Hundreds of Rovers supporters have set the agenda for the next wave of fan engagement at the club by taking part in the latest In Rovers We Trust survey.
Just short of 600 people took part in the survey, which ran from December to January and contained more than 60 questions as fans were given the opportunity to rate their experiences of Doncaster Rovers including, match days, retail, communications and stadium facilities.
Commissioned by the supporters board and club, the feedback is the first step in setting a new wave of fan engagement and service improvements at the club, whilst providing a valuable benchmark with regards how supporters are viewing the clubs progress since In Rovers We Trust was launched almost five years ago .
Summary of respondents:
·92 per cent of respondents had been to a game this season, three per cent had not been to a match at Keepmoat Stadium since 201 4/15
·69 per cent of respondents attend 15 or more games per season. Supporters who completed the survey usually sat in West Stand (40 per cent) South Stand (31 per cent) East Stand (13 per cent) Family Area (seven per cent) hospitality (one per cent) with the remain respondents suggesting they changed the areas where they sit at Keepmoat stadium frequently. More than
·Most supporters (42 per cent) attend games with their family
Summary of results:
·50 per cent per cent of supporters stated their perceptions of the club had become more positive in the past 12 months, with just five per cent stating their perceptions of the club were more negative than at December 2015.
·Supporters provided a mixture of reasons for their perceptions improving over the past 12 months, the most common reasons being
oThe team is winning games
oThe club putting faith in youth
oThe feeling of everyone pulling together
oThe board backing the manager
oThe improved atmosphere at Keepmoat Stadium
oThe club continues to listen to supporters
·66 per cent of supporters felt the atmosphere had improved during the past 12 months, with 49 per cent attributing the Black Bank as one of the main contributing factors for the improvement. Other reasons included the team winning more games at home (44 per cent), the team playing better football (41 per cent), the club and fans continuing to work together (23 per cent).
·66 per cent of supporters said they were interested in receiving news about Club Doncaster, the club’s communications were rated as 6.52/10 overall, with the website scoring 6.94/10 and the programme 7.18/10.
·When asked which communication channels supporters felt were the best method in communicating with them digital media scored highly with the website (72 per cent), e-newsletter (50 per cent) and social media (53 per cent) being the most common methods. Supporters felt posters and flyers were the least effective form of communication with only 15 per cent of respondents wanting to receive information that way.
·Facilities at Keepmoat Stadium scored highly with an average score of 7.33 being received by supporters across all facilities which included directional signage, Parking facilities, concourse facilities (including cleanliness and atmosphere), toilet facilities, branding, catering product range and value for money and stadium cleanliness.
·Disabled facilities, family facilities and the feeling of safe control scored the highest across stadium facilities, with each scoring above 8.7/10
·Staff also scored highly with helpfulness of staff 7.91, knowledge of staff 7.67, friendliness of staff 8.12 and quality of information provided by staff 7.76
A history of value and advocacy
A frequent question asked to supporters through In Rovers We Trust surveys is how valued do you feel and how likely are you to recommend us to your friends and family. In the most recent survey, the value score has risen by 1.77 to 6.97. Advocacy scored an impressive 8.54.
Rovers chief executive Gavin Baldwin said: “I would like to thank all who participated as the feedback really will help steer our planning – and we are already incorporating this into our thinking.
“We are pleased the results were positive, but we are determined to build from this and I have already tasked our senior management team to look at this.
“As a direct outcome the club will be working with the supporters board and various third parties with the intentions of continuing to improve the atmosphere at games, concourse service, shelving and product offering as well as an app to access our Rovers Player content and a season product to include all regular match day spend such as parking, programmes, half-time draw and retail.”
Supporters board member Gill Shepherd said: "As supporters we want our voice to be heard by our club. We want our say on what is good, and not so good, and what needs to be changed and how.
”IRWT gives us that voice. We have been asked in the recent survey to rate many of the things we experience at the club. This will enable the club in conjunction with the Supporters Board to work
together in improving supporter experiences.
“I am immensely proud that my club genuinely wants to improve things for its supporters and is actively putting supporters at the core of its decision making process."
Rovers’ commitment to engagement will continue with the next Meet The Owners event taking placeat the Keepmoat Stadium on Monday February 6.