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As the parent company of the NHL’s San Jose Sharks, Sharks Sports and Entertainment (SSE) relies on SAP technology to score big for its business and level up the fan experience.
The organization—which owns two professional hockey teams, operates two multi-purpose arenas, and maintains three public ice arenas in Northern California—strives across all these business areas to build memorable, lasting experiences for customers. However, modern expectations for events, from hockey games to concerts, have dramatically shifted in the last decade, fueled by the rise of online and at-home entertainment options.
“My direct competition isn’t other live experiences; it’s figuring out how to get people off their couch and then back home safely,” SSE President Jonathan Becher said during a virtual session for media and analysts hosted by SAP. “Technology has a huge role in making those experiences happen.”
Becher discussed how SSE more effectively leverages customer data through its use of SAP solutions—including SAP Datasphere, SAP Business Technology Platform (BTP), and the SAP CX AI Toolkit—to turn customers into loyal, engaged fans and drive substantial growth in their Sharks365 season ticket membership program.
SAP co-founder Hasso Plattner is the sole owner of SSE, and the Sharks' home arena has been the SAP Center since 2013; as such, SSE’s widespread investment in SAP technologies comes as no surprise. But the degree to which SAP cloud solutions have transformed customer experience and strengthened a centralized data strategy at the organization has become more pronounced in recent years, since SAP BTP was deployed as a “flexible foundation” for the organization’s technology landscape.
New Expectations and Approaches
Becher detailed how SSE leveraged SAP solutions to improve its use of customer data, driving dramatically elevated fan engagement rates.
With customer expectations shifting, SSE has redefined what constitutes the beginning and end points of its events, especially as the organization strives to create memorable fan experiences. “You have to expand your definition of when the experience starts and when the experience ends,” Becher said.
As personalization becomes more of a priority for the organization. SEE is also exploring how it can most effectively use AI solutions to enhance the customer experience.
“The easiest way to personalize is online and in the digital world right now,” Becher said. “Most live experiences treat all guests the same, maybe with modest changes for VIP members over time. We can adjust nearly every element of the physical experience, not just the digital one, based on individual preferences. AI is the key to that vision.”
Above all, shifting expectations has changed the way SSE collects and leverages customer data. Gone are the days of collecting as much customer data as possible and storing it in massive data lakes. Enterprises must establish more targeted approaches for their data strategies, Becher said, encouraging attendees to instead set strategic objectives and collect relevant data to support of them.
Data Centralization
Becher detailed how SSE manages this vital customer data, especially given the heightened consumer protection regulations all California-based companies must adhere to. Specifically, SSE leverages SAP Datasphere to bring coherence to its data, Becher said; this allows SSE to focus on collecting data relevant to its renewal objectives.
“Sometimes, it’s hard to control your data,” Becher said, noting that SSE’s expansive set of operations—live events, retail, and dining to name a few—further complicates enterprise-wide data management. SSE’s retail operations are partially outsourced, with the organization’s partners often using different technology, operating models, and data sources.
In fact, Becher said, 15 to 20 data sources feed into SSE’s collection efforts each week, requiring SAP Datasphere to enable data collection, centralization, and visibility across business units. In building upon that data foundation, the organization deploys SAP CX solutions, including SAP Sales Cloud and SAP Analytics Cloud.
SSE houses its fan and guest information via SAP Customer Data Platform, while SAP Customer Data Cloud helps the organization manage various preferences, including privacy and security layers, and SAP Emarsys Customer Engagement handles guest marketing and communications. A data-centric approach is pivotal to SSE’s strategy for engaging younger generations, especially throughout a season in which the Sharks roster is younger than average.
Currently, SSE is in the early stages of exploring how its efforts to increase youth recreational skating through its programs will impact the Sharks’ hockey fandom. According to Becher, by synchronizing seemingly disparate data sources, SSE has already seen signs that its efforts in youth skating development are paying off. “We’re seeing some early indications that, for every kid under 12 who learns to ice skate, we create 2.3 new hockey fans,” he explained.
Data-Driven Results
During the webinar, Becher proudly shared SSE’s improved customer engagement results since it began leveraging SAP solutions to engage fans.
Comparing this business to a software-as-a-service (SaaS) business, in which renewals and upsells are critical to overall success, Becher stated that SSE has seen dramatic improvements in both areas since implementing SAP solutions and redefining its data approach.
“Last season, we got our renewals plus upsells just shy of 90%, which was above our target of 85% and more than 10 percentage points higher than the previous season,” Becher explained, citing the organization’s use of SAP solutions as a game-changer for membership renewal.
“We were able to much more easily build a more engaging, relevant campaign for individual people about renewals,” he added. “90% is a phenomenal renewal rate in this industry.”