'More than a Hub': A Unique Fan Engagement Learning Opportunity

If you're considering registering for the FC Barcelona Innovation Hub 'Fan Engagement' Certificate as part of your professional development or simply because of an interest in the topic, please read on. I'll tell you why you should.

Writing the Barcelona Innovation Hub ‘Fan Engagement’ certificate was not only a ‘labour of love’ for someone who lived and worked in Catalonia during the 80s and who learned to speak the language, but also a chance to reflect upon and share everything I’ve learned since I was first invited to talk to a group of Premier League club representatives about the fan experience in 2001.

As many will know, my background is in customer engagement. I wrote two books about the value of taking the customer view as a catalyst for thinking differently. I also worked in a consultancy that helped businesses learn about the benefits of designing customer-led strategies and cultures, through best practice visits, benchmarking, people development and corporate award schemes (like the Unisys / Management Today Service Excellence Awards, where I was a lead assessor for several years). There was never any need to persuade people that this was the right thing to do. The manufacturing industry in the UK was shrinking and the future was in service industries, so the quality of the customer experience would increasingly become more important than ever before.

Applying that knowledge to football has occupied me ever since. How do you take the principles of customer engagement and apply them to 'the beautiful game' while recognising the idiosyncrasies of a sport where fans know all about their clubs’ intrinsic values but, in many cases, where their owners don’t? Where owners often see it as a business but where fans see it as a religion, a way of life and ‘a collection of memories’ (as Kevin Rye once put it to me)? Where owners act like it’s all about winning, but when fans often feel more connected to their club after a major defeat (I’m a Sunderland fan, after all)?

So, in the 19 years that have followed, I have learned that the principles of customer engagement most certainly do apply to football (albeit allied to a clear understanding of the psychology of fandom). There should be a clear identity and purpose; strong stakeholder dialogue, consultation and co-creation; a consistently improving fan experience, driven by feedback and a strong fan-focused culture visible in everything leaders, teams and volunteers do, in any football setting.

What’s good is that these strategic and cultural dimensions are all scalable. They’re right for every level of the men’s and women’s game; for associations, leagues and clubs and from the elite to grassroots. When applied consistently, they make a huge difference. Put together, they drive emotional loyalty, attendance increase, community engagement and, importantly, they help to transform perceptions of the game at its time of greatest need.

So, by weaving together academic research; case studies and personal experience and breaking this down into the 4 courses, 16 modules, 32 units and 128 themes of the Barcelona Innovation Hub Certificate, I believe we have a resource that will help to create a new generation of Fan Engagement leaders capable of better understanding, protecting and developing fans’ emotional investment in this beautiful game and making it much more sustainable as a result.

For more info visit: https://barcainnovationhub.com/product/certificate-in-fan-engagement/