Loyal customers are crucial for any business, but brand advocates—or superfans—take loyalty further. They engage with your brand, connect emotionally, and recruit others. Superfans can elevate a brand to extraordinary success.
How do you turn customers into brand advocates? Sports teams excel in this area. They have fans, not just customers—loyal, emotionally invested supporters who spend time and money on their team. Imagine replacing “team” with “brand.” Isn’t that every business's dream?
This fandom results from deliberate strategies developed over years. Sports teams use proven tactics to build loyalty, which retail brands can replicate. Here are four fan engagement strategies your business can adopt.
1. A.S. Roma: Harness your fans’ passion
When Italian football club A.S. Roma needed to launch a new website, they turned to their most valuable resource: their fans. The club engaged with supporters on Reddit, asking for feedback and ideas to create a platform tailored to their needs. The result? A fan-first digital space featuring curated content such as opinion columns and artworks submitted by supporters.
- Key strategy: Involve your audience directly in decision-making. Fans are no longer passive consumers; they want to co-create and engage meaningfully.
- Tips for businesses:
- Solicit feedback on your products or services.
- Ask what information or features your audience values most.
- Engage respectfully and personally to foster genuine connections.
By putting fans at the center, A.S. Roma built a website that resonates deeply with its audience, turning casual supporters into lifelong advocates.
2. Winnipeg Jets: Build a sense of belonging
The Winnipeg Jets hockey team revived an old tradition during the playoffs: the "White Out." Fans were encouraged to wear white to games and share their outfits on social media, creating a unified sense of community both in the stadium and at home.
- Key strategy: Strengthen community ties by fostering shared experiences.
- Tips for businesses:
- Create opportunities for user-generated content (e.g., photos, reviews, or social media posts).
- Introduce simple, inclusive traditions or campaigns that unite your audience.
- Highlight how individuals contribute to a larger community.
This approach not only amplified fan loyalty but also enhanced brand visibility as fans shared their excitement with others.
3. International Cricket Council (ICC): Make customers feel elite
The ICC’s website offers cricket fans the same tools and data used by professional players and coaches, including detailed statistics, replays, and 40 years of World Cup history. This access made fans feel like insiders, driving user engagement up by 5000%.
- Key strategy: Give your audience exclusive tools or insights to deepen their connection with your brand.
- Tips for businesses:
- Share behind-the-scenes information or resources that elevate customers’ experience.
- Provide advanced tools that allow users to get more value from your products.
- Position your brand as a trusted source of expertise.
By empowering fans to "train like pros," the ICC created a unique value proposition that resonates with their audience.
4. Juventus F.C.: Elevate the customer experience
Juventus F.C., one of the most prestigious football clubs in the world, has taken its fan engagement to the next level by seamlessly integrating its retail and online operations. The club adopted a unified commerce solution to ensure fans experience a consistent and personalized shopping journey, whether they’re purchasing merchandise in stadium stores or online. By consolidating all retail operations under one system, Juventus can quickly adapt to high-demand moments, such as match days, ensuring every transaction runs smoothly.
- Key strategy: Use technology to provide fans with a frictionless and personalized experience across all channels.
- Tips for businesses:
- Leverage unified systems to manage both physical and online stores efficiently.
- Focus on reliability during peak traffic to maintain customer trust and satisfaction.
- Ensure your technology enables real-time insights into sales and stock to meet customer expectations.
This comprehensive approach ensures fans feel valued and engaged, regardless of where they are.
Lessons for businesses
Sports teams have long been experts at cultivating deep, emotional loyalty from their fans. There’s no reason your brand can’t achieve similar results. Many successful companies, from Apple to Harley-Davidson, have developed their own legions of superfans.
Here’s how you can apply these strategies to your business:
- Be fan-first: Design experiences that cater directly to your audience’s preferences and needs.
- Foster a sense of community: Help customers feel like they belong to something bigger.
- Offer exclusivity: Provide insights or tools that make your audience feel special.
- Focus on value: Use technology and content to genuinely enhance the customer experience.
With the right strategies, your brand can go beyond attracting customers and start building a passionate, loyal community of advocates.
Ready to build your superfans?
Do you want to know how the right retail software can help you achieve this and more? Contact our experts today to explore how we can help your business create loyal advocates.
