The business and marketing models that define the 21st century business done well don't involve merely products or services. They involve products, services, tools and experiences that all in all create an environment for a customer that captures their attention and, if done really well, their heart. That's why certain vertical industries - the ones that I call emotional verticals - are the verticals that are most affected and can most affect the social customer.
Emotional Verticals
I call them "emotional verticals" because they are. That means that the particular industries that they represent already involve the customer from the beginning because of their nature. They are industries that, one way or the other, mean more than just a utilitarian investment of time and heart to the customer - for either good or trying reasons. For example, health services/heath care. Who doesn't have a profound and nerve-racking emotional investment in the state of their own health or the health of loved ones - their extended household. Hospitals across the country, recognizing this have invested deeply into creating processes and environments that take their "customer base" meaning the patient and the loved ones who come to the hospital with them, into account so that they can minimize angst - since there is no one for joy or delight unless the outcome is directly good. I wrote on this back in 2005 in a very personal way when it came to a lung biopsy for my wife. Other industries that fit this (this is by no means all of them) are financial services - as number driven and left brained an industry as it seems, who isn't stricken as they watch their life savings melt due to downturn. Who are the emotional targets? The financial services institutions. This one is highly emotional. Retail is another one - partially because people enjoy buying "stuff" and the experience of buying stuff - even a utilitarian buy like office supplies - provides a sense of completion and satisfaction - plus the experience often involves a brick and mortar store which has people and ambiance increasing the emotional involvement of the customer by the nature of the personal interaction.
But the one that is highly emotional that I want to chatter about today is sports. This is easily one of the most emotional verticals in business. Fans as you and I know live and die with their teams. Often regardless of their teams behavior with their fans. For example, for those of you who don't know, which means you've never read this blog, don't know me, never read anything I else I wrote and never heard me speak, I'm a diehard, absolute, live-and-breathe Yankees fan. I love the team so much, I appreciate the Steinbrenners commitment to it - I don't excoriate them, I bow to their investment in the team. But the Yankees are terrible about the way they treat public fans - for example, Jane Heller, who wrote one of the best books on being a Yankees fan I ever read. This well known funny engaging author bleed pinstripes - which as you know - doesn't make any physical sense at all. When she wrote her book, Confessions of a She-Fan, they Yankees were HORRIBLE about giving her access to players at all. They call her book "controversial." Which, take my word for it, it isn't. It just catalogues the ups and downs of undying Yankees love - which I know intimately. She and I both scream at our TVs when the Yankees pitcher gives up a single. Or when the other team leads. Suffice to say, she, as I, consider the season "good" when the Yankees go 162-0 and then 11-0 in the playoffs and have led the game every inning the entire year. But they didn't give her access. Not evil, but stupid. Yet, it doesn't affect my love for the Yankees at all. They get an automatic mulligan because they are an intimate part of my life.
Contrast this to a team that I don't even root for, but love to pieces because of one of the best fan programs for customer engagement I've ever seen. That would be the Philadelphia Flyers, the NHL team that I root against when they play the Rangers but now root for because they have a brilliantly conceived fan engagement program that couldn't be done much better than it is.
Their principle is that the fan is a critical part of the game, the team and the environment. So their idea is not only to create an immersive environment that is entirely enjoyable at the game, but away from it too. Not only create that immersive environment, but reinforce the messaging that the fan/customer is important - always - to the team. They are perhaps the premier specialists I've seen in this area bar none.
Shawn Tilger, the Senior Vice President of Operations at the Flyers (and Comcast Spectacor, who owns the Flyers) showed me one of their latest initiatives. I'm going to show you the onscreen version of this. Just watch and you'll see exactly what I mean.
What was amazing, in case you missed my comment on it, was a real technological feat. When the mobile phone was dialed and I answered, it was at the exact moment I answered that screen showing the Flyers' head coach, John Stevens, starting to talk on his mobile phone, began. The scene on the screen was coordinated with the signal that indicated I had answered my phone.
Cool.
The Flyers consistently provide a true fan experience far better than the team that I root for, the New York Rangers. In fact, one of the best in the entire sports world and maybe even beyond, if you can compare. But, as with the Yankees, my heart is with the Rangers so Go Rangers! in the playoffs. But way to go, Flyers, even though I hope you lose.
Very cool, Paul. Thank you for sharing. I'm a Flyers fan so I'm glad you saw this and appreciate it! The fan engagement technology for Philadelphia fans is great. The Phillies do a pretty good job too. It's neat to see professional sports teams use web 2.0 technology to engage fans beyond Facebook, etc. Go Flyers, and go CRM 2.0!
Do think besides an outbound sales call (press one for tickets), the information provided (your cell number) is used for anything else? I doubt it...but for example I'm surprised they didn't ask for an email addrss for mass emails in addition to the phone number for the demonstration...
Regardless, awesome video and thanks again for sharing...
Take care,
Kim
Posted by: Kim Davis | May 29, 2009 at 01:40 PM
That is awesome, very innovative in their use of multiple delivery channels!
Thanks for sharing.
Posted by: Maz Pardhan | April 27, 2009 at 06:21 PM
This is indeed a great use of technology and provides a cool fan experience. I believe it was Sporting Lisbon who pioneered this a few years back - leading to 200,000 page view phone calls in 1 or 2 days! - the Gonzaga Bulldogs did the stunt last year (believe it is still online) and now the Flyers..with a slightly different video, but the idea/concept is the same....goes to show that best practices can be shared successfully amongst sports clubs.
Posted by: Kristian Gotsch | April 14, 2009 at 07:43 AM
Wow! That was real cool! Tx for sharing this Paul! :)
Posted by: scorpfromhell | April 11, 2009 at 03:30 PM