Have emailed with my thought's.
Great idea from the club to get the fans on board. Maybe the tide is turning off the pitch a little too.
Well done.
Email below - for those that want to cut, copy or paste, or delete
Hi Guys,
Please see below a few thoughts ref match-day ticketing next season as requested on the Stagsnet forum.
General Admission;
There needs to be at least 1 turn up and pay gate in each stand at each home game – as the general statement from the club has been one of theft issues, then surely we have 4 people the club would trust to take money and allow the casual floating home and away fan access to the ground without having to queue at the ticket office first.
Admission Prices;
The club needs to have a tiered approach such as the one below. Prices can be altered but the magical £20 threshold should not be breached.
Adult (West Stand Upper) - £20
Adult (West Stand Lower) - £18
Adult (QLE) - £15
OAP (Access all areas) - £12
Under 16’s (all areas) - £7
Under 7’s - FREE
Season Ticket Prices;
2 suggestions here.
Firstly – season tickets to be calculated on current basis i.e 23 games x £x minus x% discount. But also every season ticket purchase to receive a free shirt. This would help in getting publicity of the club out into the surrounding area. Obviously, to pay for this the discount may not be quite as great as it is now. (Forest do something similar whereby all 7 year olds receive a card and football shirt as well as complimentary tickets for a game of their choice).
Secondly – season tickets to be calculated on current basis but to include access to undisclosed number of Cup games, therefore giving season ticket holders a guaranteed seat in the 1st, 2nd or 3rd round games.
Half Season Tickets;
These need to be introduced for games played from 1st January to end of season. They would make perfect Christmas presents and deliver club additional revenue when games may be called off due to adverse weather.
Mini Season Tickets;
Offer a select number of games at any time of the season for a reduced fee. For example, a supporter could purchase a mini season ticket in October for 5 games at the general admission price minus a discount of say 20% - 30%.
Combination tickets;
The club needs to offer a Dad & Lad combination ticket for a small discount. For example based on above prices a Dad and Lad ticket in the QLE may be £18 instead of £22. The other £4 will easily be spent on food / beer / drinks / programme etc whilst the pair are at the game.
Family Ticket – offer a Family of 4 ticket for £35 for the QLE.
There also needs to be a specific Family Enclosure in the ground but this is difficult with the current configuration of the ground as the obvious areas are the tunnel end of the QLE or West Stand but these are usually congregations at the end of the game which would be off putting.
Purchasing;
The club need to have a mobile app which allows for quick purchase and scan of a ticket using mobile phone. The ticket needs to be able to be purchased up until 2.30pm to allow casual fan to purchase ahead of reaching ground.
The club needs to stop offering the discount for tickets purchased ahead of match-day.
The club needs to offer an instalment plan for a 6 month period – granted it means the club only get dribs and drabs of money but it is still better to receive some than none at all. However, charge a premium of say 10-20%.
Attracting youngsters;
Create a Stags Junior Club such as is run at other clubs. Send kids birthday cards and Christmas cards – cheap but effective way of getting their attention a couple of times a year. If this is in operation then please promote more as I haven’t seen this.
Promotion’s
All of the above are good suggestions but are pointless if the club is to continue its current method of promotion.
I work 9 to 5 and don’t work in the area so do not listen to Mansfield 103.2 nor go into Mansfield often. I also don’t read the Chad too often as I would presume many others don’t.
Promotion needs to be multi-faceted.
Online is the way forward and many website’s use cookies that track online behaviour. The club needs to look at how other businesses use cookies to promote their product / brand when the user is not necessarily shopping for information on Mansfield Town. Could the Stags do this?
The club also need to ensure that they are visible in the most high profile places in the area. Sports Direct is the biggest warehouse in England and the biggest sports business in Europe but Mansfield Town shirts aren’t sold here. Why ?
Could the Stags not support local play-centres like Playmania or Jango’s and assist in decorating their facility in return for some publicity – MTFC display / photo’s etc – the kids are the future of the club.
Where’s the imagery on the back of the buses gone ?
The club also needs to be proactive in getting into the outer villages such as Warsop / Sutton / Forest Town / Edwinstowe etc and promoting the club to the casual fan. There is not a single poster / promotion that has hit Warsop in the last 10 years as far as I can remember.
Just a few thought’s but a fantastic thought from the club and SFU to get the fans involved.
Well done!!