Analyze and break down the service concept of your WBL placement company by using the analytical tools and tips from the course material
The most important key factors to an ice hockey team are definitely the players, employees and, of course, customers. There are a lot of key factors besides these three for example sponsors, service producers, cheerleaders etc. All of these are important to get everything out of an ice hockey game. Most important are the customers because if no one came to watch the games it would be quite unnecessary to hold them.
Besides watching the game itself there's quite an enormous social value to the customers. The games are a great place to socialize with people who share the same interests. Ice hockey games offer a sense of community to everyone who participates in them and usually customers get quite emotional while watching hockey because it's kind of a "passion sport".
The games also offer customers something to do if they're bored and don't know what to do with their time. Going to a hockey game is quite easy and you don't need to even buy a ticket beforehand because they sell tickets at the ice rink before the game. At Isku Areena, Pelicans' home rink, the tickets are sold even after the game has started and the ticket boxes close when the second period starts.
Pelicans has its own restaurant, called Lämäri, which is open from Monday to Friday and they serve lunch every day. On game days the restaurant also makes food for the VIP guests (whether they're watching the game from VIP boxes, Club or Lounge) and offer drinks for adults. Besides Lämäri there are a lot of food and drink stalls around the rink where customers can get refreshments before, during and after the game. Of course, there's also an official fan store at the rink where customers can buy Pelicans merch for example hoodies, t-shirts or game-worn jerseys.
Pelicans also has an indoor playground, so-called "kid park", where customers can leave their children with adults for the duration of the game. This is great for those families who want to watch the game together but whose children don't have enough interest for the whole game.
The customer journey begins with the customer seeing an advertisement for the game or hearing about it from a friend. After that, the customer makes a decision to buy a ticket and if the customer is an ice hockey fan they'll probably do some research about the teams and their lineups. When the gameday finally comes around, the customer goes to the ice rink and buy some refreshments before, during and/or after the game. At the game, the customer might talk to other fans of the same team and analyze the on-going game with them. When the game ends they'll leave the rink and go home.
At home, they might tell about the game to family members or post something on their personal social media. If the customer likes the experience, they might search the team's official social media pages and there they'll see an advert for the next game, leading to a possible decision to buy a ticket to that one too and possibly take someone with them to share the experience.
