OrangeXtreme
The Mayor of Dewitt
- Joined
- Aug 15, 2011
- Messages
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Serve beer the whole game and bring in Dino and Chipotle for concessions. Boom.
I think Axe missed the point. The kinds of rewards programs employed by most pro teams aren't designed to induce new season ticket purchases, their aim is to raise existing season ticketholder satisfaction, serve their most dedicated base, and ultimately maximize their STH retention. It's a lot easier to keep an existing STH than it is to create a new one. I have no clue what S.U.'s retention rate is, but I can't imagine it's stellar.
He's barking up the wrong tree though. I've written e-mails for years to S.U.'s ticket offices (usually without response) begging them to implement a program that better caters to the STH base, listing specific initiatives they could implement, and it's done nothing. At best I get a response back that reads, "thank you for the feedback. We'll look into it, blah blah."
I've written this rant before on this board, but it's worth repeating: I have NBA season tickets. The season's over. Despite that, here's what the team has done for me in the last month alone:
-Free yacht cruise around a lake (w/ free food & drink)
-Free tickets to a comedy club for an evening with other STH
-Free BBQ at a park
-Laser tag event
-STH outing to a baseball game
-Visit to a local brewery for beer tasting
-Two different free bowling events
-World Cup watch party in a private room at local pub w/ drink specials
This is in addition to countless other events they've done in the last year like: wine tastings, community outreach and volunteer programs in which we're invited to participate, days in which we're allowed to use their workout facilities, golf clinics, playoff watch parties, free tickets during the season, free sodas at games, STH exclusive free t-shirts, and much, MUCH more.
Here's what S.U. has done for me in my entire history of being a STH:
-They sent me a license plate frame once... Another year I was supposed to get a "STH" sticker, but they never bothered to send it to me.
Since the season ended, I've talked to my NBA ticket rep about a dozen times. Know how many times I've talked to my S.U. ticket rep? Zero, because I don't have one. They gave us reps once... for about a week, then I guess S.U. just lost interest in it. I gather their employee turnover rate is quite high, so every time we'd get a rep, they'd leave the next week, then the next guy would leave too, and so on. It actually got quite comical. The whole thing was quietly abandoned.
Point is, football season ended almost 8 months ago. With the exception of a bill asking me to renew, I haven't heard a peep from them. That's 8 months I've had to think about giving up my tickets. 8 months to find some other way to spend my money & free time. The NBA team doesn't even give me 8 days without sending me something or doing something nice for me. They're there non-stop saying, "Hey! We value you. We appreciate you. The season's over, but the STH/Team relationship keeps going!"
Now imagine the last 8 months had instead been filled with events like this:
-STH outing to a Chiefs game
-Free BBQ on the Quad
-STH volunteer day at Ronald McDonald House or other local charity
-Exercise day where you're invited to use the team's training facilities
Most of that stuff doesn't even cost them money, so why don't they do it? No clue. I've always been of the mindset that, no matter what you do in life, find the person that does it best, see what they do and try to emulate it. I have no clue why S.U. isn't out there looking at what other teams/schools are doing (especially when I've personally brought it to their attention), but I just wish they'd make some kind of effort.
Excellent Rant, I agree with all of itI think Axe missed the point. The kinds of rewards programs employed by most pro teams aren't designed to induce new season ticket purchases, their aim is to raise existing season ticketholder satisfaction, serve their most dedicated base, and ultimately maximize their STH retention. It's a lot easier to keep an existing STH than it is to create a new one. I have no clue what S.U.'s retention rate is, but I can't imagine it's stellar.
He's barking up the wrong tree though. I've written e-mails for years to S.U.'s ticket offices (usually without response) begging them to implement a program that better caters to the STH base, listing specific initiatives they could implement, and it's done nothing. At best I get a response back that reads, "thank you for the feedback. We'll look into it, blah blah."
I've written this rant before on this board, but it's worth repeating: I have NBA season tickets. The season's over. Despite that, here's what the team has done for me in the last month alone:
-Free yacht cruise around a lake (w/ free food & drink)
-Free tickets to a comedy club for an evening with other STH
-Free BBQ at a park
-Laser tag event
-STH outing to a baseball game
-Visit to a local brewery for beer tasting
-Two different free bowling events
-World Cup watch party in a private room at local pub w/ drink specials
This is in addition to countless other events they've done in the last year like: wine tastings, community outreach and volunteer programs in which we're invited to participate, days in which we're allowed to use their workout facilities, golf clinics, playoff watch parties, free tickets during the season, free sodas at games, STH exclusive free t-shirts, and much, MUCH more.
Here's what S.U. has done for me in my entire history of being a STH:
-They sent me a license plate frame once... Another year I was supposed to get a "STH" sticker, but they never bothered to send it to me.
Since the season ended, I've talked to my NBA ticket rep about a dozen times. Know how many times I've talked to my S.U. ticket rep? Zero, because I don't have one. They gave us reps once... for about a week, then I guess S.U. just lost interest in it. I gather their employee turnover rate is quite high, so every time we'd get a rep, they'd leave the next week, then the next guy would leave too, and so on. It actually got quite comical. The whole thing was quietly abandoned.
Point is, football season ended almost 8 months ago. With the exception of a bill asking me to renew, I haven't heard a peep from them. That's 8 months I've had to think about giving up my tickets. 8 months to find some other way to spend my money & free time. The NBA team doesn't even give me 8 days without sending me something or doing something nice for me. They're there non-stop saying, "Hey! We value you. We appreciate you. The season's over, but the STH/Team relationship keeps going!"
Now imagine the last 8 months had instead been filled with events like this:
-STH outing to a Chiefs game
-Free BBQ on the Quad
-STH volunteer day at Ronald McDonald House or other local charity
-Exercise day where you're invited to use the team's training facilities
Most of that stuff doesn't even cost them money, so why don't they do it? No clue. I've always been of the mindset that, no matter what you do in life, find the person that does it best, see what they do and try to emulate it. I have no clue why S.U. isn't out there looking at what other teams/schools are doing (especially when I've personally brought it to their attention), but I just wish they'd make some kind of effort.
I think Axe missed the point. The kinds of rewards programs employed by most pro teams aren't designed to induce new season ticket purchases, their aim is to raise existing season ticketholder satisfaction, serve their most dedicated base, and ultimately maximize their STH retention. It's a lot easier to keep an existing STH than it is to create a new one. I have no clue what S.U.'s retention rate is, but I can't imagine it's stellar.
He's barking up the wrong tree though. I've written e-mails for years to S.U.'s ticket offices (usually without response) begging them to implement a program that better caters to the STH base, listing specific initiatives they could implement, and it's done nothing. At best I get a response back that reads, "thank you for the feedback. We'll look into it, blah blah."
I've written this rant before on this board, but it's worth repeating: I have NBA season tickets. The season's over. Despite that, here's what the team has done for me in the last month alone:
-Free yacht cruise around a lake (w/ free food & drink)
-Free tickets to a comedy club for an evening with other STH
-Free BBQ at a park
-Laser tag event
-STH outing to a baseball game
-Visit to a local brewery for beer tasting
-Two different free bowling events
-World Cup watch party in a private room at local pub w/ drink specials
This is in addition to countless other events they've done in the last year like: wine tastings, community outreach and volunteer programs in which we're invited to participate, days in which we're allowed to use their workout facilities, golf clinics, playoff watch parties, free tickets during the season, free sodas at games, STH exclusive free t-shirts, and much, MUCH more.
Here's what S.U. has done for me in my entire history of being a STH:
-They sent me a license plate frame once... Another year I was supposed to get a "STH" sticker, but they never bothered to send it to me.
Since the season ended, I've talked to my NBA ticket rep about a dozen times. Know how many times I've talked to my S.U. ticket rep? Zero, because I don't have one. They gave us reps once... for about a week, then I guess S.U. just lost interest in it. I gather their employee turnover rate is quite high, so every time we'd get a rep, they'd leave the next week, then the next guy would leave too, and so on. It actually got quite comical. The whole thing was quietly abandoned.
Point is, football season ended almost 8 months ago. With the exception of a bill asking me to renew, I haven't heard a peep from them. That's 8 months I've had to think about giving up my tickets. 8 months to find some other way to spend my money & free time. The NBA team doesn't even give me 8 days without sending me something or doing something nice for me. They're there non-stop saying, "Hey! We value you. We appreciate you. The season's over, but the STH/Team relationship keeps going!"
Now imagine the last 8 months had instead been filled with events like this:
-STH outing to a Chiefs game
-Free BBQ on the Quad
-STH volunteer day at Ronald McDonald House or other local charity
-Exercise day where you're invited to use the team's training facilities
Most of that stuff doesn't even cost them money, so why don't they do it? No clue. I've always been of the mindset that, no matter what you do in life, find the person that does it best, see what they do and try to emulate it. I have no clue why S.U. isn't out there looking at what other teams/schools are doing (especially when I've personally brought it to their attention), but I just wish they'd make some kind of effort.
Express beer line for STH?
OrangeChris said:Actually, that's another nice thing the NBA team does for us: we have an express line at the concession stands, and we get 5% off as well. We also have an arena entrance that's specifically for the STH only, so we don't have to wait in line with the hoi polloi.
This stuff is for every season ticketholder BTW. Whether you're sitting courtside, or you're in the last row of the nosebleeds, they take care of their STHs.
To be fair, S.U. does a lot of good things too. The free Villanova tickets this year were nice, they do player autograph signings after the spring game, one year they had Floyd Little signing autographs at a spring practice open to the public, etc. However, these are things done for every fan, not the STH specifically.
I don't want that distinction to come across as some sort of quasi-elitist demand for the ticket office to treat me like a VIP, stroke my hair, and tell me I'm pretty just because I ponied up for 6 games instead of 1 or 2. That's not it. However, there's a reason so many other teams are implementing STH programs like this: because it's easier to build a STH base when you're not constantly scrambling to replace departed season ticket buyers. Some times you can worry so much about getting that one new guy through the front door, that you miss the two that just skipped out the back.
I'm also not advocating simply lifting some other team's STH program wholesale and applying it to S.U. For starters, one is pro and one is college, and the latter brings with it a unique set of challenges, as well as the ability to leverage the resources of a very different organization. Second, it's an entirely different market. People here could respond very differently to certain activities/promotions than their counterparts in CNY. Pretty sure everybody everywhere likes a discount on beer though.
That's why I've always said that S.U. needs to treat its STHs as what we actually are - a resource - and not simply an ATM machine that they collect money from once a year. USE US. We can help you build a STH program that makes sense for CNY and Syracuse University specifically.
At the risk of belaboring my NBA team example (a horse I've already thoroughly beaten to death), I get surveys from them... all... the... TIME. Like every couple weeks. It's ridiculous. Everything from what kind of toppings do I want on my pizza, what kind of craft beers do I want to drink, to how much do I like my view, the usher in my section (seriously), to the assortment of t-shirts in the team store. It's insane the amount of input/data they collect from their STHs on every aspect of their organization & game day experience... and then they actually use that input to implement changes! Crazy notion, I realize. The last question S.U. asked me was if I was going to pay this year's invoice with MasterCard or VISA.
They also usually reward us for taking the surveys. Nothing much, usually free nachos or a 30% off coupon at the team store, but again: people like free stuff. Especially if they think they're getting free stuff because you appreciate them.
I hope Dan B. is monitoring this thread...
Nothing against Dan B but the things OrangeChris is talking about is something that would have to be authorized way above him.
the tickets are so cheap, I already feel like I'm ripping them off. i don't really want the perks. whatever they do, I hope they let people opt out