Identification of the issue:
The foremost issue is how to increase the awareness and the fan base of the team in Montreal. Secondly, the league allows a team to keep only $25,000 of whatever funds it puts up; any measure above that limit must be resigned to the league to support it and other teams less successful at fundraising. Moreover, it is difficult to recruit funds for and maintain support among donors for the local squad. Not only the players but the administrative staff, including the general manager, are volunteers.
Situation Analysis:
In September 2012, Montreal Stars’ General Manager of a women's hockey team was facing several challenges. It is one the six Canadian Women’s Hockey League that operates as a not-for-profit organization in North America, which aspires to be the professional league for women's hockey. The team has won the league championship three times in a row and its players have been gaining a number of prizes, including Olympic gold medals.However, the average attendance per game is scarce.The first challenge it faces is how to increase the awareness and the fan following of the team in Montreal.Secondly, the league allows a team to keep only a fixed percentage of whatever funds it collects; any amount above that limit must be transferred to the league to support it and other teams who are not able to raise enough funds. It also finds it difficult to generate funds for the team and maintain support among donors for the local squad.Not only the team but the general manager and the administrative staff are offering their service as volunteers. The manager is thinking over the possible solutions and considering how can the league be influenced to relax the restrictions on fundraising so that the team can be more productive and increase to organizational capability to pay the employees involved in the activities of the club. In general, the manager is not only facing external marketing issues but he bulldozed with internal marketing issues as well.
SWOT Analysis:
Strengths:
The players in the squad are passionate about their job and have been with the club in the times when the club had nothing to offer against their services. The club enjoys the element of strong and skilled players who have been leading the club towards winning league championship thrice and even gold medals in the Olympics, which adds value to the fire power and the history of the club. The bounty of having skilled players has allowed the club to be carefree regarding the performance of the players as they have been performing up to the task. The players have improved with every game.
The strong skill set of efficient players is supported by their management. The manager of the club has been very supportive and the relations amongst the team and the management have been very cooperative and friendly. The whole club acts like a unit despite the challenges it has face in the past and the challenges it is facing currently. The management is always looking for solutions to provide the players with and efficient environment in which they can perform according to their potential.
The club’s performance has been good in the past and the club still desires to perform at its level best. Track record of the club is exceptional, which helps the club to attract more sponsors towards it and this makes it easier for the club to generate donations. The club’s performance is enough to convince the sponsors to invest and donate to the club for their expenses as it is a not-for profit club and the administrative staff including the managers work as volunteers.
Weaknesses:
The funds generated by the club through donations are due to its exceptional performance in the past. No matter how much the club generates it can only keep $25000 for the expenses incurred. Any amount over this would be given to the league to support other teams that have not been able to generate sufficient amount of donations to support their activities and operations in the club. This acts as a barrier for the club as it has to give away the amount generated through donations to the league.Montreal Stars Case Solution
The club is not so popular. Montreal does not enjoy a strong fan base due to the lack of communication of the club with the local audience. A weak fan base results in a lower number of donations for the club. The sponsors need a club that is popular amongst the crowd and crowd is willing to come and see them play. A club with a low fan base is not seen as an opportunity for investment by sponsors............................
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