Do you:
- Need to upskill your team to be better prepared for our data-focussed world?
- Want to increase your chances of having a job for life?
- Want to improve your skills to secure that longed-for promotion?
- Need to ensure your CV stands out amongst everyone else’s applying to work in sports?
If you answered yes to just one of these questions, you’ll be pleased to know I’ve got the solution for you right here as we’ve just launched our online course Winning with Data.
What will you Learn?
Great question! In this course, which mirrors the approach we took in our best-selling book Winning with Data: CRM and Analytics for the Business of Sports, we take you on a soup-to-nuts journey that covers everything you need to know to begin, or improve, your knowledge of data as a rights owner in sports. In addition to discussing the theory, we discuss real use cases to help you understand how we apply a data-driven approach, plus you get your hands dirty working with great software in the multiple exercises you must complete to earn your certificate.
Across the seven modules in our course:
- You’ll be using SALESmanago to build a best-practice email and introduce you to cross-channel marketing automation; along with market leading analytics and data visualisation software, Tableau, to help you identify those important actionable insights.
- We’ll teach you about data standardisation and deduplication/merging with Excel – key data tasks that you need to understand for any environment where databases are part of the eco-system.
- We’ll help you understand how CRM and data strengthen your sponsorship strategy and demonstrate how you apply data legislation (GDPR) to your work.
- We’ll share two frameworks that will enable you to support internal change processes as you seek to become data-driven or implement digital transformation.
Why are we Launching this Course now?
You might think it’s because the global pandemic has led to a growth in home learning, or the sports industry has realised how crucial digital fan engagement is when you can’t compete in front of a live audience. But, while they’re both incredibly valid reasons, mine go back a bit further than our current crisis.
In July 2018, I read that Marks & Spencer were launching their own data academy as a way to ensure they had enough data-literate staff to future-proof their business. The 2019 European Data Market Monitoring Tool reported 571,000 unfilled positions due to the shortage of professionals with data skills, and then earlier in 2020 the Publications Office of the European Union cited that data and analytics were at the top of the list of critical skills shortages across the continent.
To me those are three strong reasons to start training in this field!
How will this Course help your Career?
I don’t mind admitting that, while at Winners we do our best to demystify the world of data and try to avoid industry jargon that can confuse “outsiders” most people still consider it to be a pretty complex field. Our course takes you through the foundational principles you need to be aware of, different forms of relevant data analysis, the multiple ways we use data for targeted marketing, the data legislation you need to be aware of, and the need for change in the way we work.
When you’ve completed it, you’ll be able to:
- Walk into any business and apply the knowledge you’ve gained through our course to the CRM and data technologies/software they’re using. This makes you more attractive as an employee and will help your CV stand out.
- Join a discussion at any level about the role of data in the business of sports – from the way we use it to make decisions to engage with our fans and customers at a highly personalised level. This will ensure you stay relevant as data becomes more important to businesses and the way they work.
- Understand what your colleagues and team members are doing, and how it interacts with your specific role. This puts you in a position to apply for managerial roles as you demonstrate your knowledge of data application across the whole organisation.
- Understand the key use cases for CRM and data in the business of sports. If you’re already working in a data environment and would like to join our industry, this course will help you learn about our different business requirements.
We’re proud to bring this opportunity to you. Our industry needs more data skills in all departments – marketing and communications, ticketing and merchandise, sponsorship and broadcasting, participation and volunteering – so please take a look and see what you think.
I’d love to get your feedback about our website, hear your thoughts about our proposition, and listen to any recommendations you might have, so please get in touch or leave your comments here.
With grateful thanks to:
- Alan Seymour, the first #sportsbiz exec I discussed this with – your early support and encouragement was invaluable.
- Mic Conetta and Geoff Wilson, the 2nd and 3rd to hear our proposition and validate our ideas. Many thanks indeed.
- And to all our early testers who took the time to review the course – Michael Clohisy, Simone Wearne, Martijn Ernest, Andrei Angelescu, Bas Schnater and- Hannah Saverymuttu – your feedback was most useful in helping us craft the end result.
