Ash Read is the founder of Nudge, a tool that helps you keep their customers happy with timely and meaningful replies on Twitter.

During the opening weekend of the Cricket World Cup I noticed a few tweets about @MCG Twitter account and their responsiveness to fans during the game between England and Australia.

Off the back of @MCG’s masterclass in Twitter customer service, Shane Harmon has already written a wonderful piece about Twitter Tips for Sports Stadiums, and today I want to focus more on some simple ways sporting organisations can delight fans and keep them coming back through the gates.

In the world of sports, customer service doesn’t get talked about a whole lot. But, if you’re in the sports business, you’re in the customer service business, and every organisation should strive to continually show gratitude to fans and customers in delightful and memorable ways.

Giving a “wow” experience has been shown to increase renewals and returning customers by 30–50% compared to an “average” experience, and whilst you can’t always wow fans on the field, here are 10 ways to delight fans and customers off the field.

Let’s get started.

1. Respond quickly

A recent study into social media customer service found that 42% of people expect a response within 60 minutes on social platforms. And on match days they’ll probably be expecting a quicker reply — after all a game can be nearly over after 60 minutes.

Tip: Have the tools and processes in place to allow you to respond to fans in a timely way.

2. Follow Up

As Shane mentions in his post: “An even heightened sense of care is evident when a brand follows up with you to see if the matter has been resolved satisfactorily.”

Following up is one of the simplest ways to delight customers. It’s not just when it comes to customer service that you should follow up. If someone tweets about going to the game, you could set a reminder to follow up in a few days and see what they thought.

Tip: Set reminders to follow up on Twitter conversations using Nudge.

@darrz23: How did you go, Darren? All sorted? Hope you're feeling better.

— Melb Cricket Ground (@MCG) February 14, 2015

3. Show you value feedback

If a fan shares feedback with you about any aspect from improving match day experience to the cost of a ticket, reach out to them and show you that you value their feedback (even if you don’t end up implementing it).

TIP: Give fans the feeling that they have an open line of communication with you at all times.

4. Celebrate achievement

If one of your fans has an achievement to celebrate, why not celebrate with them? This could be anything from a birthday to attending their hundredth game.

A few ways to help fans celebrate could be mentioning them on your social profiles, an announcement at a game or a feature in your club website or programme.

5. Be Personal

A fan shouldn’t be seen as one of thousands, but as an individual. The easiest way to give a personal response is to use their name when replying.

@ashread_ We’ll look into that right away, Ash.

Instead of:

@ashread_ We’ll look into that.

6. Excel daily

Match days will undoubtedly be the busiest days for customer service in sports. However, organisations should bring their customer support A game every day.

7. Say ‘Thank you’

A simple one, but it’s amazing how thrilled fans can be by a simple “thank you.” This could be as easily as @replying to a few fans on Twitter to say “thanks for attending” after a match. Make it personal, sincere and leave them smiling.

8. Send a note

As a sporting organisation, it’s likely that you’ll have a lot of data on your fans — especially those who attend games.

Why not send a thank you note to those who travel and attend matches week in, week out. Instead of simply messaging them when it’s time to renew season tickets.

For an example of this from the tech world, check out how Product Hunt surprised their members with notes.

Gotta say I've never received a personal card from a website before. Thanks for posting @informantapp, @ProductHunt! pic.twitter.com/2p2Wn9ziFw

— Cameron Daigle (@camerondaigle) November 14, 2014

9. Hold fan events

Give fans a behind the scenes look at your organisation through exclusive fan events.

Spending quality time with fans is also a great way to build strong connections and also to find out what you can do to improve fan experience…beyond “winning more games.”

10. Surprise one fan

Give one fan a brilliant experience and a great story to tell their friends and family. For example, Orlando City have been hand delivering season tickets this past week.

One little surprise can spread a long way.

If you have any more suggestions on how organisations can delight their fans, please hit me up on Twitter.