CRM and data “can and must become the central platform to any sports business”

As some of you may know, I’ve recently written a book – Winning with Data: CRM and Analytics for the Business of Sports – to be published by Routledge in August this year.

In the course of securing endorsements from academics and industry executives, Karen Earl, chairman of the European Sponsorship Association from 2007 to 2017, and head of Synergy and Karen Earl Sponsorship, generously gave her time to read a proof edition and provide me with her thoughts:

“This book is a must-read, not only for sports governing bodies and clubs, but for anyone operating in the sponsorship and sports industries. Not only does Fiona Green demystify CRM, she sets out so clearly how it can and must become the central platform to any sports business. ‘Winning with Data’ is one of those books that I will remember reading and thinking “that explained CRM and showed me, not only the importance of using it to equip and improve a business, but how to do so.”

It seemed appropriate to share this feedback now, with so much discussion about the FIFA World Cup 2018 sponsors, particularly this bruising piece on theguardian.com and Peter Reid‘s piece in The Drum, “Data remains ‘under-exploited or ignored’ in sports marketing ahead of World Cup”.

Carrying on this theme, within chapter 7 of the book, The Role of CRM and Data in Sponsorship, I delve into how the use of data can:

1) Assist with the sell-in process, enabling you to cut through the clutter of the multiple proposals that brands and corporates receive every single day;

2) Extend your proposal so it can be considered a digital marketing play in addition to a traditional sponsorship spend;

3) Add some trackable leverage programmes within your rights delivery package that provide real ROI.

If you’d like to discuss this in more detail, or hear about our client case studies, please get in touch and we’ll schedule a time to talk.

If you’re interested, you can also read the other endorsements the book has received here.