Meaningful CRM Strategies with Purposeful Impact

Customer Relationship Management or CRM, has been a buzzword in the marketing industry for a while now. While many still think of it as software or a fancy tool to increase profits, it is so much more. CRM is a strategy to deliver the right message to the appropriate audience at the correct time. Moreover, it can be used as a framework to deliver your purpose-driven campaigns without sacrificing other growth numbers.

Let's delve deeper into what a CRM strategy looks like and how organisations in the sports industry are already implementing it.

CRM Eco-System

The CRM eco-system is a framework aimed at organisations starting their CRM journey or needing to reshape their existing one. The five key elements: Strategy, Data, Technology, Processes, and Culture will help you set the foundations for a long-term CRM strategy rather than focusing on quick fixes.

Strategy

1. Define main goals that align with your values and purpose. For example, what social issue will you address? How many people can you reach? What social impact metrics are essential to you? Check out my previous blog on how to come up with a purpose statement, for some ideas!
2. Define customer personas to identify your target audience based on the alignment of their values. It is vital to deliver the right message to the appropriate segment for effective engagement. For instance, Leicester City FC used Microsoft Dynamics in the past to build their fan profiles based on purchase history, demographics, match attendance and website signups.
3. Audit your current situation and roadmap the journey to a successful purpose campaign. Carefully identify the gaps in resources, knowledge, and communication complimented with a data-driven approach to drive social impact.

Data

Data plays an important role in any CRM strategy. It should inform the design and delivery of your purpose-led campaigns and help you personalise them based on insights from various audience behaviours. Having sound data collection and tracking strategies will yield stronger results and help you understand your fans better.

Technology

Technology acts as an enabler to your purpose-driven strategy. It is important to invest in a good database provider to hold all centralised data and create that Single Customer View (SCV). Tableau, BI and Salesforce are a few good examples.

Process

The success of a purposeful campaign will depend on consistency and repeatability. Appropriate processes like a Design Thinking approach should be adopted to ensure better results. The process should cater to fans' needs and values and should allow for a co-creative environment.

Culture

Purpose is driven from the top and it is essential that your employees buy into and work towards achieving this goal. This is arguably the most important part of the circle and can hinder progress in cases where poorly practised. Your business should function as a cohesive whole with optimal cross-functional team interactions.

CRM Key Pillars

1. Segmentation
To deliver a personalised experience for your fans, it is important to first categorise them based on common demographic, geography or other engagement behaviour.

Additionally, you can segment your fans based on purpose, values and goals. Once you have the segments ready, try and use a holistic approach to target them with relevant messaging, by using: Push, Email, Web, SMS, Socials etc.

2. Personalisation
Tailored value propositions and communication is a valuable strategy that is a fan favourite and one every business should focus on. Personalising your campaign delivery based on fan purpose and values could prove highly beneficial.

For instance, Southampton FC launched an annual 'Season in Numbers' campaign highlighting fan journeys and their interactions with the club.

Something similar can be implemented in your purpose-driven campaigns. If your fan personas consist of an environmentally aware and engaging demographic, it might be useful to target your sustainability initiatives towards them.

3. Content
While identifying fan segments is the critical first step, the actual content and copy matter equally. Focus on an authentic tone and stick to your values, while keeping it relevant to your audience and their purpose. Campaigns centred around social impact initiatives, charitable partnerships, or ethical practices can resonate deeply with purpose-driven customers and reinforce their emotional connection to the brand.

4. Tracking
Tracking and sharing the results with key stakeholders is a sign of trust and transparency. Communicate progress on your sustainability goals, charitable work, and community programs.

Set clear Fan Performance Indicators (FPIs) in addition to the business metrics to track social impact and Social ROI as well.

Strategy

• Objective: Understand and serve customers with the best products and experiences.
• Customer Insight: Using its digital platforms to deepen the relationship with its customers.
• Value Exchange: Nike Plus app has inbuilt expert recommendations tailored to each consumer interest. For instance, if a cohort of consumers is intrigued by football shoes, a personalised expert recommendation will be targeted at them.
  

"Everything we do starts with the consumer" - Mark Parker, CEO, Nike

Segmentation & Personalisation

• Nike acquired a data analytics company to help aggregate all data points from various digital sources.
• Using insights from the data, Nike has built consumer personas and segments to determine their target audience. If a consumer buys their shoe every six months but has not purchased it in the last year, Nike will reach out to them with a prompt to resume their purchase cycle.
• Nike has a shoe subscription model for kids which is driven by data and determines the frequency of shoes needed by kids and how often their parents would buy them. By getting a holistic view of their customer journey, Nike has reduced the hassle of purchasing a new shoe, thus creating loyalty among parents.

What can smaller clubs and businesses learn from Nike??

Start Small
- Utilise your existing digital inventory - social channels, website, app, or email newsletters.
- Leverage the available people, processes, and technology to scale and reach your fan community.
- Involve fans in the conversation and focus on creating a collaborative platform to understand their interests and behaviour.

Smart Partnerships
- If you cannot invest directly in data science platforms, forge smarter partnerships with agencies or brands that can do the analysis for you.
- Fan preferences evolve with time and it is essential to have a grasp on the latest trends to have a strong impact with your purpose-driven campaigns.

The secret to a successful CRM strategy lies in gathering as much fan data as possible from all the available sources. Tailoring your campaigns to relevant fan segments will lead to higher engagement rates and eventually a more substantial impact.

Start small if you have to but start now! Use the power of data to fuel your purpose-driven goals.