Since the coronavirus outbreak, fans have been unable to see their favourite teams live, highlighting just how important it is for sports clubs to do all they can to drive fan interactions and engagements digitally. But never has it been this important. For many clubs, Covid-19 has depleted event day revenues and disrupted many of their planned marketing strategies needed to stay relevant and keep fans engaged. 

You see, Covid-19 hasn’t just highlighted how vital it is to go digital. It’s accelerated the need to go digital. Realising this, clubs have been more active than ever on social media and are realising it’s positive impact. However, fans are craving more. They are actively looking for ways to interact digitally with their favourite teams. As a result, several sports clubs are turning their attention to creating their own apps (and it’s working for them too).

The reason is quite simple. Apps give fans what they need, when and how they need it in the fastest possible way, particularly during a time where fans can’t attend live events. They enhance that vital connection between the fans, their experience, and the club. In fact, a well-designed truly bespoke app turns the most casual club supporter into the loyalist of fans who lives and breathes the club. The kind that drives revenue for the club.

If you represent a sports club and don’t have an app, read on to see why now is the time you should be turning your attention to an app for your sports club.

1. APPS MAXIMISE ENGAGEMENT.

Fans carry their phones with them everywhere. In fact, recent stats have shown that people are spending four to five hours a day on mobile, 92% of which is in apps. Google’s latest insights show fans are engaging with their favourite sports apps two to three times daily, spending a minimum of fifty minutes each day on sports apps. Apps are where they are, and it’s vitally important for you to get fan’s eyes on your own app rather than losing them to third parties.

2. APPS ALLOWS YOU TO MARKET MORE EFFECTIVELY.

Having an app provides you with what is one of the most powerful communication tools available, push notifications - messages that pop up on your mobile device from the apps you’ve installed which look like text messages. But why are they so powerful? Stats have shown that push notifications are read 80% of the time vs 15% for email (on average). In fact, push notifications are ten times more likely to be opened than email. This means you’re able to get your message out to more fans and importantly, increase your chances of getting the right message to the right fans at the right time, which will undoubtedly help to build a stronger fan/club relationship. Clubs have seen an increased ability to further drive sponsorship around this unique, enhanced engagement.

3. APPS BUILD LOYALTY

Clubs have increasingly realised that one of the keys to sustainable growth is to focus more on fan retention and building club loyalty, rather than just acquiring new customers. Analysts have shown that the cost to gain a new fan is nearly seven times the amount than to retain an existing one, who is fourteen times more likely to buy from you. Having an app allows you to build this loyalty by feeding fans with content that is pleasingly presented and able to be navigated with ease, resulting in a user experience that keeps fans returning to the app again and again.

Here are some of the features seen in sports club apps that are keeping fans engaged in 2021:

• Latest club news and information, in-venue and at home which users can personalise, choosing what news/updates they would like to receive

• Live event updates with virtual event-day experiences

• Quizzes, votes and polls including event-day predictions for increased interaction

• App-only competitions with the chance to win exclusive prizes

• “Access all areas” with behind-the-scenes footage and in-app content streaming (video and live)

• First rights to buy new merchandise and early access to tickets

• Full event replays and highlights

• In-depth team and player profiles

• Ability to interact with other fans and team members

• Added incentive to earn points with more interactions, giving users the chance to win experiences and prizes

This is an app world, and if your club isn’t in it, then you’re definitely missing out - Covid or not. Sports clubs are turning their attention to apps and fans are responding because they take fans away from a linear schedule and towards a 24/7 experience - one that is a time for your sports club to provide. But to build this experience needs a killer strategy and the right team to execute it. That’s where we come in. 

At Digiruu we’ve partnered up with Premiers Sports Network to help sports clubs maximise customer engagement and build brand loyalty through their own app. Head on over to digiruu.com/get-started or email Aman on aman@digiruu.com to book a FREE call with us today and see how we can make your bespoke app a reality.