Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 9:45 am  

Jukesays wrote:

So if they sold 5k last year and 6k this year that's success? Edit - I'm making those numbers up, I;ve no idea what they were or what they are?
And your portraying wigans effort has not successful despite not having any info on Wigans sales? When we could ne on track to equal or better 2022?
Also you say, very little promotion, is that a fact?
I've been bombarded with videos, emails, Facebook stuff etc (don't do twitter but our WhatsApp group have sent loads of stuff in linked to stuff wigan have released on there).

You tried to portray Wigans prices as being High/the worst in a negative light originally. Yet a little digging and you find that Wigans prolong very favourably stands up to other clubs in equivalent areas and in a lot we are considerably better.

Our attendances went up in 2022, not considerably but up, and in the face of a cost of living crisis that was very good.
Hulls ST''s may be going well, but let's see what their average attendances are moving forward. I think there's a "Feel good" facto at Hull in the build up to this season, but to be honest they're coming from a relatively low Bar.

Either way, if our attendances stand up well against last year I'll be happy given the circumstances
And strangely enough, and linking into posts made on the future ofnthe game on the rumours thread, I hope every clubs attendances do well.

While i agree with alot of this, i know i am also bombarded on facebook with ads from wigan and frequently see their posts, but i am also an active fan who engages with their content so it will be pushed to me in the algorithms, hopefully it also reaches to the people it needs to more such as lapsed past season ticket holders, fans who don't typically attend and sports enthusiasts who could be potential new fans. When you look behind the veil of social media marketing and algorithms it's scary how targeted it can be and hopefully the club is using this to their full advantage.

I think it was mentioned earlier on in this thread, or perhaps somewhere else on here recently, but i think a return scheme for lapsed fans would be a good incentive to get people back into the habit of attending. Suppose this is too late for this year, but perhaps something along the lines of 15% off the early bird price for Lapsed season ticket holders within the last 5 years, 10% off for lasped season ticket holders in the last 10 years. Couple this up with an advertisment campaign via social media, post, email, website, maybe even some signboard around the town. When you sign up for a season ticket, you pass the club all this information so i would like to think that they keep records of it, at the end of the day you are selling a seat that may have been empty anyway (even if it is at a reduced rate for that season) but you could also be re-engaging lapsed fans that buy season tickets then for the next 10+ years on top of merchandise to wear at games etc. The issue with this is that it would need to be managed in a way that it does not get abused, the offer should only be available once to any supporter so that people are not getting reduced price season tickets every couple of years. Maybe this is easier said then done to keep track of but it would only need to be as simple as a note on their account with the club.

On the current attendance figures, i do personally think these are inflated currently by free / reduced price tickets and are maybe not reflective of our current season ticket sales. For me this is not a huge issue, i just hope for the club that it is working and that some of these people attending stick and contribute more in the future. In my group though that attend together, i know there has been a bitter taste left in a couple of mouths regarding the frequency that free / reduced price tickets have been available. It sparked a discussion in our group about whether it would even be worth buying season tickets this season when we could just take advantage of these offers then pick and choose other games to attend, we have all ended up buying tickets in the end and this was not my outlook on it at all, but goes to show some fans must feel this way and i am sure it is not just in my group.

Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:09 am  

BoredWiganer wrote:

While i agree with alot of this, i know i am also bombarded on facebook with ads from wigan and frequently see their posts, but i am also an active fan who engages with their content so it will be pushed to me in the algorithms, hopefully it also reaches to the people it needs to more such as lapsed past season ticket holders, fans who don't typically attend and sports enthusiasts who could be potential new fans. When you look behind the veil of social media marketing and algorithms it's scary how targeted it can be and hopefully the club is using this to their full advantage.

I think it was mentioned earlier on in this thread, or perhaps somewhere else on here recently, but i think a return scheme for lapsed fans would be a good incentive to get people back into the habit of attending. Suppose this is too late for this year, but perhaps something along the lines of 15% off the early bird price for Lapsed season ticket holders within the last 5 years, 10% off for lasped season ticket holders in the last 10 years. Couple this up with an advertisment campaign via social media, post, email, website, maybe even some signboard around the town. When you sign up for a season ticket, you pass the club all this information so i would like to think that they keep records of it, at the end of the day you are selling a seat that may have been empty anyway (even if it is at a reduced rate for that season) but you could also be re-engaging lapsed fans that buy season tickets then for the next 10+ years on top of merchandise to wear at games etc. The issue with this is that it would need to be managed in a way that it does not get abused, the offer should only be available once to any supporter so that people are not getting reduced price season tickets every couple of years. Maybe this is easier said then done to keep track of but it would only need to be as simple as a note on their account with the club.

On the current attendance figures, i do personally think these are inflated currently by free / reduced price tickets and are maybe not reflective of our current season ticket sales. For me this is not a huge issue, i just hope for the club that it is working and that some of these people attending stick and contribute more in the future. In my group though that attend together, i know there has been a bitter taste left in a couple of mouths regarding the frequency that free / reduced price tickets have been available. It sparked a discussion in our group about whether it would even be worth buying season tickets this season when we could just take advantage of these offers then pick and choose other games to attend, we have all ended up buying tickets in the end and this was not my outlook on it at all, but goes to show some fans must feel this way and i am sure it is not just in my group.

It'd a LONG conversation, but with regards to the last half of your post, that's why giving cheap/free tickets doesn't work.
I don't think Wigan do a lot of it compared to other clubs, and I know for a fact Wigan didn't give a free ticket away for a long period under Simon Collins on, as I had numerous conversations with him about marketing and thebwork/experience he gained in America through the NFL.

THE lapsed ST Holders reduction is a good shout.
But ill say it again, Prices are not the problem

Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 10:49 am  

Jukesays wrote:

It'd a LONG conversation, but with regards to the last half of your post, that's why giving cheap/free tickets doesn't work.
I don't think Wigan do a lot of it compared to other clubs, and I know for a fact Wigan didn't give a free ticket away for a long period under Simon Collins on, as I had numerous conversations with him about marketing and thebwork/experience he gained in America through the NFL.

THE lapsed ST Holders reduction is a good shout.
But ill say it again, Prices are not the problem

On the reduced / free tickets, i think the club had abit of a fright post-covid when season tickets number didn't bounce back to a similar level to what they where period, and the offers have been a reactionary quick-fix to this. I think this showed also in the Fans Forum (i think last off season?) where the club talked about how spending on things such as the player bill would have to be altered in the future if ticket levels stayed as they where.

With the lapsed season ticket holders, i agree with you and have in the past regarding pricing especially when you take into account that you can pay on finance like i have this season. I was seeing it more as in incentive as opposed to a soloution to a problem. I would see it as similar to a tactic that shops use frequently. Sales, % off certain items, reduced / sale clothing racks. Lord knows how many times i have walked into a shop and bought extra items i never intended to before entering because of some form or sales pitch, it's tried and tested. It could be the difference that convinces somebody who has been on the edge about attending again, or maybe has been thinking about how much they used to enjoy seeing the games live, or their mates have been onto them about attending some games.

I think the club should be doing more to push finance in their advertising also, maybe even put a number to it as alot of advertising does "Adult tickets for as little as £** per month over 9 months". I know the club would rather the full money up front, but that is unfortunately not the world we live in now and it seems like it is only going to get worse. Finance is becoming a very popular way of shopping with websites like very offering payback schemes however you want as long as you pay back by a certain date. I know numerous of my friends use similar schemes when shopping online now.

Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 12:07 pm  

Off topic I know, but if the club are looking to generate extra cash then I'd love to see us have an "A" team that plays in the championship. Play at home alternate weekends to the first team and host the games at Robin Park.

The majority of the squad would be the academy lads, so the base of the squad and it's subsequent salary is already there. Add in a few seasoned pros who can only play for the A side and you'd have a very competitive squad. If those seasoned pros ended up being ex Wigan lads at the end of their careers, then even better from a marketing POV.

Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 2:59 pm  

sergeant pepper wrote:

Off topic I know, but if the club are looking to generate extra cash then I'd love to see us have an "A" team that plays in the championship. Play at home alternate weekends to the first team and host the games at Robin Park.

The majority of the squad would be the academy lads, so the base of the squad and it's subsequent salary is already there. Add in a few seasoned pros who can only play for the A side and you'd have a very competitive squad. If those seasoned pros ended up being ex Wigan lads at the end of their careers, then even better from a marketing POV.

I do get the feeling that the club generating extra cash is the name of the game this season. The more events at Robin Park throughout the year the better, tonight is the Pre-season Party, on Sunday the players led by Sam Powell will walk from Robin Park to the DW pitch.

Another legends night has been announced with Jason Robinson, I've been to the majority of these and the first few they organised were to a smaller crowd in a room upstairs, now attracts 200 supporters and sells out rapidly (the Pat Richards one did anyway). More of these are planned I expect, it's a great way for the club to make extra income, full bar, merchandise as the club shop is open, lottery tickets... etc.

Corporate dining is now booked and paid for through the club website, along with extra packages for birthdays... Etc. allows the club to take a %.

I do agree we should go further, not sure they would allow Wigan A team in the Championship but a couple of clubs from the women's comp has started to pay their players (and rightly so), I feel the club should push season tickets, match day pay on gate to attract more supporters to our club.

After the absolutely amazing response the wheelchair comp received in the World Cup it would be typical rugby league to allow this ride of enthusiasm from first time watchers to simply fade back to obscurity (lots of celebrities and sports people from across the country were raving over it). The club does have a wheelchair side, how many would pay to go and see a few games? I know I would.
The problem we have is there is no arena locally big enough to fit 2-3k supporters I don't think, maybe they could have some games in summer at Robin Park in front of the main stand, set up with flooring over the running track and pitch? I don't know.... I'm just rambling now.

Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 5:37 pm  

Jukesays wrote:

So if they sold 5k last year and 6k this year that's success? Edit - I'm making those numbers up, I;ve no idea what they were or what they are?
And your portraying wigans effort has not successful despite not having any info on Wigans sales? When we could ne on track to equal or better 2022?
Also you say, very little promotion, is that a fact?
I've been bombarded with videos, emails, Facebook stuff etc (don't do twitter but our WhatsApp group have sent loads of stuff in linked to stuff wigan have released on there).

You tried to portray Wigans prices as being High/the worst in a negative light originally. Yet a little digging and you find that Wigans prolong very favourably stands up to other clubs in equivalent areas and in a lot we are considerably better.

Our attendances went up in 2022, not considerably but up, and in the face of a cost of living crisis that was very good.
Hulls ST''s may be going well, but let's see what their average attendances are moving forward. I think there's a "Feel good" facto at Hull in the build up to this season, but to be honest they're coming from a relatively low Bar.

Either way, if our attendances stand up well against last year I'll be happy given the circumstances
And strangely enough, and linking into posts made on the future ofnthe game on the rumours thread, I hope every clubs attendances do well.

Hull have sold around 7,500 and that is absolutely a success if its up on previous years. Ian Lenagan in a video uploaded today has stated we are actually around 10% up which is good (though it surprises me that the club don't make this more public to gain some traction). However, the numbers don't change my view that the club could improve in the areas discussed.

Your problem is you haven't understood the purpose of the thread. You confuse critique with criticism and haven't shown any creative thinking on the issue of how things could be better. The point was never to criticise or put the club down, more to critically consider different and additional approaches to maximise potential. Others have suggested potential strategies/areas for improvement - you have just focused on your base camp stance that all is perfect and anyone who suggests otherwise are automatically wrong. I can guarantee you the club are not thinking that way. In any business, no matter how well or badly things are going you should always be looking for areas to improve.

Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 6:55 pm  

Jukesays wrote:

THE lapsed ST Holders reduction is a good shout.
But ill say it again, Prices are not the problem

Its not for you and the others that get an early bird auto renewal double discount, but you are not the sort of person the club needs to attract (ie you are already a committed no-matter what fan). The discussion needs to be how lapsed fans are tempted back for more than a couple of games and how new fans are attracted.

An empty seat generates zero income on game day and in the future.

Re: Pricing/marketing : Fri Feb 03, 2023 7:30 pm  

muttywhitedog wrote:

Its not for you and the others that get an early bird auto renewal double discount, but you are not the sort of person the club needs to attract (ie you are already a committed no-matter what fan). The discussion needs to be how lapsed fans are tempted back for more than a couple of games and how new fans are attracted.

An empty seat generates zero income on game day and in the future.

EVERYONE can use the early bird offer

I've already said the lapsed ST Holder getting a reduction is a good idea

Read the earlier post from someone talking about their group, they almost didnt renew because they were thinking why bother when we can pick and choose offers from the club.
You make match day cheaper, people won't bother with ST'S

The usual response on here is "Make tickets a tenner"
Fair enough, do it, and wave goodbye to 7/8 thousand or whatever it is ST holders

It's better than having an empty seat is not true.
Having on average 12,000 people paying the prices they are is better than giving away 25,000

As I said, it's a LONG conversation
But early Bird prices offer tickets for an adult from around £20 a game
If someone doesn't want a ST at that price, there'll be reasons for that, such as they possibly don't want one enough, can't attend enough to warrant it or can't afford it. Some.of that is unfortunate, some of it is reality.

Today's times are hard for EVERYONE and Nearly all Businesses
Priorities are different for people
Just simply saying reduce prices is not the answer

12,000 tickets half.price won't suddenly mean twice as many turn up.

Re: Pricing/marketing : Sun Feb 05, 2023 8:04 am  

Jukesays wrote:

EVERYONE can use the early bird offer

True, but it would cost me £295 to buy the seat next to you paying £235, and it costs my friend who was a bit later buying it £350.

Why not make all seats £235 as long as they are bought before the first home game, with the only perk for auto renewals being they get to retain their seat?

Re: Pricing/marketing : Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:24 am  

Sales up 10% on any of the last 5 seasons according to Ian Lenagan. I’d imagine sales haven’t been great in those 5 years (obviously they’d have been non existent to poor in a couple of them) but it’s a start.