Hoops

Motivational meeting

See you all at half time!

Right,
In the absence of action, I hearby nominate DDFan as the President of the "Sixers Fans Consultative Committee" Any seconders?

Now, first meeting. Let's all meet at half time by the western bar on the southern side on Sat. night. The President shouts the first round of pales so make sure you identify yourself by using the secret code phrase "Julius is not the Messiah, he's a very naughty boy"

No agenda first meeting, just intros.

I'll be the one wearing the sixer's polo shirt.

DD - Yes it was initiated by the club back than and showed plenty of promise, what fan would say no to stepping forward and offering some opinions and helping out 'their club'.

Isaac - Yes it was more of a general thing rather than some of the things mentioned here in regards to players and coaches and their decisions. However I don't think the club would be looking for much input on coaching and player issue (not to say it shouldn't be discussed).

In regards to fans and members there is one thing that has always bugged me with the Sixers and I believe they tried to change this but didnt put all that much effort into it. That is the difference between members/season ticket holders and the casual fans. There are so many things that can be done to make members/season ticket holders feel more a part of the club that dont cost a great deal of money but some time and effort.
The die hards will always sign up, you could pretty much setup a direct debit system with those guys and just post them their yearly renewal ticket. But there are plenty that would think long and hard ever year about the cost of a season ticket and what extra benefits they actually get out of it, it often turns out if you miss a couple of games your better off buying game by game. I believe one season it was actually cheaper to capitilise on the 2 for 1 deals that were regularly offered. Make fans feel like they are a real part of the club and give them a little extra.
Enough going off on a tangent, back to discussion.

DDFan,
what you are seeking is for the Sixers management to come out of the "Ivory Tower" and listen to provided feedback from a forum on how they could improve the club. You want to provide feedback to club management and have more of a say.

The Sixers is a business. It makes good business sense to listen to your customers (ie the fans) on how the customers could be better served. Any business that doesn't consider customer needs dies a painful death.

I think everyone agrees that management should scan the environment and consider opinion on how their business could be improved. Business plans are set and generally reviewed annually. A annual open forum would be good if they wanted it. It is then up to them to act on what they want. How they do it is up to them. Forum, Questionaire, reading this, talking to fans on the night......

An open forum for consultation would be good, but consultation does not mean consensus. Good management listens and considers, but the tail does not wag the dog.

You don't want the lunatics running the asylum.

Years ago, I proposed something like a fan council where the club pulls some noisy fans out to form a group representing a cross-section of their customers (current customers, past customers, etc), ply them with a drink and pizza in the boardroom or out on centre court, and take notes on suggestions. Give immediate feedback ("Yeah, great idea, but there's no way we can afford that.") and have the council report back.

Yeah. Could be an idea. You may need Isaac there I would think.
( Interesting, listening to Ballinger interview on 5aa, last nite, that if the NBL refs are gonna allow this holding onto and banging into, well, we'll just have to do it.)