How AZ Alkmaar is transitioning towards a data-driven organisation

ESSMA interviewed Bas Schnater, Fan Engagement & CRM Coordinator at AZ Alkmaar, about CRM, fan engagement and data gathering.

During the ESSMA Fan Experience Workshop at Paris La Défense Arena, Bas shared with participants how AZ Alkmaar transitioned towards a data-driven organisation with best practices on how they are increasing the amount of seasonal ticket holders with personalised actions and by identifying critical segments. 

"We made a lot of gut feeling decisions it the beginning but needed more information in order to move away from intuition to actual fact-based business decisions. Therefore, we started to assess what we actually needed."

Can you give an example of how to use data during a campaign?

We use data to personalize the communications in the season ticket campaign, by surveying the current season ticket holders about why they value their season ticket, on which stand they sit, why they come to the stadium, etc. This helped us identify for example that fans sitting on the grandstand value the pitch view the most, while fans in the family section value family entertainment and safety. 

What would you advise other clubs regarding data gathering?

Every club - big or small - collects data and data is not a scary thing, it’s just information in a spreadsheet. That’s where it can already start. Personally, I use Excel to start tracking the data and answer questions e.g. “What do we sell in which month?” and “How do we adjust the campaigns for merchandising accordingly?”. For example, we noticed that in February there has been a substantial rise in terms of sold jerseys. Why? Because there is a discount on jerseys. So therefore, we adjust our campaigns accordingly.

  Access his presentation on the ESSMA Knowledge Platform