Customers pay in three ways: Money, Trust, Referral
That’s it. That’s how they pay. Here’s a bit more of an explanation.

Money
Sure – this is an easy one. Sales. Customers give you money for what it is that you give or do for them. Whether it be service, products, or experience, when a customer gives a sport organization their money, they’re asking for something in return – and in sports they are mostly looking for a story. Most of the time a great sporting event is a great story – everyone they see who wants to know what they did will hear that customer’s story of how the event went down. That customer will have some sort of story about how the play on the field was or how the experience in the stands, concourse, and parking lot was. That customer will have some sort of an opinion and hopefully a positive one that will keep them coming back.This leads me to my next point:

Trust
A customer’s trust is their attention. Their attention is how much of you they let fill their mind and their life. Trust and attention lead to more money for you. Because the team-fan relationship you’ve been building is much like the rest of the relationships you have, based on trust and authenticity, even though you may not be perfect, you’re doing your best trying to put your absolute best product on the floor. The reality of this is just that, you’re not perfect. People are not perfect and neither are the organizations those people build. No matter how hard you try, something will go wrong at some point. That’s not to say that you should be satisfied with mistakes – no way. Rather you should be demonstrating to your fans that you’ve always got their best interest in mind when it comes to giving them what they want – a great story to tell and one in which they can play a part. Give them your trust as much as they’re giving you theirs.

Referral
Finally, referral. Referrals are every business owners dream. Referrals are a customer’s way of telling you that they love what you do so much they wanted someone else they trust to be a part of the experience too; and by doing so, they’re putting their own credibility on the line too. They share with someone else they trust a story about your organization so compelling that that person ends up giving you their money and trust as well.

By doing and applying the things you do in your personal relationships on a business level, your customers will respond in a personal way – by giving you a piece of their precious resources: money, trust, referral. Today’s world gives us more options of things to do and ways to entertain ourselves than any other point in history. Whatever your interests are, there is someone else out there leading the way in whatever that thing might be. As a result, if you’re not doing everything thing you can to be remarkable in today’s digital world, you’re falling behind. Don’t get left behind. Money, trust, referral – remember these.

Go Forth!