Today's most successful organizations consistently demonstrate the ability to identify and meet the evolving wants and needs of their customers. Long-term relationships with fans are the key to stability in today's increasingly dynamic markets, and senior executives are pushing for their organizations to become increasingly customer-focused. Many professional sports teams are finding that customer relationship management software can be a great tool for attracting and retaining new customers and gaining insights into their existing fan base. Customer relationship technologies can be a great way to manage customer loyalty programs, products, and promotions. The purpose of this article is to provide an overview of some of the CRM strategies and loyalty programs used in the world of professional sports today. In the multi-billion dollar professional sports industry, the ability to connect and retain customers has become critical. become increasingly difficult. The cost of being a fan is almost always increasing. According to Team Marketing Report, the average cost for a family of four to attend a professional sporting event has risen to; $326.60 for an NBA game, $212.46 for an MLB game, $359.71 for an NHL game and $459.65 for an NFL game. Customer relationship management can help reduce costs and increase profitability by helping to organize and automate business processes that drive customer satisfaction and loyalty in sales, marketing and customer service. (Microsoft)Practical ApplicationsIn its fifth season, the Oklahoma City Thunder did a great job of making their fans feel special through the use of CRM. Instead of just tracking the names and purchase history of their fans, they use Microso... middle of paper... something we've been working on for a long time and are excited to finally launch it for 2013,” Padres president Tom Garfinkel said. “It all started with some fundamental themes. First, the idea that we needed to tap into fan psychology more and create a sense of belonging. Being a fan is emotional, not rational, and yet somehow we continue to market ourselves trying to rationalize with people. Second, we needed to create benefits that couldn't be passed on to a secondary market and create more reasons than ever to subscribe. Ultimately, we needed to have a more direct relationship throughout the year with our fans and have more information about what's important to them so we can make it happen. "According to statistics, the new program has been a huge success and evidence suggests that the membership benefits have encouraged customers to upgrade their subscriptions.