CLUBS STILL GENERATING INCOME THANKS TO
“HONESTLY, the guys at Kaizen have been a godsend over the last few weeks – I really mean that.” It’s praise indeed from Bedford Town’s Club Secretary James Smiles. We speak after a long day for him, one of many recently. His club’s tale is all too familiar as the coronavirus grips – try and make ends meet, fight on, adapt and then fight some more.
The Eagles chief makes clear: “Basically, we need to roll out ideas that can help generate us some income. We have no matches but players who need paying – it’s that simple.” That’s exactly the gap that Kaizen have plugged. See a problem, solve a problem.
Smiles goes on: “I phone Kaizen and say ‘I need to put 2020/21 season tickets online at a discount’ and it’s done. Then I say, ‘we need to put a 50/50 raffle online’ and that’s done too. Brilliant. Also, I can offer fans the opportunity to donate online to the club and local hospital without the need for BACS transfer. Kaizen makes that all possible. We’d be stumped without it.”
REVENUE
That sentiment is echoed 20 miles down the road at Hitchin Town. There, Chris Newbold – who is part of the club’s management committee – is heartened from a recent bumper 50/50 online draw. He tells me that, ordinarily, on a good day the club might make £80. Their first foray into an online version has brought in just under £1,400 – and the East and North Herts Hospital will benefit. “Just remarkable”, says Chris.
“Times like these bring out the good in people”, relays Newbold. “There is a lot of good will towards us and we’re very thankful for that. Some of our supporters have been furloughed, or worse, so we have to think carefully about what we’re asking of those that follow us. However, that task is made easier when we can tweet a link to a nice, Hitchin-branded, 50/50 raffle page with a commitment to help the NHS. As a result, we have raised a significant amount of money. Kaizen is driving that.”
Kaizen Ticketing have been a nonleague success story with 23 clubs now using their system. They have gained notoriety for the counsel they offer clubs beyond whatever bespoke system update has been asked of them. That’s why their expertise is more sought after now than ever before. Managing Director David Lynam is leading the charge.
When I catch-up with David, the call is punctuated with the boisterous sounds of his young sons playing computer games in the next room. “That’ll keep them occupied – for now!” delivers Lynam, knowingly. His reality is the same as millions of other households now – that realism and new sense of perspective is informing how his business responds. “These are challenging times. Chairmen, CEOs, Finance Directors – people’s livelihoods – are relying on our experience, so we’re very conscious of that.”
Lynam is steely. A former nonleague player himself, he rose to work for The FA, Spurs, London 2012 and UEFA in ticketing roles that have seen him help run some of the biggest shows on earth. The rest of the Kaizen team are made of up the best and brightest he met along the way. There isn’t much they haven’t dealt with previously.
VIRTUAL MATCHES
“Something like coronavirus is once in a generation stuff, completely unprecedented,” he says, before adding: “We’re still fully operational though, thankfully. Each day now is about doubling down efforts on what our clubs need to get them through. Club A wants X – how quickly can we do that for them? When X is done what other club of ours could benefit? Have we called them to give them the same functionality? We share best practice – we ask our clubs all the time ‘have you thought about this as a revenue generator because it’s worked for other teams’”.
That philosophy is being felt keenly on Merseyside. Southport FC worked with Kaizen to host a ‘virtual match’. The call was for supporters to donate what they would usually spend at a home match in return for an online screening of the Southport vs Notts County FA Cup clash from 2002. Anyone donating over £20 received a free t-shirt to acknowledge their support tangibly. The novel idea brought the club £3,000. Club Secretary James Tedford – who was instrumental in bringing the idea to fruition – said: “At times like these, striking the right balance is key. Obviously we want people to support us but we want to be able to offer them something. The screening and t-shirt proved to be hugely successful.
People still want that 90 minutes of football escapism – arguably more so than usual – and the Kaizen infrastructure has allowed us to provide that.”
COMMUNITY
Christine Classon works alongside James as a volunteer. A former Operations Manager for Barclays, her procedural focus and eye for detail means that she helps oversee the clubs’ bookkeeping function. By her own admission she: “Loves a good system!”, so has been at home with Kaizen’s professional, easy-to-use software. “In a few minutes I run a report, which shows what our cashflow is, which in the current climate has been extremely useful”, she says.
Volunteers like Christine are the lifeblood of the game – they keep clubs going because they care. They understand the value of the club within its community – another area where Kaizen comes into its own. Southport’s community arm has been able to use the database function to quickly segment their supporters by age and proactively phone everyone over 70 to see how they are and whether they needed anything.
“It’s great what Southport have been able to do with the older fans, isn’t it? Pro-actively contacting them like that”, says Lynam when that case study crops up. “That keeps me and the team going – in every sense”, he reflects. It’s a poignant reminder how vital football clubs are and how important Kaizen has become to those who run them.
Kaizen are consummate professionals you can rely on James Tedford, Club Secretary, Southport FC Kaizen Ticketing is a must-have. We’d be lost without them James Smiles, Club Secretary, Bedford Town FC Fast and smart are the words that best sum up Kaizen Ticketing Chris Newbold, Management Committee, Hitchin Town FC