Minor league baseball can be a tough sell to local fans, who are trying to stretch their entertainment dollars further and further. When you're an "independent" team (not affiliated with a Major League Baseball organization) the sale can be even tougher.
So, the Schaumburg Flyers are becoming the ultimate in trying to create "satisfied customers": Let the customers have control of the product on the field, by giving them some managerial decision-making power. Here's a sampling from the article from ESPN.com:
"We're going to let the fans do as much as we can," Quinn said. "But we won't have players playing positions they can't play -- like a catcher playing shortstop or centerfield."
Rich Ehrenreich, a retired attorney who has owned the Flyers since the team started playing in 1999, said he hopes the project makes his team the first national minor league team.
"If this is done well, our players are going to be as well known as some Major League players," Ehrenreich said.
The toughest part of the deal was selling it to his manager Andy McCauley.
"I think he was initially shocked at the idea," Ehrenreich said. "But then I asked him how he felt about being famous."
I love it when organizations take a fresh look at their product, see how they can change it and create some buzz, and do things differently. And it worked! There are hundreds of minor league baseball teams scattered across the nation, and we're talking about this one.
What can you do during this second half of 2006 to create a little buzz about you and your company? And, once you come up with the answer, do you have the guts to take the next step and do it?
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