At Ball State University, the C.A.R.D.S model is used for customer service.
Caring - be understanding of our guests
Aware - be cognizant of our surroundings and anticipate needs or issues
Ready - be prepared and ready to help
Diligent - be thorough, follow up with guests and ask for feedback
Serve - be a service to the guest, send fans home with something memorable
Providing an experience means 'rolling out the red carpet' for guests and new employees learn the importance of their role as ambassadors of the program, so it's integral to take those extra steps to make sure each experience is a valued one.
Ball State also provides a Student Rewards Program which gives points to students for each event they attend. Points can be traded in for a variety of prizes depending on the level of points they receive. This type of promoting to students encourages attendance, and boosts ticket sales. Students love to show school pride, and getting various pieces of merchandise in response to attending games is a great way to encourage that fanbase. Free stuff is a great motivator, especially to a college student.
In-the-News
The New York Times reports on the practice of giving out free t-shirts to all fans attending the playoffs, and the big-screen shame for the fans who don't put on their shirt. The cohesiveness of the audience, combined with the close contact to the court provides a visual effect that is striking on tv, meaning it won't be going away anytime soon. As many of our speakers have mentioned, creating that tribal atmosphere for a team helps keep the loyalty of fans, and adding gear which helps all fans buy into the tribal loyalties more than before. By offering free t-shirts, teams are encouraging the tribal, loyal attitudes in those who attend games, and ensuring that those people are taking a piece of team memorabilia back home with them to be worn again on a later date, cementing the brand more fully into their loyalties.
Picture from New York Times website
Brad Nagel from the Chicago Cubs started our Wrigley Field tour with a promotional slideshow in their temporary office. From there we got to see the working model of the finished Wrigley Field, Plaza, and hotel, where he discussed the importance of maintaining fan relationships throughout the construction process. Wrigley is part of the community, and has had the loyal support of many fans throughout the years where there weren't many wins, to now when the team is flying the blue "W" much more frequently. Wrigley Field is unique in it's history and holds the hearts of many in the neighborhood, so ensuring their happiness is at the top of the priority list.
Making any sort of change to such a fixture will obviously have some backlash and bad PR, however I think they're doing a good job of trying to update and enhance the old Wrigley, while still maintaining it's historic value to the community.
After our time with Brad in the corporate offices, he took us to Wrigley for a tour of the facilities. Our guide gave lots of history and background about the start of Wrigley Field, the trials it's seen, and the excitement the whole events team has for the future.
From there we braced the 92 degree temperature to sit in the bleacher seats in full sun, where we could see the historic vines and scoreboard close up.
Shot of the future Plaza where the the Cubs hope to house a beer garden
as well as an ice skating rink in the winter months to encourage
Wrigley Field as a destination no matter the season.
Our last stop was to stand on the field and ogle the opposing team. After agonizing for most of the photo-op, no one mustered up the nerve to ask the Cardinals players warming up for their picture. Maybe next time.
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