Why is the Supporters Trust Silent?

[ex_user1234]

I think that Trust ownership and the Trust ethos is a very strong and unique Brand Identity. So if you ditch it you need to establish a new one based on the values of the new regime.

Sorry, but very few people in Exeter care or even know that the club is owned by the Trust. Even amongst Exeter City fans I'm afraid most don't care, hence the static Trust numbers for 20 years. All football clubs by definition are local and community based, so it's not hard to come up with a new brand identity: Support Your Local Football Club.

 

[Legohead]

The number of new fans derived from solely marketing ploys for a L2 club would be negligible I would have thought. Most new fans come because a friend / family member has brought them along and not because they've suddenly seen an advert for a great day out at SJP. Kids usually go along because their parents go. If their parents don't go then kids getting interested in football may ask if they can go and watch a game so they give their local club a try. Perhaps students go along to try out the experience.

I would say it is a very, very rare occurrence to suddenly get a random 40 year old bloke previously not into going to football to suddenly start attending Exeter matches on the basis that he's heard or seen an advert for an upcoming game against Port Vale for example.

Most new fans are fans that would have gone anyway due to the factors above (friends / family) so wasting money and time on trying to appeal to most other people who clearly won't be interested is a waste of time IMO.

Clubs are better served making their current customers feel appreciated, engaged and rewarded for their loyalty because if their current customers decide they've had enough then they can always rely on the new fans their marketing has attracted to keep them in business can't they?

 

[ex_user1234]

The number of new fans derived from solely marketing ploys for a L2 club would be negligible I would have thought. Most new fans come because a friend / family member has brought them along and not because they've suddenly seen an advert for a great day out at SJP. Kids usually go along because their parents go. If their parents don't go then kids getting interested in football may ask if they can go and watch a game so they give their local club a try. Perhaps students go along to try out the experience.

I would say it is a very, very rare occurrence to suddenly get a random 40 year old bloke previously not into going to football to suddenly start attending Exeter matches on the basis that he's heard or seen an advert for an upcoming game against Port Vale for example.

Most new fans are fans that would have gone anyway due to the factors above (friends / family) so wasting money and time on trying to appeal to most other people who clearly won't be interested is a waste of time IMO.

Clubs are better served making their current customers feel appreciated, engaged and rewarded for their loyalty.

And with the greatest respect, what experience do you have in marketing to base your opinions on?

 

[Legohead]

And with the greatest respect, what experience do you have in marketing to base your opinions on?

It's common sense really. How many more long term fans do you reckon you could get through the gates based on spending lots of time, effort and money on marketing? I'd say that if the team were rubbish and mid table then not many to make the outlay viable. Marketing only works if you have a product that enough people are going to be interested in buying into.

A small league 2 football club isn't one of those products.

Could be wrong. I have no experience in marketing.

 

[Matt Phillips]

Lack of knowledge and lack of skillset. Marketing is the weakest part of the Club.

And is this the fault of the Trust again? Who you say should be seperated from the running of the Club? When marketing is a Club function?

With every post you dig yourself a hole. You do make some sensible comments, I think a strong link with the City Council would be brilliant - although I'm not sure how the Chiefs would feel about an ECC ECFC branded booklet excluding them, and the impression I get is that Karime Hassan is already reasonably linked in to the Club (no idea if it could be more though!).

I also couldn't disagree more with regards to Marketing. I think that the team we have is one of the great strengths of the club, with the communication coming out through the current crisis absolutely brilliant.

 

[DB9]

It's common sense really. How many more long term fans do you reckon you could get through the gates based on spending lots of time, effort and money on marketing? I'd say that if the team were rubbish and mid table then not many to make the outlay viable. Marketing only works if you have a product that enough people are going to be interested in buying into.

A small league 2 football club isn't one of those products.

Could be wrong. I have no experience in marketing.

Don't think they're buying into ECFC as the product but buying into football as the product and then its up to ECFC to say that we're here playing that product (At a L2 level i grant you) but its at a proffesional level and with your help and support by attending to keep the coffers coming in we can grow, Like you Lego i have no experience in marketing either

 

[DB9]

I also couldn't disagree more with regards to Marketing. I think that the team we have is one of the great strengths of the club, with the communication coming out through the current crisis absolutely brilliant.

I agree with this, Scott is doing a great job with player interviews, fun bits of the players online etc but I'm like you one of the converted, A ECFC die hard, Its the wider community we need to be reaching out to as well.

 

[IndoMike]

The brutal truth is that the main way to attract more fans is continued success on the field playing a nice brand of football. Some good Cup runs getting to the 4th or 5th rounds also helps attract attention : IIRC Cup runs helped boost Lincoln City's
fan base and they could maintain it.

IMO marketing can only have a minor impact on the crowd size. For example, when we had that awful run of home results for 2 consecutive years under Tizzer no amount of marketing could have had much influence on crowd numbers.

First you need continued success on the playing field, then you can attract more fans and sponsors, then you can invest the extra income in the team, then hopefully you can stabilize in Div 1 hopefully.

At Div 2 level if the product is duff and 20 quid a throw it will be the loyal 3500 diehards that will attend : you won't attract many others no matter what marketing you do.

 

[ex_user1234]

And is this the fault of the Trust again? Who you say should be seperated from the running of the Club? When marketing is a Club function?

With every post you dig yourself a hole. You do make some sensible comments, I think a strong link with the City Council would be brilliant - although I'm not sure how the Chiefs would feel about an ECC ECFC branded booklet excluding them, and the impression I get is that Karime Hassan is already reasonably linked in to the Club (no idea if it could be more though!).

I also couldn't disagree more with regards to Marketing. I think that the team we have is one of the great strengths of the club, with the communication coming out through the current crisis absolutely brilliant.

The Trust and Club are almost indistinguishable these days, so the blame for the lack of any meaningful marketing lies at both their doors.

I had an hour one-to-one chat with Karime Hassan last year and his level of engagement with Exeter City is almost zero. He turns up to a couple of games a season because he politically has to. I am talking about deep and wide Exeter City Council engagement with the Club. I don't want to say too much as this is a public forum, but there is a lot we can do together. I do have some experience with local councils and how they think having previously been a journalist in London. I actually brought this issue up with the Trust and I was met with a lot of blank faces.

The social media output of the Club is excellent. But it is a very small piece in the marketing pie. Marketing drives new sales, which is why it is so important to any business.

 

[Legohead]

The brutal truth is that the main way to attract more fans is continued success on the field playing a nice brand of football. Some good Cup runs getting to the 4th or 5th rounds also helps attract attention : IIRC Cup runs helped boost Lincoln City's
fan base and they could maintain it.

IMO marketing can only have a minor impact on the crowd size. For example, when we had that awful run of home results for 2 consecutive years under Tizzer no amount of marketing could have had much influence on crowd numbers.

First you need continued success on the playing field, then you can attract more fans and sponsors, then you can invest the extra income in the team, then hopefully you can stabilize in Div 1 hopefully.

At Div 2 level if the product is duff and 20 quid a throw it will be the loyal 3500 diehards that will attend : you won't attract many others no matter what marketing you do.

Totally agree with all of that Mike. Common sense and not a marketing qualification in sight!

I must add that the social media content etc is superb from the club but that mainly serves current fans rather than being used as a tool to attract new ones.