Watford FC’s Vision – making it easier with CRM
Interview with Michael Jones, Head of Venue and Customer Experience, Watford FC

Watford FC has set a clear vision for the future and a timescale in which to achieve it. The primary objective is to reclaim their position at the top table, and equally for Vicarage Road to be considered amongst the top ten venues in the Premier League. This huge task will require the club to work hard both on and off the pitch. The off pitch team believe in working smart as well as hard. To make the new facilities work for them, it is essential for the club to become more knowledgeable of the community it serves. Michael Jones, Head of Venue and Customer Experience at Watford FC is confident that the introduction of Microsoft Dynamics CRM from Green 4 Solutions will help to improve the supporter experience and drive them into 2010. We caught up with him to find out more about their plans.

What are the main business objectives behind your CRM implementation from Green 4?

We can no longer assume that supporters will be loyal to their club and turn up week in, week out. We are now competing off the field with other leisure facilities and entertainment venues. At Watford our main aim is obviously to increase attendances but we want to be able to give supporters what the experience they want also. In addition to the introduction of CRM, we have a new stadium entry system from Fortress and a new catering system. All of these touch points will feed our CRM system so that we can start to build a more accurate profile of our supporters and customers.

In terms of functionality – what are your initial expectations from a CRM system?

I see the emarketing component playing a crucial role in our marketing campaigns and I hope to see immediate benefits in terms of cost, speed of delivery and accuracy of response. Better understanding of our data is key for us so our aim is to implement CRM in such a way that we can build a profile of our supporters by capturing more detailed information about them.

Why did you choose Green 4 CRM?

We went through a lengthy due diligence process to select, in our opinion, best of breed technology partners who will help us meet our vision for 2010. Green 4 stood out as one of the main players in the CRM field who specialized in Sport. With Microsoft Dynamics CRM at the core of their system and looking at their client base, we felt that they had a tried and tested solution that will grow with our business. We have been impressed with Green 4’s one-to-one approach and although they have an ever expanding customer base they have worked closely with us to asses and fulfill our needs.

What strategy have you put in place to create a CRM culture and promote user adoption?

We have taken 2-3 years to evolve and agree our CRM strategy and to deploy the technology. We have dedicated time internally to speak to members of staff and involve them in the decision making process in order to make sure that we all know exactly what we need from a CRM system. We have introduced new technology slowly so that it is a less frightening concept and staff members can evolve with the new systems.

Where do you see the quickest areas for Return on Investment?

Our key driver for this project is to understand our supporters and provide them with the services they want. I foresee the biggest, though perhaps immeasurable, return for us will be the facility to enable proactive supporter targeting so that we can tailor offers, measure feedback and continually monitor supporter experiences. In short, to give us a 360 degree view of all customer interactions with the Football Club.