SEAT Global Magazine - Exclusive Interviews of Global Sport Executive Issue 09 March/April 2018 | Page 42
CASE NASHVILLE PREDATORS
STUDY PUTTING THE PIECES TOGETHER
T H E P R O B L EM
As teams find success on the playing surface, they often
find new and challenging opportunities off the court, ice,
or field. When the Nashville Predators made their Stanley
Cup Finals run in 2017, fan interest grew immensely and
the number of Season Ticket Citizens expanded from
9,000 to just over 12,000. The organization now needed
to introduce its industry-leading customer service to the
new fans. To achieve their goals, the Predators chose to
productively engage their technology partners. Enhancing
existing business processes allowed the organization to
more efficiently service their growing season ticket base.
“We want our technology
vendors to be true partners
of the Nashville Predators
organization. Both SSB and
StoneTimberRiver are industry
leaders in their specific specialty.
Finding partners that provide
great products and thoughtful
guidance was important to us.”
— JT Louviere, Director of Business Strategy
THE GAME PLAN
For the Predators, it was important to employ best-
in-breed technology providers catered specifically to
the industry. The clear choice was a partnership with
SSB and StoneTimberRiver - both companies uniquely
capable of exceling in their respective fields, but also
of complementing each other effectively. SSB and
StoneTimberRiver both work with more than 50 leading
professional and collegiate sports leagues and franchises.
SSB creates infrastructure built on their proprietary
platform that provides a clear and consistent picture of
every audience, enabling their clients to make educated
and actionable business decisions. StoneTimberRiver
provides a best practice CRM solution for organizations’
ticketing, suite, and partnership departments. “We want
our technology vendors to be true partners of the Nashville
Predators organization. Both SSB and StoneTimberRiver
are industry leaders in their specific specialty. Finding
partners that provide great products and thoughtful
guidance was important to us,” says JT Louviere, Director
of Business Strategy.
With increased success on the
ice, the Predators now needed
to introduce their industry-
leading customer service to
the new fans. To achieve their
goals, the Predators chose
to productively engage their
technology partners.
After the 2017 season, the Predators’ Business Intelligence
team developed a preliminary model of potential renewal
factors. SSB’s platform married and integrated all the
Predators’ data sources, providing the organization
a complete and comprehensive view of each fan. In
collaboration with SSB, the Predators aggregated multiple
data factors to create a singular statistic of renewal intent
– the “Penalty Kill” score. With a plan of action in place, the
Predators also increased their service and retention staff from
5 to 11 employees. Utilizing StoneTimberRiver’s CRM software,
the Predators’ staff took direct actions based on the “Penalty
Kill” score. The business plan and software equipped
the retention staff with clear guidelines and direction for
outbound Season Ticket Citizen communication.
THE PROCESS
The offseason began by generating a touchpoint
campaign in StoneTimberRiver’s CRM software for every
season ticket holder. StoneTimberRiver’s clean, intuitive
user interface and workflow for end users allowed for
quick user adoption. As best-in-breed partners, SSB and
StoneTimberRiver provided seamless integration points
between systems. While SSB compiled a clean “Golden
Record” for every fan, StoneTimberRiver provided this
information to end users in a simple, digestible form.
Transactional data from SSB’s platform ensured all the
data was quickly accessible for users in StoneTimberRiver’s
CRM platform. Retention representatives could quickly
drill into ticketing data, attendance, and email marketing,
among other transactional data points. This detail
enhanced the aggregate view provided for each fan with
the “Penalty Kill” score. By providing staff the essentials at
their fingertips and access to the transactional data, the
Predators found their organization better able to efficiently
and productively engage with their customers.
Retention representatives
improved their ability to
communicate, inform and
connect with Predators
customers. Effective use of
technology from partners SSB
and StoneTimberRiver resulted
in a successful offseason for
the organization.
THE RESULTS
Retention representatives improved their efficiency and
effectiveness in communicating, informing, and connecting
with Predators customers. The Business Intelligence team
can see the fruits of their labor through their reporting
and analysis. With the help of Tableau, information from
SSB and StoneTimberRiver is delivered daily to the
appropriate stakeholders. Management receives high-level
key indicators, while reps track their touchpoint progress
and completion in real-time. The healthy competitiveness
generated internally at the Predators has not only
produced positive results for the touchpoint campaign, but
also created a cohesive internal environment.
A thoughtful action plan from the Predators’ Business
Intelligence team, and effective use of technology
from partners SSB and StoneTimberRiver resulted in a
successful offseason for the organization.
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