LHC - Strävan efter att öka den totala kundupplevelsen
Sports MarketingService MarketingRelationship MarketingCustomer SatisfactionIshockeyVarumärkeEvenemangUpplevelseindustriKonsumentbeteende
In today's society there are a lot of offers towards consumers, where they actively have to choose the most appealing offer. In order for an offer to be attractive it must add value in line with the customers demand. Also, it requires that the offer provides a sufficient level of attraction so that the customer selects the particular product/service over another. Furthermore, each offer must exceed the expectations of the visitors to an event, so they feel that the event is something "extraordinary". We have chosen to study how LHC (Linkoping Hockey Club) works with marketing in order to improve the overall customer experience. LHC was founded as a sports club whose aim was to achieve success in ice hockey. Ice hockey clubs are today big business which points toward that the sport is so much more than just ice hockey. The clubs needs to be successful and result oriented both within sports and business. Today LHC experiences difficulties in attracting and engaging its spectators in the hockey games and events that they host, the support fluctuates and the relations with both supporters and visitors are poor. There are many ways for how an organization can enhance the overall customer experience which means that sports clubs need to focus more on what the market demands which is to deliver a total experience. A total experience must be created so that the visitors feel an added value. From LHC:s point of view this means that they need to put a lot of effort in to their hosting events but also strive to strengthen the brand with the aim to capture market shares.From the above discussion this essay will answer the following questions: Why has LHC not been able to attract and engage its audience despite sporting success? How does LHC work today and how should they work in order to improve the overall customer experience? In order to answer and analyze the above questions, we have analyzed and used the theories which include the area of Marketing, Sports Marketing, Marketing Mix and the so called "experienceroom". The empirical data consisted of a series of interviews with supporters and LHC:s organization. This study shows that LHC tends to focus too much on how many visitors they had and how much revenue each event gives in return, contrary to this LHC needs to focus more on the demand. It has also emerged that LHC has a poor relationship with their fans and visitors, and if this is improved, it would mean that the involvement of the fans would likely be increased. This would contribute to the club's financial and sporting performance increases. It is also of great importance for LHC to create good atmosphere in and around the ice hockey games, this would involve the audience and supporters more in every hosting event. LHC should not only focus on events that are related to ice hockey but rather strive to deliver a total customer experience. This can then be a part of the overall marketing strategy, which should have incentives to deliver experiences and added value for the visitors. Something that also is important to consider is the staff who works with each individual event, i.e., that they have passion and dedication to add value for visitors in the experience room and service meetings that occur.This will then contribute to the situation where LHC will strengthen its brand, which in return creates a basis for attracting new customers in the form of sponsors, investors and ultimately more visitors.