A baseball team's radical choice to abandon ads reveals what actually keeps customers coming back
In a compelling narrative by Jesse Cole, the Savannah Bananas, a baseball team known for its unconventional approach, has declared advertising dead. Cole emphatically asserts that while advertising may attract customers, it is the fan experience that fosters lasting loyalty. In a bold move, the Savannah Bananas have eliminated all forms of advertising at their stadium, choosing to focus exclusively on the fan experience.
While advertising may attract customers, it is the fan experience that fosters lasting loyalty.
Cole draws on insights from "Customers for Life" by Carl Sewell and "Raving Fans" by Ken Blanchard to illustrate the significant, often underestimated value of a loyal customer. He explains how Sewell's methods, such as enhancing the approach to his dealership, have influenced the Savannah Bananas' emphasis on seemingly minor details that significantly enhance the fan experience. This meticulous attention to the fan experience includes ensuring every touchpoint—from the initial interaction to the ambiance at the stadium—is impeccable.
The organization's decision to eliminate stadium advertising was met with skepticism and criticism, yet it underscores a philosophy that prioritizes long-term fan engagement over short-term profits. By refraining from treating fans as mere conduits for advertising, the Savannah Bananas aim to create a more authentic and enjoyable environment, hoping that a superior fan experience will organically promote their brand.
Moreover, Cole challenges conventional business practices by suggesting that businesses should not sell products they don't believe in, highlighting that genuine belief in a product enhances its marketability. This approach is rooted in the philosophy that if a business truly prioritizes its customers—or fans, in this case—it will naturally prosper.
If a business truly prioritizes its customers—or fans, in this case—it will naturally prosper.
The Savannah Bananas' strategy reflects a larger critique of traditional marketing strategies and a pivot towards a more fan-centric business model. Cole's leadership exemplifies how daring to be different, while initially controversial, can redefine an industry's standards and lead to unprecedented success. By prioritizing fan enjoyment and engagement, the Savannah Bananas are not just playing baseball; they are revolutionizing how sports teams interact with their supporters.
Video TranscriptExpand ↓
Advertising has become a huge part of almost every business. It's a billion dollar industry, but we believe advertising is dead. Yes. Advertising can get customers, but it's the experience that creates fans. And we realize that no one likes to be advertised to. Now when you look at YouTube, what do we all do? We skip the ads. We don't wanna be advertised to. The game has changed. We've there's so much noise in the world. Everyone trying to get our attention. Add here. Add here. Add here. We're inundated with it. And so we realize that's a huge friction point and we don't want to play that game. When you sell advertising, your people, your customers, your fans, they are the product. And do you wanna really create something where the people that are out supposed to have fun and enjoy your product are the product? That doesn't make sense for us. So we eliminated all the ads at our stadium. Our only responsibility is to our fans. It's not to corporate partners trying to utilize our fans. It's to our fans. And we are the only team in the country and maybe the world that is crazy enough to eliminate advertising. But the reality is sometimes you need to be a little bit crazy if you want to have crazy results. And sometimes you need to be able to embrace criticism. If you're not getting criticized, you're playing it too safe. And when we eliminate ads at our ballpark, you better believe we were criticized. And we've learned this from Customers for Life by Carl Sewell and Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard. And Carl Sewell said, what's the average, value of a customer for life? And he realized that his car dealership was five hundred and seventeen thousand dollars. So what would you do if you knew a customer for life was worth thousands upon thousands of dollars? How much would you put into the experience? Carl Sewell, what he would do? He would actually clean the streets leading up to his car dealership. He put a a chandelier that that looks like the Ritz Carlton chandelier in his car dealership. He focused on cleaning the bathrooms. It's those little details, and we've taken that learning from him and from raving fans on how to create this experience and map every touch point. That's just the starting point. The first impression is so important. What is your first impression with your company? People in industry thought we were nuts. What are you doing? Do we throw away money? You better believe it. We threw away some money. But we focus on long term fans over short term profits. And while advertising did bring some short term money in, it wasn't the best fan experience. And so when you're creating your product and experience, are you just trying to send ads out to everyone, or are you just trying to create a remarkable experience where your customers send out the ads and they're doing it in a way that people love, not that they hate. I think the famous quote by Henry Ford, he said, if I asked our people what they would have wanted, they would have said faster horses. No one thought they wanted cars. And we haven't had anybody that's come out to our ballpark and say, you know what? We really don't want the ads at the stadium. But the reality is if it's a little friction point, if you put yourself in your shoes and say, do I come to a ballpark to be advertised to? And if you can't answer that question, then why do you do it? I believe you should only sell things that you believe in. And that's not something I would buy. I wouldn't buy ads out there because I don't think it's the best way to create a business that endures and that grows. You create a business that grows by creating more fans. And when we say anybody came to our ballpark, they became a bigger fan because of the advertising? No. And so that became a very simple decision for us. And every decision that we make, every decision we ask, is it fans first? What's your filter to making decisions? Is it what will make more money? If you had to ask two questions, what can I do to create more sales? You'll get a bunch of answers. If you ask another question that said, what can I do to create more fans? You'll get completely different answers. If you create more fans, they'll take care of your sales. Your sales will take care of your bottom line.
