What was the challenge?
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) is a private members club based at Lord’s cricket ground. It was founded in 1797 and is one of the most famous sporting organisations in the world.
At the time, MCC were only really communicating via monthly mailers. But they wanted to move away from traditional paper-based communication and strike up a two-way conversation with their Members that would run every day, all year round.
The solution needed to be cost-effective. And it had to be highly user-friendly, so that the Members – a mature demographic – could quickly get the hang of it and use it whenever they wanted.
How did we help?
MCC were looking for a solution built in Microsoft SharePoint. After consultations with the team, we recommended a feature-rich ‘Online Pavilion’ that the Members could visit to do everything from swap match tickets to give their feedback on stadium renovations.
Built in Microsoft SharePoint, this social-networking style solution featured:
- Forums
- Ticket exchange area
- News updates
- Blog from the chairman
- Newsletters
- Society pages
- Surveys/ polls
How did we meet our client’s goals?
The solution has generated excellent levels of user adoption amongst the Members. Particularly popular is the ticket exchange. Previously, Members swapped tickets by pinning notices to a board. Now they can search for the tickets they would like online.
The forum has also been a success. It has given Members a voice on everything from the price of bacon sandwiches to the long-term plans to renovate Lord’s. As a result MCC is closer to its Members and will ultimately be less reliant on paper mailings.
What did our client have to say?
“The Content and Code team were really strong. They won us with the pitch early on. Glyn Clough was fantastic – it felt like he was part of the team, almost like he was a staff member of the MCC.”
“The solution has already reduced a lot of the phone-in queries we used to get. All that’s online now. It has helped us cut our admin.”
“The Members love the ticket exchange. It has been even more popular than we would have thought. They can list the tickets they have got or would like and swap with other Members. In the past, they had to pin messages to the notice board.”
Andrew Cock-Starkey, Website Co-ordinator, MCC