The result of the annual survey called “Satisfied Supporter Index” (NSI) shows that more Allsvenskan supporters than ever are satisfied with their match night arena visit.
”It is a payback for all the hard work being done in our clubs,” says Kaveh Sarvari, Event and Private Marketing Manager at Swedish Professional Football Leagues.

The result for satisfied supporters increases from 68 to 70 on a scale up to 100 compared to last year. The results are within the range 55-74 – which is at the level of ”satisfied customers”. The long-term goal is to reach “very satisfied customers”, which means an NSI of at least 75.

”The clubs are constantly working to improve the spectator experience, and we know that the clubs use the annual NSI survey to understand their visitors and act on the insights they create”, says Kaveh Sarvari and continues.

”In general, the survey is conducted to improve the events for the visitors. But there are also upsides in being able to compare with other clubs. It can be anything from seeing what others are good at, and to understand differences in driving forces between supporters, cities and clubs. It is important that the club organizations are involved, and that they understand the importance of different parameters that affect the experience and the audience influx of the matches. A concrete example may be the players’ way of thanking the audience after the match – which is an important factor for the experience. This it is mainly a leadership issue. The entire organizations also have an impact on the leagues’ NSI – not just the event organization”.

The goal of second division Superettan is also to reach ”very satisfied customers”. In this year’s survey, the index is reduced from 67 to 66. However, Superettan visitors are still within the framework of ”satisfied customers”.

The work on developing a joint “Satisfied supporter index” for Swedish Professional Football Leagues started last year. Through it, clubs can compare themselves from year to year and measure their progress.

The survey was conducted by Upplevelseinstitutet on behalf of Swedish Professional Football Leagues. It is conducted through web interviews with a selection of clubs’ audience. Respondents have been asked how they experience matches in the series they follow, based on a variety of parameters such as; overall rating, simplicity, information, availability, logistics, flow, welcome, service, cleanliness, spectator seats, the opportunity to provide feedback and much more.

Foto: Michael Erichsen / BILDBYRÅN / Cop 89

Foto: Michael Erichsen / BILDBYRÅN / Cop 89

The survey has focused on three points:
* Experience analysis – evaluation of the event in connection with the match
* NSI – model for audience evaluation in Swedish Professional Football Leagues
* Driving forces and barriers to match (existing audience)

”Together with SEF, we have created a dynamic evaluation model, which means that different factors can affect NSI with different weight over time. In this way, we have created a robust model with a high explanatory power (R2 value of 0.6) that also manages to capture the future’s expectations at the match visit”, says Peter Viklund, Head of Analysis at Upplevelseinstitutet.

Also measured in the survey is Allsvenskans Net Promoter Score (NPS), which is a measure of ambassadorship. In 2019, Allsvenskan’s NPS has increased from 37 to 40, and the Superettan’s equivalent has doubled from 9 to 18. The result means in the model that more existing supporters can think of recommending friends to see a match with their favorite club.

”It is nice to see that NPS in our leagues is increasing. Loyalty among the club’s existing supporters is a key for us in our work”, says Kaveh Sarvari.