End of season: How sports clubs can strengthen fan relationships

As June draws to a close, so too does the season for most sports clubs.
While often underutilized from a communications standpoint, this period presents a valuable opportunity to reinforce the bond between clubs and their supporters.
By leveraging personalized messaging, some clubs use this time to thank fans, gather feedback, and build anticipation for the upcoming season. In this article, we explore two complementary approaches taken by BSC Young Boys and Servette FC, showcasing how the end of season can become a pivotal moment in the supporter engagement journey.

BSC Young Boys: A relational approach powered by personalization

At the end of the season, BSC Young Boys adopted a relational and hyper-personalized communication, harnessing data collected throughout the year. With Arenametrix’s CRM and Nifty Images, the club delivered a unique, data-driven email experience to each fan, highlighting their individual journey.

Each supporter received an email with :

• Personalized stats such as expected goals, goalkeeper saves, team victories, points earned, and even minutes played by their favorite player.
  
  
• Tailored content from the women’s team for fans who had attended at least one of their matches.
  
  
• A personalized thank-you video, creating an authentic and warm closure to the season.
  
  

For season ticket holders, the club went even further, including precise match-specific data, such as the exact number of goals the fan witnessed live at the stadium.

This advanced level of personalization not only made each fan feel recognized and valued, strengthening their emotional connection with the club, but also served as an effective commercial lever:

• Renewing subscribers were warmly acknowledged, reinforcing their loyalty.
  
  
• Non yet renewed fans received dynamic, targeted messages encouraging them to subscribe.
  
  

Key performance highlights from the campaign:

• Subscriber campaign: 13,669 contacts targeted, an exceptional open rate of 83.15%, and a click rate of 15.18%.
  
  
• General campaign (opt-ins, non-subscribers):
  53,294 contacts targeted, with an open rate of 44.3% and a click rate of 1.91%.
  
  

These figures clearly demonstrate the power of personalization in driving both engagement and direct commercial impact through increased subscriptions.

Opposite, a preview of the personalized newsletter for subscribers with the personalization tags.

Servette FC: Active listening and continuous improvement through feedback

Whereas BSC Young Boys focused on personalization, Servette FC prioritized active listening, emphasizing user experience through the GuestViews platform (a solution by Arenametrix Group). The club launched a comprehensive, interactive post-season survey to collect detailed feedback from supporters about their experiences over the season. 

The strength of this feedback form lies in its smart, branched design: each answer dynamically shapes the next question, enabling the club to gather highly relevant and actionable insights.

Key areas of interest included :

• Ticket purchasing habits
• Stadium accessibility and infrastructures
• Quality of services (catering, retail, entertainment, etc.)

The answers to each question determine the rest of the questionnaire.
(Here the question is about the number of game attended)

To boost participation, Servette FC introduced an instant-win contest, offering fans a chance to win an official jersey from the upcoming season.

Campaign results (contacts that attended at least one game):

• 40 243 emails sent
• Exceptional opening rate of 51,89%
• Click rate 7,19%.
  
  

Strategic and financial implications

1. Stronger loyalty and emotional engagement

• • • Personalized content (BSC Young Boys) fosters a deep, lasting emotional connection essential for long-term fan retention.
      
      
    • Soliciting and acknowledging feedback (Servette FC) demonstrates respect and consideration, enhancing overall satisfaction and loyalty.

2. Optimised revenue genration

• • • Dynamic targeting significantly improves subscription conversion, positively impacting club revenues.
      
      
    • Insights from feedback allow clubs to refine their commercial offerings by identifying strengths and areas for improvement.
      

3. Superior fan experience development

• • • A positive, memorable experience enhances brand perception and boosts future purchases (merchandise, tickets, subscriptions).
      
      
    • Continuous improvement based on real fan input enables clubs to anticipate expectations, improve stadium appeal, and increase attendance.
      

The initiatives led by BSC Young Boys and Servette FC clearly illustrate why the end of the season should not be overlooked. It represents a strategic opportunity to maximize fan engagement, boost revenues, and refine the overall supporter experience.

By tailoring similar approaches to their own contexts and objectives, any club can transform this transition period into a powerful driver of both strategic and economic growth.