Seasonal vs Casual facilities

Quite often we speak with people who tell us that they (or their Management) really love a particular sporting team and they are going to get involved by taking a corporate facility for the duration of the upcoming season.

1. Gauge interest:

“All our clients love XYZ sport!” they cry! We then speak to the same client at the end of the season who wonders why they had difficulty in filling the facility (particularly if there are a lot of fixtures). Here are some factors that they may not have taken into consideration.

The person making the purchasing decision loves XYZ sport, some of their clients love it, most aren’t all that interested! We can all be motivated to make emotionally based purchases; it’s in our nature. Seasonal client entertainment facilities aren’t cheap. Some can be more expensive than a luxury car. You wouldn’t make a car purchase without making sure it suited your needs first would you? So it makes sense to do your homework and be confident you will make a return on such a large investment and fill such a facility week in, week out.

2. Will the team perform 

You’ve got the clients lined up and ready to go at the start of the season. Then you find that the team is languishing near the bottom of the table. Certain capital cities and certain supporters of teams can be quite fickle when it comes to going to watch their team if they do not perform on the field. You might find some of your clients have things that come up unexpectedly!

3. What days and times are the games held

Traditionally, week day/night night matches are easier for executives to attend as they can leave from work and go straight to the game (more often than not, the more popular games are held on Fridays, particularly the AFL and the NRL). Saturdays and Sundays can be harder as many people have family commitments. If the fixture is a dud or the team isnt playing well, it makes it harder for your client to justify leaving his/her family. Public holiday weekends also need to be taken into account.

Libby suggests: Crunch the numbers. For example, 12 games for 16 guests means close to 200 tickets in a seasonal facility means that you’d probably have to invite over 300 of your “A” level clients (assuming 1 in 2 cannot make a particular game). Do you have that many clients that you want to spend the money on? Otherwise you may find yourself inviting the same clients a number of times during the year or inviting lower level representatives from your clients. This might not be a bad thing, but is it the best utilisation of your budget?

See what options are available to take a number of games on a casual basis and how it can be purchased. If it’s popular with your clients, you get the right people along and the team is doing well, you will more than likely be able to take more later in the season. This may be more expensive option, but your risk vs return is well in your favour. If you get good results even after all of the above goes against you, take a seasonal next year. You’ve built a good base of people who will come.

Contact Libby Bierne