Guide to Fan Services & Experience
Chapter 3 - Fan-Centricity

3.2: Fan Journey Mapping

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When to Map Fan Journeys

Prioritise mapping journeys that deliver clear value to both fans and the organisation, and that align with strategic objectives. Focus on journeys where improvements will meaningfully impact attendance, satisfaction, or operational efficiency.

Map ideal journeys first, then compare against actual fan experiences. The gap between the two is where the most valuable service improvements are found.

The Mapping Process

Fan journey mapping captures what fans see, hear, and feel when interacting with your event, stadium, or club. Start by gathering existing fan data to identify patterns in fan types, behaviours, and experience perceptions. Use this data to segment fan groups and determine which journeys to map.

Represent the journey as a timeline of touchpoints — the points of engagement between the organisation and its fans. These touchpoints form the foundation of the journey map. Once established, identify which touchpoints either delight fans or create barriers, as these will require particular attention in service design and resource planning.

Service Blueprint Framework

Service blueprinting plots the fan journey against organisational structure, distinguishing between what fans can and cannot see. It identifies potential failure points in service delivery while illuminating the fan's role in the service process.

A service blueprint contains five components:

  • Fan Actions: All steps fans take during service delivery, mapped chronologically. These form the foundation of the blueprint — all other components are built in support of the fan's progression through their journey.

  • Onstage/Visible Contact Employee Actions: Actions of frontline FS&E team members during face-to-face encounters, separated from the fan by the line of interaction.

  • Backstage/Invisible Contact Employee Actions: Non-visible interactions with fans — such as online chat support — and preparatory or ongoing activities of contact employees, separated from onstage actions by the line of visibility.

  • Support Processes: Activities carried out by internal units who are not contact employees but whose work enables service delivery, separated from contact employees by the internal line of interaction.

  • Physical Evidence: Tangible elements fans encounter that influence their perception of the service — including signage, information points, wayfinding materials, and environmental design.

When building a blueprint, begin with fan actions, as these serve as the foundation for all other components. Define contact employee actions next, both onstage and backstage, followed by support processes. Add links connecting fan activities to employee actions and necessary support functions. Physical evidence is added last.

The video on the right provides an objective and clear explanation of what is a Service Blueprint and how to build one.

Leveraging Journey Data

As technology advances, fan journeys become increasingly multi-channel and time-spanning. More touchpoints generate more opportunities to uncover actionable insights, and patterns in fan behaviour data over time reveal the causes behind both positive and negative journey outcomes.

Use these insights to refine strategies and optimise performance across touchpoints. Established methods include analysing customer feedback across touchpoints to measure satisfaction and tracking resolution times for fan queries.

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