In dialogue with: Borussia Mönchengladbach (Part 2)

12 April 2022

Are you in exchange with the other clubs? Has anything changed in the cooperation with the other associations? 

Tim Janssen: Yes, definitely. Before, we could look enviously at other clubs and also exchanged ideas, but at the end of the day we were always on our lonely island and could not, at least in the fewest cases, benefit from what other clubs, especially in combination with you, develop together. Now we are exchanging ideas with our colleagues and thinking about what we could do together with you. We know that you are open to it if it serves the general public and brings your product forward. So we would be stupid not to exchange ideas. Especially since we don't have to compete with the other associations in our field. We are colleagues. I have no advantage if 1. FC Köln sells fewer tickets. 

Matthias Schulz: Arminia Bielefeld, for example, is a club with which we often exchange ideas, we have a very good relationship. That's when the topic of away tickets came up. We want to avoid unnecessary work, we don't like paper and want to have a digital solution. We use the same system, there is the seating plan and the ticket layout from both stadiums in the system.

We had several discussions with Saša, Torsten and Miri from Bielefeld. In the end, the possibility came out that you can book in your own online shop for the away game in the seating plan. There was really good feedback for this feature as well. I'm happy every time I test the online shop and the stadium map of the opposing stadium pops up, because I think it's super charming to be able to book a seat at an away game. In the past, you bought a ticket and were seated somewhere. Today you get your chosen seat directly as a Print@Home ticket.

Now it's your turn. Let's turn the tables:

What was your reaction and expectation when you heard that Borussia Mönchengladbach could become your client?

Saša Djordjevic: I was just on holiday. Torsten had sent me a WhatsApp: "We'll probably get Borussia Mönchengladbach." I was totally happy, because I already knew Tim from countless workshops. I heard about you, Matthias, from my colleague Tim. He said you had an ice hockey past. And I was really excited because it was an amazing new project. To walk the path together, to develop something new out of the old structures. To initiate this change with you, which you described a little bit. 

Torsten Wessels: To go back to the decision. I couldn't believe it at first. We talked again and again. But then it suddenly happened very quickly. And there were many changes with you: Not only in ticketing, but also in access control and the associated process. When you buy software, you always have to show some flexibility to get a better result. You can't always work with old ideas, you have to cut them down and you've done that really well. 

Matthias Schulz: For me, this is the epitome of partnership at eye level. So no one is better than the other. No one sits down and says we are Borussia Mönchengladbach, so you have to implement it this way and that way. We always try to find a joint solution. 

What will be the biggest challenges in the coming years? What topics do you think will occupy you in ticketing in the next few years?

Tim Janssen: We don't think there will be a lot of technical things. We think that the stadium experience as such will become more important. In the future, you have to offer more than just 90 minutes of football. The simple purchase of tickets is certainly part of it, and we have managed this now. But we certainly have to come up with more around the stadium and around the game. We always say that the fans should arrive early. But what are they going to do until kick-off? That will certainly be a challenge. 

Matthias Schulz: We have completely reinvented ourselves technically in ticketing in the last two years. So much has happened, so much has developed and we use a lot of what is available to us. But we don't use everything. Keyword: digital season ticket. For us, the mobile ticket is revolutionary, because until last season we were not technically able to do this. At some point, the mobile season ticket and tickets in the app will also become an option. 

We also sit down with our marketing colleagues on a very regular basis. Until now, we have never done a promotion with promotion codes. That is something that is used by many clubs. We have a lot of opportunities use more features, which are standard in the EVENTIM.Tixx system. 

One topic that is also coming into focus for us is the topic of fan loyalty. There is one study after another that says the fan is weaning himself off football, so this will become a very important element for us. We have to get the fans on board again, get a picture of their mood and ultimately find the right screws to turn. We can now finally send out independent ticketing newsletters. The Eisbären Berlin already gave talks on this twelve years ago, but we in ticketing didn't take advantage of it. Now, for the first time, we are in the situation where we can talk about it. We talk so beautifully about the customer journey. The customer journey must not end after the ticket purchase, we must continue to engage with the fan and not leave him on his own.

Isn't it rather daring to ask the fan what he would like to have improved?

Matthias Schulz: You have to be able to deal with the answers you get. If you ask questions, you get answers. We are aware of that, but otherwise everything is based on subjective feelings. Otherwise you don't get all the answers, that's why it's important to get a broad opinion.

Saša Djordjevic: What I would like to know is: You are a club with a lot of tradition that has a modern stadium with the new Borussia Park. I mean, the area is fantastic. You have the Digital Circle, you are with a new ticketing service provider, you have an app... 

Have you also experienced a change in your fans in recent years? Have you noticed that the fan wants more?

Tim Janssen: We have a high age average. It's hard for us to get young people interested in Borussia Mönchengladbach because we didn't have the opportunity to create reasonable offers. I'm not talking about the Fan Experience, but about cheaper offers in general. If you want to get 14-18 year-olds into the stadium, you can't assume that they are so solvent that they can buy a ticket directly in the main stand. They're more likely to want a standing-room-only seat. These are things we are working on. We ask ourselves how we can create offers for young people and families. 

It's also important to do surveys among fans who are close to us but who don't come to the stadium. So far, we have completely lost them. We always just assume, but don't know. And we want to get to the bottom of that.

Saša Djordjevic: In the past, football really didn't have the problem of having to open up because everyone came anyway. Now it's changing. You have to be open to everything. 

How are you doing at the moment? Do you need to win back fans?

Torsten Wessels: I think this is a really exciting topic. Because you also have to consider that Borussia Mönchengladbach is a club that draws people from the surrounding area. And you have to win those people back after the pandemic. They have moved away from going to the stadium every fortnight for two years and have learned to sit in front of the television, if possible with neighbours or friends. You have to activate them to come to the stadium regularly. 

Matthias Schulz: Definitely. The fans from the surrounding area also play an important role for us. If you look at our away games, you can see that we have almost always managed to sell out the guest block. We are one of the few clubs in the 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. But still, there is no switch that you can just flip on the fan. There is no such switch anywhere. The fan doesn't suddenly think, everything's back to normal, I'm going back to Borussia. That's why we still have to do some homework here to reactivate our fans, whether away or for the home games. 

Saša Djordjevic: Yes, that will definitely not be a switch, but a gradual process in which we are happy to accompany you. Thank you very much for the interview!