Team websites are important communication tools in the process of reaching new clients.

Lean is the operational management philosophy about providing exactly what the client wants, when they want it, and in the condition/location where they want it, all while doing it as efficiently and cost-effectively as possible through reduction of waste activities.

Part of the process of making a sale with a client is being ready and available to receive their request for a purchase or inquiry. A broken process or failure to be ready to receive the request could potentially mean a lost sale.

A minor league baseball team’s primary sources of revenue outside of the stadium gates and games in progress are ticket sales and sponsorship sales. To communicate the sales opportunity for tickets between fans and the team, account executives either make outgoing calls or fans call/email the team or purchase tickets online. In order for those methods to work, you need to have means of communicating contact information with the team, whether that’s through a website or Yellow Pages or Google search.

Yesterday I needed to talk with someone with the Augusta GreenJackets, but not to buy tickets. I did not have their primary phone number handy. I elected to visit their website to find the phone number.

I first checked the home page of the site.

Top of the Augusta GreenJackets’ home page

I did not see a phone number there. Maybe a phone number at the bottom? Some company websites have a “contact” link at the bottom of their page.

The bottom of the GreenJackets’ main page

Nothing there. How about the “about” section?

The GreenJackets’ About page

Nope. Nothing.

Would the ticket sales page have the phone number?

The Augusta GreenJackets’ ticket sales page

No, but you can purchase tickets online…and you have a link to their 2012 game schedule. Why? What good will that do us now that the 2013 season has started?

How about information on the stadium, Lake Olmstead Stadium?

The page about Lake Olmstead Stadium

Okay, back to the main page. I scrolled down a little bit and finally found it.

Middle of the GreenJackets’ home page

There it is, a phone number tucked away in a 2012 team update section about buying game-worn jerseys. It is noteworthy that the contact email for the individual selling the jerseys is no longer with the team – anyone wanting a 2012 jersey emailing that person would probably be out of luck.

Where else is the main phone number? On the page for the GreenJackets team staff, which you find by hovering over “About Us” and clicking “GreenJackets Staff.”

Augusta GreenJackets staff page

It took a long series of clicks to find the phone number, and even still the number wasn’t so easy to spot. The sales funnel is very hard to find. If I was a random individual looking to call about tickets, I might have given up three clicks ago.

The website is the face of the team when the games aren’t being played and when tickets aren’t being taken at the gate. A website failing to present critical sales communication information is indicative of a broken sales process and it must be remedied, or else you might find your sales funnel isn’t so solid.

Do you like this post? Give Lean Blitz a follow and a like!
Follow us on Twitter at @LeanBlitz and “like” us on Facebook!