The study examines the influence of online marketing on customer relationships in the sports industry.
The primary aim was to investigate how customers perceive the use of online marketing and which factors and tools are most important for them. The enormous macroeconomic importance and the growing commercialization of the sports industry in general, have resulted in the emergence of a highly competitive market in which the building and maintaining of strong customer relationships is a key success factor for sports organizations. The study aims to identify the importance of the most common e-business tools today and to learn how consumers perceive future trends of e-business, like e.g. user interactivity or mobile commerce. All these factors were analyzed according to customer satisfaction and perception, and to their influence on improving customer relationships.
A combined methodological approach of quantitative and qualitative research was used in form of a questionnaire. This questionnaire was clearly divided into a quantitative section, which was built of 21 multiple choice questions, and a qualitative section, which was mainly designed to learn more about personal experiences from the customers. This methodological approach was designed to contrast individual perceptions from the customers to general trends.
The literature review indicated that the most commonly used Internet applications in the sports industry can roughly be divided into information applications, e-commerce applications and interactive applications. The results of the study discovered that the majority of customers prefer to make use of the club’s website for informative purposes. General trends, like user interactivity are acknowledged as less important, even in comparison to e-business tools like ticketing. In fact, customers have accepted the Internet as a helpful and trustful information and communication source, which has improved significantly the integration of customers to the happenings in and around the club itself.
This study is very helpful to sports marketers, as it reveals the factors of online marketing which are most efficient regarding customer satisfaction and customer loyalty and provides them with a number of recommendations how to most effectively make use of online marketing.
Inhaltsverzeichnis (Table of Contents)
- INTRODUCTION.
- INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY
- THE NEED OF MARKETING OF SPORT ORGANIZATIONS.........
- AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF THE RESEARCH
- RESEARCH QUESTIONS.
- METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
- STRUCTURE..\li>
- SUMMARY
- LITERATURE REVIEW.............
- INTRODUCTION
- CONSUMER BEHAVIOR IN SPORTS..
- RELATIONSHIP MARKETING IN SPORTS
- PRINCIPLES OF RELATIONSHIP MARKETING
- THE FAN PERSPECTIVE.
- ONLINE MARKETING IN SPORTS.......
- THE IMPORTANCE OF ONLINE MARKETING..
- COMMON INTERNET APPLICATIONS USED IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY
- CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCCESSFUL E-BUSINESS IN THE SPORTS INDUSTRY
- SUMMARY
- RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.
- INTRODUCTION
- RESEARCH DESIGN..
- RESEARCH DATA ACQUISITION..
- RESEARCH OBJECTIVES.
- INTERVIEW DESIGN.
- SURVEY DESIGN
- VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY OF THE RESEARCH..
- ETHICS AND CONFIDENTIALITY
- SUMMARY
- RESULTS, ANALYSIS, AND DISCUSSION OF RESEARCH FINDINGS...
- RESULTS.
- INTRODUCTION
- SUMMARY OF THE QUANTITATIVE SURVEY RESULTS
- SUMMARY OF THE QUALITATIVE SURVEY RESULTS..
- DISCUSSION OF THE RESEARCH FINDINGS
- CONSUMER PREFERENCES WHEN MAKING USE OF E-BUSINESS
- CONSUMER SATISFACTION AND PERCEPTION OF E-BUSINESS QUALITY
- INFLUENCE OF E-BUSINESS ON CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIPS AND LOYALTY........
- ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS FROM THE FAN'S PERSPECTIVE.
- SUMMARY
- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
- INTRODUCTION
- KEY FINDINGS OF THE STUDY..
- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR SPORTS MARKETERS
- LIMITATIONS OF THE RESEARCH
- RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FURTHER RESEARCH.
Zielsetzung und Themenschwerpunkte (Objectives and Key Themes)
This study examines the impact of online marketing on customer relationships in the sports industry. The research focuses on how customers perceive the use of online marketing and identifies the key factors and tools that matter most to them. The study highlights the importance of e-business tools for building and maintaining strong customer relationships in a competitive market. It also investigates consumer perceptions of future e-business trends, including user interactivity and mobile commerce.
- The influence of online marketing on customer relationships in the sports industry
- Consumer perception of online marketing tools and strategies
- The importance of e-business tools for building and maintaining strong customer relationships
- Consumer attitudes towards future e-business trends
- The role of online marketing in enhancing customer satisfaction and loyalty
Zusammenfassung der Kapitel (Chapter Summaries)
The introduction provides context for the study, highlighting the need for marketing in the sports industry and outlining the research aims and objectives. The literature review delves into consumer behavior in sports, relationship marketing principles, and the use of online marketing in the sports sector. The research methodology chapter outlines the research design, data acquisition methods, and ethical considerations. Results are presented and analyzed in a separate chapter, covering quantitative and qualitative survey findings and their implications for customer relationships. Finally, the concluding chapter summarizes the key findings and provides recommendations for sports marketers.
Schlüsselwörter (Keywords)
The key topics explored in this study include online marketing, customer relationships, sports industry, e-business tools, consumer behavior, relationship marketing, customer satisfaction, and customer loyalty. The research uses a case study approach focusing on VfL Bochum to analyze the impact of e-business on customer relationships in the sports industry.
- Quote paper
- Philipp Sauer (Author), 2011, Improving Customer Relationships in the Sports Industry through the Use of E-Business, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/301365
