcapabilitystages”outlinedbyDavenportandHarrisinCompetingonAnalytics,theNationalscanbroadlybedefinedascurrentlycompetingat
6Harris,JeanneG.“WinningwithAnalytics.”AccentureOutlook–May2007.[http://www.accenture.com/SiteCollectionDocuments/PDF/OutlookPDF_analytics_FINAL.pdf]
Figure1:TheFiveStagesofAnalyticalCompetition,Davenport&Harris
7
Stage3–AnalyticalAspirations(seeFigure1).7Theyhaveidentifiedanumberofdifferentconsumerdatasources,andtheyhaveestablishedaneedtocoordinateallsourcestogainadeeperunderstandingofthepurchasinghabitsoftheircustomers.
Currently,theNationalsengageinmanyformsofdescriptivedatacollectionandanalysis.Theycollectdetailedinformationatavarietyoftouchpoints(describedindetailearlierinthepaper)oncustomertransactions,whatfactorsinfluencegamedayattendance,websurfingpatterns,andmuch
more.Whenacustomerpurchasesaticketonline,theyareaskedforinformationsuchastheirnameandemailaddress.Similarly,whentheycalltheTicketSalesoffice,salesrepskeeptrackandmakearecordofuniqueinformation,suchasfavoriteplayersandbirthdays,thatcanbereferencedin
subsequentconversations.Additionally,theNationalshavealreadytakenstepstousethedataforgeneralpredictivemodelingpurposes.Forexample,theyhavefoundthattheonemostimportantfactorindetermininggamedayattendanceisweather.Interestingly,theyalsofoundthatthewin/loss
recordisnotsignificantlycorrelatedwithattendance(although,wepredictthatthereisalikelythresholdwhere,atacertainpointabove.500,itwouldbeasignificantvariable).Althoughtheydonotyetusepredictivemodelingtoestimategamedayrevenueormerchandise/concessionpurchasesand
up‐sells,theycanusetheirmodelstomakegeneralassumptionsonattendancesothattheycanstaffgamesaccordingly.Scottmentionedthatbyusingthebasicpredictivemodeltheyhavealreadydeveloped,theNationalscanusuallyforecastthegeneralnumberoffanswhowillbeatanyspecific
game,withinafewthousandpeople,andthisisalltheyreallyneedtoknowforgeneralgamedaystaffingpurposes.BasedonourinitialanalysisoftheNationals’analyticalcapabilities,wefeelthattheyareontherighttracktowardturningcustomerdataintoasourceofcompetitiveadvantage.
However,theNationalsarecurrentlyhamperedbyasignificantchallenge–theyhavetoomanysourceswheretheycouldpotentiallycollectcustomerdata,andtheydonothaveaclearandconsistentstrategytoorganizeandusethedatatheydocollect.Further,theyarenotclearlycertainthattheyare
collectingtherightdata.Asaresult,customerdataseemstobeverysiloed,whichprohibitsitfrombeingusedeffectivelyandcross‐functionally.TheNationalsdonotcurrentlyhaveonesingledatabase,aDataWarehouse,wheretheyhousecustomerdata–rather,dataiscollectedspontaneously(evenas
.txtfilesfromsomesources),pulled,andorganizedintoseparateexcelsheetswhenneeded.Further,theNationalsareonlyabletocapturedatafromnon‐season‐ticket‐holderswhopurchaseticketsbyWeb,phone,andStubHub–theycurrentlyhavenosysteminplacetocapturedatafromtheseveral
thousandpeoplewhopurchaseticketsviawalk‐upcountersales.
Intermsofconsumermarketing,despitethewealthofcustomerdatasourcesavailabletotheNationals,manymarketingandpromotioncampaignsarestillcreatedbasedonintuition.Further,thecompanyisstillverylimitedastowhatconsumerdataitcancollect.Theycaneasilycollectpurchases
madeviaonlinechannels,however,manysportsenthusiastsnowadaysturntothesecondaryticketmarkettopurchasetickets,orpurchaseticketsattheticketwindowbasedonalast‐minutedecision.TheNationalsareunabletocollectcustomerinformationusingeitherofthesesources.Inshort,the
7Davenport,ThomasH.andJeanneG.Harris.CompetingonAnalytics.Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,2007.
8
Nationalsaresomewhatlackinganenterprise‐levelapproachtoandmanagementofanalytics,oneofthekeydistinguishersofananalyticalcompetitor.8Additionally,althoughScottandhisteamwidely
recognizetheneedtodevelopabroadanalyticalapproachtoconsumermarketing,itseemsthatfullC‐Suitelevelsupportisstillneeded.BeforeScottcametothecompanythreeyearsago,theNationalswerenotadatadrivencompanyintermsbusinessfunctionsoutsideofhumanresources,andthough
thatoutlookhasbeenchangingsinceScott’sarrival,itseemsthathisteamisstillnotallocatedthebudgetandsupportthatisneededtobecomean“analyticalcompetitor.”
Insum,basedontheconsumerdatathatScottandhisteamcurrentlyhaveavailable,theyareoftenabletosay“wethink,”butnevertrulyabletosay“weknow”whentargetingcustomerswith
offersorlaunchingpromotionalcampaigns.However,theNationalshavemadehugestridesintheareaofconsumerdataanalyticsinthepastfewyears,andwefeelthattheNationalshaveahugeopportunitytomovefromLevel3toLevel5throughimplementingaclearandpreciseroadmaptoanalytical
competition.
DataAnalysis
DataProfilingandDescriptiveSegmentation
Inordertodevelopbetterandmoreeffectivemarketingcampaigns,theNationalsmustfirst
gainasolidunderstandingofwhotheircustomersareandattributestheypossess.Theycandothisbyenactingcustomerprofiling,wheretheywilluseallavailablecustomerandcampaignresponse/purchasedatatoidentifykeycustomerattributes.Throughbasiccustomerprofiling
techniques,suchaslookingatmeans,averages,frequencydistributions,variances,etc.andplacingtheinformationintobasiccharts,suchasboxandwhiskerplots,piechartsandbarcharts,theNationalswillbeabletobetterunderstandtheirtargetconsumerandtheirtypicalaudienceoffans,forbothhome
andopposingteams.
Next,oncetheyhaveamoreaccurateprofileofwhotheircustomersare,theNationalscanusethedatatheycurrentlyhaveavailabletoconductdescriptivesegmentationoftheircustomerbasesotheycandevelopbettermarketingstrategiesmoretargetedtowardtheircustomers’behavioral
patterns.Inthisphase,theycanbegintosegmentcustomersintodifferentcategoriesusingsegmentationtechniques.Firstofall,theycanusetheRecency,Frequency,andMonetary(RFM)methodofanalysistogainadeeperunderstandingofwhotheirmoreprofitablecustomersare.RFMis
“amethodofcategorizingthecustomerrecordsinamarketingdatabasesothatthemostrecentbuyers,themostfrequentbuyers,andthebiggestspenderscanbeidentified.”9Thismethodistypicallyusedtomarkettoexistingcustomers/fans,andtheNationalscanuseittodeepenrelationshipswiththese
customerstoincreasesales.TheNationalscanalsouseclusteranalysisfordescriptivemodelingpurposes,bywhichtheywillbeabletousedatatoform“like”groupings.Thoughthiswillnothelp
8Davenport,ThomasH.andJeanneG.Harris.CompetingonAnalytics.Boston:HarvardBusinessSchoolPress,2007.9Yenigun,Demirhan.“DNSC6290–DatabaseandWebAnalytcs.”Lecturenotes,Lecture#2.
9
themactuallypredictsales,asnodependentvariableisidentified,itwillhelpidentifykeycustomerattributesanddividegame‐goersintomorerevealingmicrosegments.
AsoneoftheNational’sprimaryobjectivesistosellmoreseasontickets,executingdescriptive
analysiswillhelpthembettertargetwhichcustomerswillbemostreceptivetoseasonticketoffers.Itmayalso,toalesserextent,helpthemidentifywhichcustomersaremorelikelytopurchaselast‐minutetickets,orticketsbasedononesuchattribute(suchasweatherorwinningrecord).
WerealizethatasignificantchallengetheNationalswillfaceinexecutingthesetypesof
consumerdataanalysiswillbeintheirfragmenteddata.Duetothefactthesourcesofinformationcomefromseveralresources,itisdifficulttocompile/cleantheinformationinawaythatiseasilydecipherable.Laterinthepaper,wewillprovideafewrecommendationsonhowtheNationalscangain
betterdataandstreamlinesothatitcanbeusedinmoreeffectiveandpredictiveways.
PredictiveSegmentation
Predictivemodelingtoolssuchasregressionanalysis,moreadvancedCRMtools,andcross‐sellingdatawouldclosethegapbetweentheNational’scurrentanalyticalaspirationsandbecomingatrueanalyticalcompetitor.
Withcompleteandcleandataaboutindividualconsumertrendsandattendance,notonlycould
theNationalsbetterpredictstaffingneeds,butalsogainpowerfulinsightsintothein‐stadiumbehaviorsofdifferenttypesofticketholderssuchaswhichfansarebuyingthemostconcessionsormerchandise,orwhoofthesinglegameticketholdersaremostlikelytorespondtoaseasonticketpromotion.
Thenaturalvariabilityofattendanceprovidedbyweather,seasonality,andin‐cityhistorycan
provideforarockyrevenuestream.Thesevariablescanbesmoothedbyfindinghighlytargetedcross‐sellingpromotionstodrawmorevalueoutofthemostgenerousfansandhelpingtargetemergingfans
formorelucrativerelationships.Forexample,afanthatattendsfivetotengamesaseasonbutonlybuysticketsatthedoor,isacompleteblindspotintheNational’scurrentmodel.However,wealreadyknowthatthisfanisdedicatedandaspender.IftheNational’scouldmicrotargettofansinthat
demographic,theycouldfindwayofpullingthefanintotheCRMdatabase,offeringtargetedconcessionofferings,andhighlytailoredpromotionstojoinamini‐seasonticketplan.
MacroeconmicTrendsthatAffectAttendance
AlthoughScottcitedonlyfourfactorsthatmostpredictgamedayattendance(weather,
opponent,dayofweek,andtimeofday),wefeelthattherearelikelyothermicroandmacroeconomictrendsthatfurtherimpactgamedayattendance,toalesserextent.
10
AdeeperlookintotheNational’syearlyattendancedatarevealssomeinterestingtrends.Thefirstyeartheteamcametogether,theystartedoutincrediblystrongintermsofcomparative
attendance(33,728averageattendance–theirwinningrecordwas.500)andimmediatelydroppeddownto26,581thenextyearwithawinningrecordof.481.Attendanceincreasedagainin2008,aftertheteammovedfromRFKtothenewNationalsStadium.Infact,theadditionofthenewstadiumwas
abletoovercomeanextremelysluggishstartfortheNationals(theystartedtheirfirst15gameswithawinningpercentageof.250)andtheyincreasedtheirattendanceby19.4%...orabout5,000fansagame!
Thisyear,theNationalswere9and7tokickofftheseason,whichwasthebeststartintheirfirst
15gamessince2005.Giventherecenttrendsofwin/losspercentageforthefirst15games(seechartbelow);attendancehasrisenordeclinedeachyeardependingonhowfasttheteamstarts.Theonlyyearwherethistrendwasbrokenwaswhenthenewstadiumwasopened,generatingsignificantbuzz
aroundtheteam.10
WebAnalyticsandOnlineandSocialMediaMarketing
TwoelementschallengetheNational’sattemptatanalyticcompetitiveness.First,theteamdoes
nothavefullownershipoveritsmainwebportal.Second,ithasnotyetfoundaconsistentwaytomonetizeitssocialmediaefforts.
MLBAM
AllMLBteamshavewebsites,yetthesesitesaremanagedbyacentralagencyunderMLBAdvancedMedia(MLBAM).MLBAMretainstheuserdata,webbehaviordata,andcrossteambuying
patternsofallteam’swebsites.Describedas,“partbaseballencyclopedia,partticketline11”MLBAM’sleaguewebsiteand30teamsitesgarnersbillionsofpageviewsayear.WithanalyticpartnerSAS,MLBAMusesbothdescriptiveandpredictivetoolstomanageitsproperties,crosssellmerchandise,and
mirco‐targetpromotionstofans.
10Theirhomeopenerin2011wasonly39,000(thisistypicallyadaywhenallteamsselloutandtheNationalshad
roomforimprovement,evenagainstadivisionrival).
11“BaseballBuildsCustomerLoyaltyWithSAS.”SAS.comNewsandFeatures.http://www.sas.com/news/feature/21apr05/mlb.html.
11
However,inthenameofcentralizedconsistency,MLBAMhascreatedauniquedesertofinformationforindividualteamsthatisnotfoundinanyotherprofessionalsport.WhileMLBAMwins
awardsforitssavvyuseofanalytics12,teamsliketheNationalshavetodealwithaslowandunwieldyprocesstouseanyofthatdataatthelocallevel.TheNationalshavelimitedaccesstodataonwhovisitsNationals.com,whobuysmerchandisethroughthewebsite,andhowvisitorstothewebsiteare
behaving.Furthermore,theyarediscouragedfrominteractingwiththefansinmanytraditional,butdigitalwaysincludingbloggingandtwitter.
Comparethistootherprofessionalsportswherevibrant,decentralizedwebtoolsdeepentheengagementwiththefansandprovidetheteamswithplentifuldata.
SocialMedia
Thecurrentsocialmedialandscapeisas
follows;morethan20,000Twitterfollowers,34,000Foursquarecheck‐ins,and120,000Facebookfans.Thismaysoundimpressive,buttheNationalsare,social
mediawise,theleastpopularteaminAmericanprofessionalsports13.Thepotentialforusingsocialmediaattheteamlevelistremendous.Asdescribed
above,thetwotopprioritiesfortheteamaresellingseasonticketsandsellingindividualgametickets.Socialmediacouldplayanexcellentroleindelivering
onthosegoals.
AbriefscenariofromUniversityofUtahexplainsthepotential14:
“Itwaslateinthesummerof2008,andtheUniversityofUtahstillhad500footballseason
ticketstosell.ZackLassiter,Utah'sassistantathleticsdirectorforcorporatesalesandticketoperations,waspreparedtosendoutatraditionalpressrelease,inthehopesthatlocalnewspapersandTVstationswouldtaketheballandrunwithit.Butfirst,theticketdepartment
postedanoticeaboutavailabilityontheUtahAthleticsFacebookPage,whichatthetimeboastedfewerthan15,000fans.Bythetimethepressreleaseevenreachedtraditionalmediaoutletstwohourslaterall500seatshadbeensold.”
12“BaseballBuildsCustomerLoyalty,EnhancesFanExperiencewithSASMarketingAutomation;MajorLeagueBaseballAdvancedMediaWinsSASEnterpriseIntelligenceAward.”http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20050411005205/en/Baseball‐Builds‐Customer‐Loyalty‐Enhances‐Fan‐Experience(April11,2005).13Fisher,EricandRyanBaucom.“EuropeanTeamsLeadSocialMediaBoom.”SportsBusinessJournal.http://www.sportsbusinessdaily.com/Journal/Issues/2011/04/25/Media/Social‐Media.aspx(April25,2011).14Steinback,Paul.“CollegesUseSocialMediatoSellSportsTickets.”AthleticBusiness.http://athleticbusiness.com/articles/article.aspx?articleid=3599&zoneid=40(August2010).
Figure2:TheNational’sFacebookpageexiststopointfansbacktoMLB.com
12
Additionally,leadingMLBteamssuchasthePhiladelphiaPhilliesusesocialmediatoconnectwithfansandescalatetheirrelationship.Byusingtweetsfromplayersandmanagersthemselves,the
teamencouragesfanstointeractdirectlywiththeteam.Aparticularcampaignevenhadthemanagerandplayersofferingtargetedpromotionsformini‐seasonticketplanstohighlyengagedfans15.
Socialmediacanalsoplayakeyroleindrivingdatatoandfromtheteam’sCRMtools.AsophisticateduseofCRMcouldincludeascenarioinwhichagroupofpeopleattendagameona
friend’sbirthday.ThebirthdayfanreceivesatextoratweetfromtheNational’sinvitingthemtohaveeitheraconcessionorseatupgrade.Inorderforthistypeofhighlevelinteractiontooccur,theCRMtoolsbecontainthefollowingelements;whoisintheparkatanytime,wherearetheysitting,whatis
theirsocialmediacontact,whatistheirbirthday,andwhoaretheywith.ThistypeofinteractioniswithinthegraspoftheNationalsbutwillrequireasophisticatedeffortindatamanagement.
TheWashingtonNationalshavetoovercometwodeficitstofulfilltheirseatfillinggoals.First,they
mustdrawthemaximumlevelofinformationfromtheironlinetools.Second,theymustcreateconsistentandmeaningfulonlineexperiencesfor
fansthatwillhelpdrivecasualfansintoticketbuyers,
andticketbuyersintoseasonticketholders.
AnalyticalRoadmapandRecommendations
Aswe’vementionedthroughoutthepaper,theNationalsalreadydoanicejobwithcustomerdatacollectionandbasicanalysis,especiallyincomparisontootherteams.Mostteamsdonoteven
haveconsumermarketingdepartments,whichisatrendwebelievewillshortlycatchononceitstruevalueisrealized.Webelievethistrendwillbesimilartothe“Moneyball”effectonceteamsunderstandhowtheycaneffectivelycommunicateandtargettheirfanbase;muchlikeBillyBeandidwhenhewas
targetingtalentfortheOaklandAthletics.However,sincemanyotherlocalsportsteamscannotidentifyconsumeranalyticsasarelativesourceofcompetitiveadvantage,theNationalshaveahuge
opportunitytocompeteinthisareaandincreaseattendanceandprofitability,aslongastheycandevelopaclearandconsistentapproachandgainwidespreadbuy‐inandsupportfromseniorexecutives.SincetheNationalsdonotactuallycompetewithotherMLBteamsincapturingmarket
shareforitsgeographiclocation,albeitwhenitcomestoplayerrecruitmentandselection,theycanuseconsumerdataanalyticstoaddvaluetoMLBasawhole.BecauseteamsinMajorLeagueBaseballopenlyshareinformation,bothgoodandbad,thereisanopportunityforWashingtontocomeoutasa
leaderintheleague.
TohelptheNationalsdevelopacompetitiveapproachtowardconsumeranalytics,weproposethefollowingroadmapbasedonshort‐termsolutionsthatcanbeimplementedbeforethestartofthe2012seasonandlong‐termsolutionsthatmaytakeseveralseasonstoimplement.15George,John.“Root,Tweet,BlogforthePhillies.”PhiladelphiaBusinessJournal.http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/print‐edition/2011/07/29/root‐tweet‐blog‐for‐phils.html(July29,2011).
Figure3:TheNationalsonTwitter
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Short‐TermRecommendations
EngagingwithFansInsideTheStadium
ArecentarticleintheMcKinseyQuarterlystatesthat“Bigdatapermitsamajorstepbeyondwhatuntilrecentlywasconsideredstateoftheart,bymakingreal‐timepersonalizationpossible.”16At
thecurrentmoment,theNationalsdonothaveasysteminplacetotrackfansastheymoveaboutthestadiumandusethatinformationtooffertime‐sensitiveorhyper‐targetedoffers.Ifthisinformationwereavailabletotheteam,theywouldbeabletousethatinformationtooffertime‐sensitiveorhyper‐
targetedoffers.ThereisahugeopportunitytodevelopsignificantrelationshipswiththefanbaseandcapturefanswhocanoffertheNationalsahighcustomerlifetimevalue.
OneteamthatdoesthisverywellistheSanFrancisco49ers.Theytrackfans’spendinghabitsfromthemomenttheyenterthestadiumtothemomenttheyexit.AnarticleinInformationWeek
highlightsafewofthebenefits:“Providingentrydata,thenewstadiumwillhelptheteamunderstandwhichfansarearrivingtwohoursearlyfortailgateactivitiesversuswhicharearrivingfiveminutesbeforethegamewithchildrenintow.”17
Additionally,anon‐sports‐relatedbusinessthatiscommonlycitedasagoldstandardbusinessin
thisareaisHarrah’s.InanInformationWeekarticleprofilingthecompany’sbrilliantuseofdata,onecompanyexecutivestates,“What'simportantisnothowmanyterabytesofdataarestoredinourdatawarehouseorthekindsofreportssomeanalystcanrunafterthefact.Rather,it'showtheinformationis
leveragedinrealtimetoservethecustomerimmediatelyonthecasinofloor.Ifthecustomeriscelebratingabirthday,forexample,thatdatawillletemployeesknowinstantlysotheycansurprisetheguestwithaspecialgreetingorgiftinthecasinoorhotelroom.”18
Currently,TheNationalsoffer“loadedtickets”whichallowfanstousethebarcodeontheir
ticketstubtopurchaseitemsattheconcessionstand.However,theycurrentlyaren’tabletotracktheuseofthesetickets,whichwouldbeaterrificsourceofdatafortheNationalstogetaholdof.Tohelp
gainabetterunderstandingofwhatthesefansarepurchasing,wheretheyarepurchasingtheseitemswithinthestadium,andhowmuchtheyarespending,itisimperativetheNationalsinvestinsoftwarecapableoftrackingtheseconsumerhabits.
TheNationalsshouldre‐engineertheircurrentloadedticketprogramtocollectconsumer
spendingdataandusingthefindingstomakethecaseforafull‐fledgedrewardsprogram.Torevampthisprogramandencouragemorecustomerbuy‐in,offerloadedticketsatadiscount–forexample,theycanoffera$10loadedticketfor$8andheavilypromotethisoffersothatcustomershaveanextra
16Brown,Brad,MichaelChuiandJamesManyika.“Areyoureadyfortheeraof‘bigdata’?”McKinseyQuarterly,October2011.http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Innovation/Are_you_ready_for_the_era_of_big_data_2864.17Henschen,Doug.“Football49ersLaunchFanAnalyticsInitiative.”InformationWeek,June14,2010.http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/bi/225700039.18Stanley,Tim.“High‐StakesAnalytics.”InformationWeek,Feb.1,2006.http://www.informationweek.com/news/177103414?pgno=1.
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incentivetopurchasethisoffering.Additionally,whenofferingGrouponandLivingSocialdeals,theNationalscanofferextradiscountsonconcessionswrappedintothedeal.Thoughtheywillseeaprofit
lossintheshort‐term,thevaluetheywillbeabletoachievebygaininggreateraccesstothisdatawillfaroutweighthecosts.
EngagingWithFansOutsideTheStadium
ThebiggestopportunityforTheNationalsthatcancomefromconsumerdataanalysis,intheshort‐term,isintheareaofpromotions.Atthemoment,theNationalsarecreatingpromotionsbased
onwhathasworkedinthepastorforotherteams,butnotnecessarilybasedonwhatmightbebestsuitedtothelocalenvironment.Giventhedifferencesinthetargetmarketsacrosscities,itisimportantfortheNationalstoadoptapromotionalstrategythatispositionedtocapturetheirfans.TheNationals
canusedescriptiveandpredictiveanalyticaltechniquestoevaluatethesuccessofpastcampaignsandpredictthesuccessoffuturecampaignstoincreaseattendance.SomeofthequestionstheNational’sshouldconsiderwhenseekingpromotionalstrategiesare:
1. Whichneighborhoodsprovidethehighestconcentrationofsinglegameticketholdersvsseasonticketholders?
2. WhichincomegroupsarethemostreliablebaseballfansintheWashingtonarea?3. WhichoutsideDCteamsaremostrepresentedbyWashingtontransplants(forexample,
formerNewYorkresidentsandYankee’sfanslivinginWashington)andwherecanwefindthemtobettertargetindividualgamepromotions?
TheNationalshavefoundthattheyattractmorefansfromoutsideD.C.thananyotherteam,which
likelyimpliesthatNationalsParkisseenasanattractivetouristactivityforpeoplevisitingD.C.WhilethisispartlyduetothefactthatD.C.isatransplantcity,thereisstillalargeopportunityhere.Thus,theNationalsshouldfurtherexplorethistrendtobettertargetpartnersandpromotionaloffers.Inaddition
topartneringwithlocalschools,forexample,theymightseeaddedvaluefrompartneringwithlocaltourismresourcesorcompanieswithmajorofficesinanumberofcities.
Long‐TermRecommendations
ImplementaRewardsCardandLoyaltyProgram
Inthelongterm,theNationalsshouldconsiderimplementingaRewardsCardLoyaltyand
IncentivesProgramsothattheycangeneratebetter,moreaccuratefan‐specificdata.Throughthisprogram,eachcustomerwouldbetiedtoauniqueidentifierthatwouldtracknotonlyticketpurchases,butcross‐sellsandup‐sellsaswell.However,inordertogainwidespreadadoptionofaRewardsCard
Program,theywillneedtomaketheincentivesattractiveenoughforpeopletobuy‐in.
TheRedBullsrecentlylaunchedasimilarprogram,however,Scottmentionedthatwhenhetraveleduptothestadiumtoobservethenewprograminaction,customersusingthecardswerefewandfarbetween.Whenwelookedintothedrawbacksofthisprogram,werealizedthatitwaspoorly
executedonthepartoftheRedBullsbecausetheincentiveswerenotstrongenoughtoencouragefanstousethecardoverotheroptions,suchaspurchasingticketsonStubHuborbringingtheirownfood,
15
andthereweremanystipulationsattached.Forexample,onedisgruntledfanbloggedabouthisdisappointmentwiththeprogramaftertheRedBullsannouncedthatpointsdonotrolloverintothe
nextseason:
“Forfanslikemewhohaveaccumulated2,500+loyaltypointssinceRedBullArenaopenedlastseason,it'sabitdiscouragingtoseethemallflusheddownthedrainwiththelaunchofthe2012ticketprogram.ChrisHeckblindsidedmanyseasonticketholderswhenheintroduced
astronomicalpriceincreasesincertainmidfieldsections.Itappearsthathe'salsodecidedtotakeabenefitawayfromtheclub'smostloyalfanswithlittletonowarning.”19
Someideasforincentiveswouldbefree/heavilydiscountedticketstogamesthatareinhighdemand(RedSox,Phillies,etc.),firstreleaseticketstocardholdersorhighdemandgames,concession
discounts(similartoaGrouponNowideawherecustomerswithRewardsCardscanparticipateindiscountsthroughoutthestadiumatanygiveninning),free/discountedNationalsmerchandise,andforthosewithanextremelyhighlevelofpoints,perhapssometypeofgrouppromotionwheretheyare
abletoparticipateina“meetandgreet”withcertainNationalsplayers(promotesthefamilyatmosphere).
CRMDatabase
“Withoutfan‐specificinsight,it'shardertocompileaccuratecustomerprofilesandmeasuretheeffectivenessofchurninitiatives,merchandisingprogramsandcross‐sellandup‐sellefforts.”
–DougHenschen,InformationWeek20
ThegoalofCRMistobuilddeeperandmoremeaningfulrelationshipswithfansandasuccessfulimplementationofCRMisthestepinrightdirection.SteveWebster,SalesDirectoratDQGlobal,acompanyprovidingDataandAnalyticsserviceworldwide,states“OurexperienceswithsportingassociationsintheUK(especiallyfootballclubs),isthatalynchpinofCRMisDataQuality—i.e.validity&completenessofnames&addresses.Thechallengeoftenisthatdataiscapturedinarush(payongate,busyticketingcentresetc),soifthedatacollectedisnotvalidated,cleansed&improvedsubsequently,thenmarketing,analysisandCRMactivitiesareatamajordisadvantage.”21
WerecommendtheNationalsestablishaprocesstostandardize,cleanandvalidatedataitgetsfromdifferentresources.Alldepartmentsshouldusethesamedefinitionsacrosstheorganization.ThetimeandresourcesspentonthiswillbecrucialforthesuccessofNational’spersonalizedmarketingcampaigns.TheyshouldstrivetobuildarobustCRMsystem.GoingforwardtheCRMsystemshouldbecapableofhandlingallthetransactionsandprocessthedatareceivedthroughRewardCardprogram.CRMSystemshouldbetreatedasjustonecomponentoflong‐termstrategyofcompetingonanalytics.Allthedepartmentsshouldco‐ordinatetheiractivitiesforeffectiveutilizationofCRMsystem.For
19TheViper’sNest.http://www.thevipersnest.com/2011/09/reading‐fine‐print‐rbny‐loyalty‐points.html.(Sept.13,2011)20Henschen,Doug.“Football49ersLaunchFanAnalyticsInitiative.”InformationWeek,June14,2010.http://www.informationweek.com/news/software/bi/225700039.21SteveWebster,http://www.customerthink.com/forum/crm_in_sports
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exampleMarketingandSalesdepartmentsshouldhavegoalsthatcomplementeachother.JustusingacommonCRMsystemwon’tbringthesuccess.
PotentialChallenges
Theimplementationofthisplanwillnotcomewithoutitsownsetofchallenges.Firstofall,advanceddataanalysisofexpensive,andwouldrequireadditionalemployeetalentthattheNationalsdonotcurrentlyhaveaccessto.Oneresearcherfoundthat“intheUnitedStatesalone,ourresearch
shows,thedemandforpeoplewiththedeepanalyticalskillsinbigdata(includingmachinelearningandadvancedstatisticalanalysis)couldoutstripcurrentprojectionsofsupplyby50to60percent.”22
Additionally,alongwithincreasedconsumerdataanalytictechniquescomesgreaterprivacyconcernsfromconsumers.Theabove‐mentionedresearcherpointsoutthatoneofthefundamental
tensionsthatarisefromgreateraccesstopersonaldataisbetweenconvenienceandprivacy.Thus,inimplementingthisplan,theNationalswillhavetobecarefultocollectdatawhilestillworkingwithincustomers’privacyexpectations.23Lastly,theimplementationofthisplanwouldrequirefullexecutive
commitment,whichwouldlikelytaketimetoachieve.Thus,thisplanwillworkbestbeingimplementedinsmallerincrements,andwillneedacarefulanddetailedmeasurementstrategytoprovetheROI.
Roadmap
Toaccomplishthesegoals,we’vesetoutthefollowingroadmaptoanalyticcompetivenessforthe
National’s.
Step1:Gainwidespreadexecutivecommitment
Moresignificantthatwinsandlosses,puttingfansintheseatsisthenumberonedriverforfinancialsuccessforanyMajorLeagueBaseballclub.Theexecutiveleadershipmustseetheconnectionbetweenstrongdescriptiveandpredictivemodelingandfinancialreturns.Examplesaboundacross
Americanprofessionalsports.Thesemustbeleveragedsotheclub’sleadershipiswillingtoinvestthetime,resources,andcuriositynecessarytosustaintheseplans.
Step2:DataCleaning
Datainaccuracy,inconsistency,andgeneralmessinessarefundamentalsforanyaspiringanalyticcompetitor.TheNational’sdataqualityisespeciallycompromisedbythewidevarietyofinputs
contributingtotheirdataandthelackoftargetedusesofthedataonceit’sreceived.Acleanandsimplesupplyofdatapointswillclarifytheusesandopportunitiespresent.
Step3:DataIntegration
22Brown,Brad,MichaelChuiandJamesManyika.“Areyoureadyfortheeraof‘bigdata’?”McKinseyQuarterly,October2011.http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Innovation/Are_you_ready_for_the_era_of_big_data_2864.23Ibid.
17
ThedatathatcomesinfromStubHub,oronlinemerchandisesales,oranyothersource,mustallserveaunifiedpurposeandbemodeledandintegratedinpreparationforthoseservices.The
integrationofdataisusuallymanagedbyoutsidebusinessintelligencecontractorssuchasSAS.Therelationshipsbetweenotherteams,MLBAMandSASprovideanexcellentframeworkforbuildingouttheNational’sanalyticcompetitiveness.
Step4:EstablishnewKPIs
Ifwin’sandlossesarelessofadriveroffinancialsuccessthanfillingseats,howcanthe
National’sbettermeasurewhichactivitiesaredrivingmorefanstothestadiumandmorefanstoseasonticketplans?Theconversionbetweencasualattendeeandregularattendeeandtheconversionbetweenregularattendeeandseasonticketholdermustbecloselymonitoredasaleadingindicatorof
theteam’sperformance.
EvaluationandMaintenanceofPlan
Onceanalyticalstrategiesareimplemented,thereareseveralwaystoevaluatetheeffectiveness
ofthesestrategies.Thelong‐termgoaloftheprogramistoincreaseNational’sfanbaseinD.C.andacrossthenationandcreateastrongfanloyaltyenjoyedbyonlyafewteamsinthemajorleague.Gameattendance,marketingcampaigntakerates,increaseinseasonticketsales,profitability,increasein
merchandiseandconcessionsales,andfanloyaltyareprimarysuccessfactors.
Toevaluatethesuccessofanalyticaltechniques,theNationalscanfindpotentialcustomerspopulation(exampleyoungmalepopulationagedbetween25to35,havinggraduatedegrees)usingpredictivemodels.Thenoutofthesepotentialcustomers,halfcanbetargetedwithpersonalized
advertisingcampaigns,specialdiscountsetc.andotherhalfcouldbetargetedbasedoncurrentmassmarketingmethods.Thentheconversionratecouldbemeasuredforboththesesegmentstomeasurethesuccessofthecampaign.Thisisjustoneexample,andmanydifferentcampaignscateringto
differentsegmentsoffanscanbemodeledoncethecustomerinformationavailable.Theresultscanbeevaluatedfromothersourceslikemerchandisesalesaswell.
Also,asmentionedbefore,justusingdataforsometimewillnotbringresults.AccordingtoDavenportandHarris,competingonanalyticsshouldbeapartofstrategyfortheorganization.These
effortsshouldbebackedupbyseniormanagement.Thereisculturalchangerequired,employeesatalllevelsshouldunderstandtheimportanceofdataandstrivehardtogatherandusedataeffectively.AstheNationalsgaininsightsintofandata,managementshouldcomeupwithnewmatricestoevaluate
effectivenessofitsanalyticalcompetitiveness.Itisanongoingprocessandresultscouldonlybeobtainedbylong‐termcommitmenttoanalytics.
TimelineforImplementation
Thetimelinefortheimplementationofourproposedstrategiesissomethingthatcanchangequicklydependingonthedifferentvariables.Theshort‐termgoalsfocusingonthe“Real‐TimePersonalization”shouldbeimplementedinthefirstyear(thisoccursinsidethestadium).Oncethe
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softwaretotracktheloadedticketprogramisinplace,itshouldbefairlyeasytobegintogatherandtrackthedata.Wewouldsuggestimplementingthissoftwareintoallconcessionsandmerchandise
locationsatoncesowecangetarepresentativebodyofinformation.Theshort‐termrecommendationsoutsidethestadiumshouldbeimplementedwithin1‐2years.Thecurrentpromotionsarealreadyinplace,sonowitissimplyamatterofgeneratingandgatheringthedatasotheNationalscanbegin
focusingthepromotionstogenerateresponsesfromthetargetedmarket.Gatheringthedataonthemarketcouldtakeuptoayearsoitwouldbeadvisedtotestasignificantamountofpromotionsandtrackthedatatouseforfuturepromotionsinthesecondyear.
Thelong‐termrecommendationsthatwillbeoccurringinternallyshouldbedevelopedand
implementedwithin4‐6years.ThestreamlinedCRMdatabaseshouldbeplannedwithinthefirstyearandshouldbecleanedandorganizedinyears2and3soitwillbeavailabletoreferencenolaterthan2015.TheRewardsCard/Loyaltyprogramshouldalsotake4‐6yearsandshouldbebrokenoutinphases.
Inyear1and2,aplanandstructureofhowthecardwilloperateshouldbeinplace.Furthermore,anincentivesprogramneedstobeestablishedbeforeanyimplementationcanbeperformed(year2and3).Followingtheplanningphase,wearesuggestingtheNationalstesttherewardscardonasample
marketofjusttheseasonticketholders(Year4).Oncethedataiscompiledandanalyzedwiththeseasonticketholders,theprogramshouldbereevaluatedandcorrectedwhereseenfit.Thiswilloccurinyear5.Finally,inyear6,arewardscardshouldbeimplementedformini‐planholders.Infollowing
years,ifitisfeasibleandvaluable,theNationalsshoulddevelopaprogramforthoseindividuals/fanspurchasingticketsonasinglegamebasis.
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Year1 Year2
Year3 Year4
Year5 Year6+
Conclusion
TheWashingtonNationalshavemadeincrediblestridestowardsdevelopingamoreanalyticalapproachtoreachtheirorganizationsgoals.Thesimplefactthatthefranchiseunderstandstheimportanceofcompiling,organizing,analyzingandASKINGfordatafromtheMLBputsthemaheadofmostteams.BecausetheNationalswillhavesuchahighunderstandingoftheirconsumer,theywillbeabletoeffectivelycommunicatewiththemthroughtargetedpromotions,cross‐sellsandup‐sells.Additionally,notonlywillthisconsumerdataallowtheNationalstofocusitsresourcesonpromotionsandusedifferenttacticstoputfansinthestands,butovertimethisapproachislikelytoshowanextremelyhighROI.Finally,becauseitisunderstoodtheleagueopenlysharesinformation,webelievethisconcept,muchlike“Moneyball,”willcatchonquickly.Wearecallingthisoperation“Databall!”
ShortTerm:PurchaseandupdateLoaded
TicketsSoftwareandDevelopplantotargetpromotions.
LongTerm:StreamlinedCRMdatabaseplan&developplanandstructurefor
Rewards/LoyaltyCard
ShortTerm:CompileLoadedTicketsdatafrom
software.Developnew,targetedpromotionsbasedonanalyzedresults.
LongTerm:CleanandorganizeCRMdatabase.Continuethedevelopmentofplan/structureand
begindesigningincentivesprogramforRewards/LoyaltyCard.
LongTerm:Completecleaningand
organizingofCRMdatabase.FinalizeincentivesProgramforRewards/LoyaltyCard.
LongTerm:ContinuetoanalyzeCRMdata.TesttheRewards/LoyaltyCardwithSeasonticketHolders.
LongTerm:ContinueanalyzingCRMdata.CompiledatafromRewards/LoyaltyCardProgramand
analyze.Reevaluateandmakechangeswheredeemednecessary.
LongTerm:ContinuetoanalyzeCRMdata.ImplementRewards/LoyaltyCardProgramforMini‐Planticketholdersanddevelop
strategytoimplementtoallticketholdersinfollowingyears.
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Appendix
Appendix1:ConsumerDataSources
Appendix2:NationalsSeasonData(Attendance,Win%,Payroll)
21
Appendix3:AnalyticalRoadmap
GainWidespreadExecutive
Commitment
DataIntegration
DataCleaning
PredictiveModeling
EstablishNewKPIs
LoyaltyProgram
OfferHyper‐targeted
promotions
TargettheOptimalConsumer