Your Customers Expect More: Why Digital Transformation Isn’t Optional for Sports Organisations
Sport has long benefited from loyalty.
Members renew year after year.
Volunteers give their time generously.
Fans stay committed through wins, losses and long seasons.
That loyalty has sustained sport for decades. But in today’s environment, it may also be masking a growing problem.
Because loyalty no longer guarantees tolerance.
From Loyalty to Expectation
Outside sport, people are used to digital experiences that are fast, intuitive and joined up.
They can:
- Find information instantly
- Sign up or buy in moments
- Receive relevant, timely communication
- Move seamlessly between services without friction
These experiences don’t feel exceptional anymore – they feel normal.
When people step into sport, they don’t lower those expectations. They bring them with them.
When Sport Feels Hard Work
Compare a typical sports journey with everyday consumer experiences:
- How easy is it to find clear, up-to-date information?
- How simple is it to join, register, enter or renew?
- How connected does the journey feel across different touchpoints?
- How enjoyable and intuitive is the experience on a phone?
When the answers fall short, people notice.
Sport begins to feel hard to access.
Slow to respond.
Out of step with modern life.
And when that happens, engagement weakens – even if the passion for the sport remains.
Why Growth Starts to Feel Difficult
Many NGBs talk about the challenge of growing participation, retaining members, or engaging new audiences.
Digital experience is rarely the only factor – but it is often a critical one.
If the front door is confusing, the journey is fragmented, and the value is hard to see, growth becomes harder than it needs to be. Not because people don’t want to take part, but because the experience creates unnecessary friction.
The Real Risk Isn’t Change
There is understandable caution around digital transformation in sport.
Cost.
Capability.
Disruption.
And, in many cases, the memory of poor experiences with technology providers.
These concerns are real. But they often obscure a bigger risk.
The greatest risk isn’t change.
It’s standing still.
While sport hesitates, expectations continue to rise. Other sectors adapt. New models emerge. Participants compare experiences – consciously or not – and make choices accordingly.
Digital Transformation as a Responsibility
Embracing digital transformation isn’t about chasing trends or becoming “tech-led”.
It’s about respecting people’s time.
Protecting the value of their loyalty.
And creating experiences that support participation rather than obstruct it.
In that sense, digital transformation isn’t optional. It’s part of the responsibility modern sports organisations carry.
A Question Worth Reflecting On
Where is the biggest gap between what your organisation currently offers – and what your customers now expect?
The answer to that question may shape the future of your sport more than any single strategy or programme.
If this resonates, save it – or share it with someone leading digital, participation or strategy in sport.
