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Sport policy
Marketing strategies applied to the
Greek professional sport sector
Author: Christos Terzoudis
University: University of Peloponnese
E-mail: christerzoud@gmail.com
Aim – research question
The purpose of the particular research was to determine the
degree to which marketing strategies are implemented in
Greek professional sport clubs (football and basketball
clubs). More specifically, the research question was the
following: what are the main marketing strategies that Greek
professional sport clubs implement in their marketing plans?
Literature review
Contemporary marketing theory suggests that marketing
strategies are generally concerned with the four major
elements of the marketing mix (product, price, place and
promotion). Most marketing theorists, in their marketing
planning models, use the 4Ps as the unchallenged basic
model for developing marketing strategies (Andreasen &
Kotler, 2003; McDonald, 2002). In the sport sector
however, due to the unique characteristics of the sport
product, marketing strategy should include additional
elements such as, sponsorship, television rights, facility
planning, physical evidence, processes and people
(Shilbury, Quick, & Westerbeek, 1998). Well-conceived,
coordinated and effective marketing strategies will facilitate
the achievement of the organisational and marketing
objectives.
Methodology
The sample of the particular research was 68 managing
directors and administrative staff from 22 Greek professional
sport clubs (11 football and 11 basketball clubs), which
constantly participate in the first division of Greek
Championship in the last three years. The questionnaire was
developed by the researcher based on the reviewed
literature (Kriemadis & Terzoudis, 2007; McDonald, 2002;
Shilbury, Quick, & Westerbeek, 1998) as well as on input
and suggestions from reviews offered by a selected panel of
experts. The questionnaire contained questions relative to the
evaluation of the marketing strategies that professional sport
clubs implement in their marketing plans. A five-point Likert
scale was used to evaluate these factors, where the 1
corresponds to very little, 2=little, 3=some, 4=great and
finally 5=very great. Data were analyzed through standard
descriptive statistics such as means and standard deviations.
Results
According to survey responses, there are many marketing
strategies, which are considered to a “great extent” by
managing directors and administrative staff. These strategies
are related to: (a) acquisition of sport sponsorship (M=4.3,
SD=0.65), (b) TV rights (M=4.2, SD=0.72), (c) distribution
of the sport product through media coverage (M=4.17,
SD=0.76), (d) promotion of the sport product through
advertising (M=4.03, SD=0.99) and (e) price (M=4.01,
SD=0.85)
However, the rest of the marketing strategies examined, are
considered to “some extent” by sport managers, since their
means varied between 3 – 3.8. The lowest mean averages
are appeared in strategies related to (a) operational
processes (M=3.01, SD=0.73), (b) Human Resources
(M=3, SD=0.81), (c) physical evidence (M=3.4, SD=0.79)
and (d) internet marketing (M=3.4, SD=1.03).
Discussion – implications
Since marketing strategy development plays an important
phase role in the effectiveness of a sport organization, sport
directors should re-examine the way they develop, evaluate
and implement their marketing strategies. More specifically:
Sport managers pay little attention to strategies
concerning quality in their sport clubs (core product,
product extensions, main sport facility, processes).
Based on the notion that delivering quality in a service
organisation is considered an essential strategy for
survival and success (Tsan & Maguire, 1998), Greek
professional sport clubs should become more qualityoriented
in order to meet the challenges from their
business environment. In order to achieve this, they
should follow three main principles in their sport
organisation: (a) focus on customer satisfaction, (b)
seeking continuous and long-term improvement and (c)
ensurement of full involvement of the entire
organisational work force in improving quality
(Oakland, 1993).
Greek professional sport clubs place great emphasis on
mass-marketing strategy (advertising, sales promotion,
public relations, etc). Nowadays, the development of
new media and technology (computers, modems, e-
mails, internet, online services, etc.) permit more
sophisticated direct marketing. However, Greek sport
clubs place little emphasis on relationship marketing,
direct marketing and internet marketing. An
establishment of a separate department may be
compulsory, in order for sport clubs to develop
complete internet marketing strategy.
Even though Greek professional sport clubs give great
importance to sport sponsorship, it is questionable if
sport managers develop effective strategies that lead to
effective sponsorship arrangements. As sport
sponsorship acquisition is a multifunctional operation,
professional sport clubs should emphasize on a
completely organised strategy and must prepare
sponsorship proposals that will attract potential sponsors
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