advanced theory and practice in sport marketing - Marshalls University

often remains under-utilized because the information does not leave the department
it was created or collected by. The individuals in those various departments do
not always realize how the data could help sport marketing in their decision
making process. In addition, many sport marketing professionals fail to appreciate
how information from other areas might help them and therefore do not request it.
The internal records that are of immediate value to marketing decisions are
orders received, inventory, and sales invoices. By comparing orders received
with invoices, a sport marketing professional can establish the extent to which
the sport organization is providing an acceptable level of customer service.
Evaluating inventory records with orders received helps a sport marketer determine
whether the marketing efforts are addressing the current demand patterns,
and if changes may need to be made. This often occurs with ticket sales
for less desirable match-ups. For example, when the New York Yankees hosts
the Boston Red Sox, there is usually not a ticket to be had. However, for other
teams such as Tampa Bay or Kansas City, there is less of a demand to pay a premium
price for those games. The sport marketing professional can look at
ticket inventory levels, see which games are not selling, and design programs to
entice customer to purchase tickets and attend the games.
However, there is a lot of information that the various departmental, managerial,
and administrative areas within the sport organization can provide that
would enhance the sport marketing information system. The following chart
provides a sample list of internal operations that can provide internal report
information to the sport marketing information system:
Organizational Area Information to be Provided Use of the Information
Accounting and Product pricing and costing Profitability potential by
finance Marketing and sales expenses sport product or service
Customer service Customer feedback on product Ability to review files for new
reliability and performance product or service ideas
Ability to review problems
that need to be addressed
Corporate Goals and objectives for the Measuring tool to determine
planning sport organization progress toward attaining
goals
Data processing The system for organizing data Understanding of the
capabilities of the system
Articulation of what the
system needs to provide
Human resources Background on sales and Learning curve for
marketing employees salespeople Review criteria
Performance review data for future hires
Marketing Types of new sport products Data for market analysis of
department and services with market current sport products
possibilities and services for:
Customer response to current ■ Prospects
sport products and services ■ Current customers
Strategic marketing plans
Promotional campaigns
76 ADVANCED THEORY AND PRACTICE IN SPORT MARKETING
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