The Minnesota Timberwolves were so proud of themselves.
So pleased, that a press release wasn’t enough. A team representative followed with an e-mail alert, ensuring the earlier missive wouldn’t go unnoticed.
The T-Wolves were trumpeting their “No-Risk Pledge,” which goes like this: Any 2009-10 season-ticket buyer that loses his or her job this year can get a refund for unused tickets. The team also introduced a nine-month, no interest, no- additional-fee payment plan.
The club cited the economy for its largesse. Lots of teams are issuing press releases these days that include an acknowledgement of hard times.
One community. One team. So said the letter signed by the Timberwolves billionaire owner Glen Taylor.
It’s laughable.
I called Timberwolves Chief Marketing Officer Ted Johnson and asked why, if the Timberwolves care so much about their customers, wasn’t there an employment-protection plan years ago? You know, just in case someone needed help. It’s called value added. And while we’re at it, why no payment plan until now?
“It’s a great question,” he said.
After a brief silence, he resumed.
“The state of the economy has all businesses asking themselves questions that they may not have asked a year ago, entertaining options that they wouldn’t have entertained,” Johnson said.
What a Friend
You know what they say about a friend in need. Well, for the first time in a while it’s the teams that are needing. All of a sudden the concept of treating the customer fairly, offering value, seems like a good idea.
Leagues are cutting staff, even the mighty National Football League. So, too, are teams. Revenue is falling. The New York Yankees are struggling to sell the best seats in their new stadium. The New York Jets last week furloughed 60 employees without pay for two weeks.
Sadly, it took an economic calamity for most teams to make available the kinds of fan-friendly offerings that should have been standard practice long ago.
Let’s not forget the Jets once tried to charge fans an annual fee just for the right to remain on the season-ticket waiting list. The Washington Redskins had the gall to charge a fee to watch practice.
Talk about money for nothing.
City Pride
Every pro sports team claims to be a source of civic pride. And then they try to extract every last penny from the customers they’re supposed to represent.
Let’s not pretend these what-can-we-do-for-you ideas stem from altruism, no matter what the press releases say. They’re born of desperation.
“It says that most teams are reactive rather than proactive when it comes to understanding how their customers perceive their product,” says Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban, whose club, contrary to the core tenet of sports marketing, cut upper-tier seats prices in the years after the team reached the National Basketball Association Finals.
Cuban says he trimmed prices in preparation for the day when the Mavs stink. Fan loyalty, he says, is earned over time. Treat the customers right, offer them value, and they will come back. In good economic times and bad.
Let’s not pick on just the Timberwolves, who aren’t the only pro sports team resorting to gimmicks during a recession.
Sign of Relief
The Chicago Bears and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are among the NFL teams that froze tickets prices. Froze, not lowered. The Bears made a big deal out of introducing an online payment option. What a relief, huh?
“During these tough economic times, we understand the difficult situation many of our fans are facing and feel it was the right thing to do,” said Tampa Bay’s director of ticketing and sales, Jason Layton.
It was the right thing to do years ago.
The New Jersey Nets followed the Timberwolves, offering their own version of an extended-payment plan and job-loss protection.
Baseball’s Los Angeles Angels are requiring everyone in the organization to attend a customer-service seminar. As if customer service didn’t matter before.
The Baltimore Orioles last month announced their so-called Birdland Stimulus Package. As part of that offering, fans can apply for a free ticket anytime during the month in which they were born.
Fine Print
Read the fine print, though. The offer doesn’t apply when the Yankees or the Boston Red Sox are in town. No gimmicks needed to sell those primo tickets.
The Washington Nationals, the worst team in baseball last season, are betting that a photograph with third baseman Ryan Zimmerman and clubhouse tours will help sell tickets.
“This year we need to reach out more than ever,” Nationals President Stan Kasten said.
He’s right. And wrong. Teams should reach out every year, striving always to offer more and better.
The Nationals, Cleveland Indians and Arizona Diamondbacks began offering no-interest payment plans. Some fans can stretch out pay into June, whereas previously payment was required in December. National Hockey League teams jumped on the extended- payment bandwagon, some offering as long as 20 months, interest- free.
Little things are big things. On the field. And off.
The Timberwolves will have to forgive sports fans if they don’t applaud a billionaire owner seeking pats on the back for doing what he should’ve done long ago.
You have to wonder if these enhancements are permanent. So I asked Johnson.
“Who knows,” was his answer.
That in all likelihood means no.
When the Timberwolves and other teams rescind their fan- friendly initiatives — and they will — there won’t be a press release or follow-up e-mail.