Apr
1
The Nat Bailey Blues
Posted by: rodfcua | April 1, 2011 | Leave a Comment
It is opening day at the Rogers Centre in Toronto where my Blue Jays will play in front of a sold out crowd of close to 50,000 fans and I can’t help but wish I was there. I grew up watching my parents watch the Jays play religiously and have loved them ever since.
It is for this reason that when news hit that the Vancouver Canadians Minor League team would become an affiliate to the Jays that my excitement filled a room. This is the closest Vancouver will ever get to professional baseball (at least in my lifetime) and what better way is there to do it than to unite the only two Canadian baseball teams in both leagues.
The past 3 years I’ve had the privilege of working with the Canadians as I’ve played an active role on their merchandising team. I’ve used my experiences to learn more about myself and the world of baseball. One crucial piece of knowledge I took from my three seasons was the importance of knowing how to appeal to a niche market, baseball fanatics. There were numerous aspects that needed to be addressed prior to opening the store’s doors.
Product: Fans needed to conceive value in all our merchandise if they were to even consider making a purchase. At the end of the day I learned that fans aren’t particularly interested in any flashy products that take away from the simplicity of baseball. Instead they prefer basic products.
Placement: Layout was key in terms of knowing where and what to place in the store that would appeal to our customers. If it was scorching outside I knew to bring the hats and sunscreen to the front display to arouse some interest among the fans who didn’t feel like over loading on Vitamin D. Of course if it was cold I knew to throw a hoody on the mannequins and perhaps even where one myself.
Pricing: As mentioned before pricing tied in to the perceived value that our customers designated to our product and customer service. Although some products were a tad expensive, the general consensus from the fans was that our pricing was reasonable taking into account our costs. AND of course customer service was never an issue!
Promotion: I don’t know how many times I went around the stadium putting up brightly coloured signs that let the fans know what our “Game-day Special” was.
All these sort of technical elements were crucial in the stores success, however the lesson I value most is that of being able to relate to the fans. I love baseball. If I wasn’t working in that store I’d be out in the stands watching. Therefore when customers would come into the store I would never hesitate to start a conversation with them about anything related to the greatest sport in the world (hehe). I guess some would say this was an aspect of personal selling, but I simply took it as the opportunity to relate to people who love what I love.
Unfortunately the company I worked for has ceased operations and therefore I will no longer be a part of the Canadians. It is an odd feeling knowing that the season is just around the corner, yet I won’t be a part of what I consider to be the best part of summer (sorry PNE). However, I’m enlightened by the fact that I know I’ll be back at the Nat. Whether I’m an employee or a spectator, the Canadians are a team that I take pride in being a part of. This team deserves all the recognition they get and I wish them all the best in the subsequent seasons.
See you June 17th!
