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Football world cup organizers ignore fan mail
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44 percent of e-mails are left unanswered
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Poor response quality
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Hamburg, Germany, July 21st, 2005 –
Hamburg, Germany, July 21st, 2005 - The organizers of the football World Cup scheduled to take place in Germany in 2006 are replying to just one in two of all incoming e-mails. If a sender of an e-mail linked to the 2006 World Cup does receive a response from the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA), the German Football Association (DFB) or the German World Cup Organizing Committee (OK) Deutschland, the reply is usually standardized and highly impersonal. These are the conclusions drawn by a recent e-mail response analysis carried out by IT service provider novomind AG. The study saw much better results from tourist centers based in host cities which were able to answer 86 percent of e-mail requests.
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The pan-regional Organizing Committee (OK) performed particularly badly compared to the other World Cup organizations: over a two-week period, it failed to answer even one of the electronic requests. Bad news for those who want to find out more, as all e-mails sent to contact@fifa.org or info@dfb.de are routed to the Organising Committee. The regional World Cup Organizing Committee is another story, however: 77 percent responded to e-mail queries about ticket sales and volunteer work. E-Mails from fans also received more attention from the World Cup sponsors (74 percent) and football stadiums (63 percent).
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The official World Cup organizations answer just half of the e-mails they receive.
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World Cup organizers who responded to an e-mail did so very rapidly. 60 percent of responses were dispatched to the football fan’s inbox folder within the hour. However, most replies were standardized e-mails which did not even address the sender by name. In addition, the electronic responses failed to address concrete questions. In most cases, the responses requested that the sender check the FIFA or World Cup Organizing Committee sites. Any further information requested which was unavailable on any of the suggested sites was not provided.
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When it came to processing requests, the regional World Cup offices also come out ahead: the response rate was higher and the e-mails more individual. However, about two thirds of the electronic responses were very short and advised the user to contact other organizations.
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As part of the e-mail response analysis, the official World Cup organizations (FIFA, DFB, WM OK), regional offices, host city tourist centers and football stadiums, and main sponsors each received three e-mail requests. The e-mails contained questions relating to voluntary work, security arrangements for World Cup matches, finding accommodation during the World Cup and buying or exchanging World Cup tickets.
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novomind AG is the leading provider of digital customer communication solutions enabling optimized processes and lower costs. The product department’s portfolio includes e-mail management systems, as well as virtual customer services assistants and systems for interactive communication in real time. The novomind services department develops complex e-business applications, including scalable online shop solutions. novomind’s products and solutions focus on future-oriented service, efficient and personalized communication, and higher-performance administration. A rapid ROI is guaranteed and ongoing, long-term customer loyalty ensured. Leading companies from across the market sectors – including Bertelsmann Der Club, Otto, Sparkasse Erlangen, BKK Gesundheit, Travelocity and Hannoversche Leben, as well as public sector representatives such as the German Federal Ministry of Health and Social Security (BMGS) – have already successfully implemented novomind systems to boost customer loyalty, turnover and public relations.
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