Helping sports organizations understand the benefits of integration and brand through Korrio hosted websites.

1. WHITE PAPER: KORRIO HOSTED WEBSITES
Helping sports organizations understand the benefits
of integration and brand through Korrio hosted websites.
October, 2012
1941 1st avenue south, seattle, WA 98134 telephone: 206.333.2400 • www.korrio.com

2. Overview.
Your logo, crest, color and website banner are only part of the equation when it comes to brand.
Prospective families don’t visit your site because of how cool your graphics are or because they
think your site is prettier than your competitors. They come to your site because they heard you were
the best sports organization to deliver coaching and player development to their young athlete. They
come to your site because you are unique. They want to read about your organization, about your
staff, your mission, how you support the community, what events you offer and what your goals are.
Your website should have the relevant data they are looking for in a clutter-free design that people
can find easily. That is a huge competitive advantage and speaks volumes for your brand. This is
your opportunity to connect with your customers and prospects.
We have identified four main reasons people visit your sports site:
✓ To learn more about your organization
✓ Members of organization want to read blogs, news, event info or latest team successes
✓ Parents want to register their children
✓ Parents and players of a team want to find games times, tournaments, field locations, etc.
Challenges.
1. Getting sports organizations to stop thinking about their registration system and their website as two
different platforms/solutions.
2. Eliminating teams using their own home grown solution for a team website. This dilutes and weakens
your brand. Your organization should be consistent and organized in one platform.
We see sports organizations spending substantial investments on a customized website that cannot be
easily managed or updated to represent their brand. Content and graphic changes need to be submitted
and often can take weeks (frustration builds). Publishing content is the glue to clearly communicating your
brand - and the ultimate goal when building your sports community. You must deliver your message
clearly, connect your membership emotionally and motivate your families and players. At the end of the
day, its about building trust with your customers. Relevant and current content is the key to your success.
Website considerations:
- Cost? (development, fees, hosting, storage, back-up, graphics, updates, etc.)
- Is it easy to manage and update?
- Is it mobile optimized?
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3. 57% of survey respondents indicated they prefer to visit organization’s
website for communication and updates.
- 2011 Korrio Soccer Leadership Survey
There has never been a solution to date that allows an organization to manage everything from admini-
stration, web hosting, communication, scheduling, team rostering and social tools all in one place. Until
now.
Brand.
What is brand?
Building a successful and reputable sports organization is about more than wins and losses on the field.
The experts – the coaches and administrators who’ve grown leagues from grassroots community clubs to
large regional organizations – know there’s more to it. They know that branding and marketing are key
elements in any successful game plan.
Interpreting the American Marketing Association’s definition, brand is the personality that identifies a
product, service or company and differentiates it from the goods of other sellers (as expressed through a
name, term, sign, symbol, design or combination of these elements). Brand also personifies company or
product philosophy, situating it in relation to its key constituencies – customers, staff, partners, investors
and the wider community.
“Your brand resides within the hearts and minds of your customers”
All organizations want to improve and grow through increased membership, community support and fi-
nancial resources. A well-crafted brand is a powerful tool that can help accomplish ambitious organiza-
tional goals. Goals such as building a new turf field or a concessions stand at your facility. A brand tells
the larger community who you are and helps attract like-minded members and supporters to your organi-
zation. Competition amongst youth organizations for field space is a growing concern. Losing members to
emerging clubs is another challenge. Branding can be the powerful first step towards securing member-
ship and community visibility.
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4. “We want to look different than our competitors”
It’s common for any sports organization to want to separate themselves from their rivals. The key is to
accomplish this in a way that supports a volunteer based operation with maximum return and minimal
effort. Your website is your face to the world - it’s what defines your organization.
There are four key factors you should consider:
(1) Does your site reflect & communicate your brand?
(2) Is your site content fresh and current?
(3) Is your site easy to administer and update by a non-technical volunteer?
(4) Is your site mobile optimized for families on the go?
Having these items figured out gives your organization a competitive advantage, so you can spend your
time and energy on player development and skills.
Hosted Websites.
What do we mean when we say integrated?
We mean taking organizations, teams and families/players and connecting them all through one smart
system that delivers the info each user cares about right to their fingertips. Integration in the modern
sports world starts with your organization’s website (your face to the world and key recruiting tool) and
cascades through team pages and individual dashboards.
• Korrio automatically creates team sites when a team is formed during the rostering process.
• Korrio automatically creates a dashboard for players and parent/guardian that signs up for a
program.
Your members do not have to lift a finger. Three separate universes are now aligned and connected,
allowing improved brand, operations and communications. Everything needed to run a successful youth
sports organization in ONE place. Now that’s powerful.
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5. There are 6 things that define true integration in youth sports:
• Your club/organization website is easy to brand, maintain and update.
• Every team in your organization has their own team site or “hub” to improve their experience
both on and off the field. (kids can communicate in a safe online environment)
• Every member in your organization has their own personal dashboard to their sports life. Korrio
is 100% kid centric — one that is architected around the player, so all the data that matters to
that kid and his/her parents flows right into their personal Korrio dashboard.
• Your brand is consistent and teams are not using their own custom solution.
• Your sports organization can now communicate more effectively because everything is
connected.
• Korrio calendar syncs with your personal calendar. Korrio messages forward to your personal
email and last minute changes and alerts are sent right to your phone.
Real world example: An admin can now provide authorized addresses to your organization profile that
will auto-complete the address field for your members when they are entering event information in their
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6. calendars. This is particularly helpful for the various field locations your organization uses for practices
and games.
After you have entered in these locations your coaches or managers will only need to start typing the
name of the field they are playing on and the address will auto-complete. This ensures everyone gets the
appropriate driving directions – no more getting lost! Plus, less work for coaches and team managers.
We don’t change the way you work – we just improve it. Now that’s integration.
Safe and secure
Korrio’s patent-pending privacy engine decides what you can see or do based on your role (such as an
administrator, registrar, parent, coach, team manager or teammate) and which pages you are allowed to
view. You can only see information for those closest to you, and vice versa. Easily providing safety for you
and your family.
Korrio delivers the most reliable and secure service possible to youth sports organizations. Korrio pro-
vides full SSL encryption security on every page. Your data is safe while making profile updates or proc-
essing transactions. In addition, every Korrio hosted club and team website has full SSL encryption.
No engineer required. Simple administration.
Survey data shows that half of volunteers reportedly serve their organization for only one to three sea-
sons. 25% of respondents also reported that they spend over 60 hours per week during season dealing
with administrative functions. These results mean dealing with regular turnover, recruiting and training
concerns (recruiting volunteers was top challenge facing youth sports - 56% agreed). The burden on vol-
unteers can be overwhelming as we know it takes an army to run any successful youth sports program.
Sports should be fun - for all stakeholders. That is precisely why Korrio designed technology to make
things simpler and more efficient. Low level skills are required to make web updates.
Hosting your website with Korrio utilizes contemporary technology through a CMS based system de-
signed with simplicity in mind.
Relevant, fresh content makes all the difference
Your customers (parents and players) need to find accurate data - FAST, 24/7. They expect (no, they de-
mand) that your site is current and ready to deliver what they are looking for. If it doesn’t, it causes doubt,
frustration and aggravation. Examples of content include field closures due to weather, information on
upcoming camps, clinics or tournaments, data on coaching certification, community programs or news
updates. They also want to hear from your experts in a blog, view photos and get coach/players tips.
From their personal dashboard, they are one click away from your organization and team website.
Flexible and Customizable
There is a fine balance between customization and ease-of-use. Publishing content is key to a well
branded website for any sports organization. We want to keep things easy, yet allow sports organizations
the creative freedom to brand. Korrio allows the following customization:
• Set banner and carousel images
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7. • Replace group title text with banner
• Set custom background image
• Choose custom color palette
• Connect to social platforms via site
Club and team sites
Teams receive free hosted team sites with their club’s membership. Each team website is automatically
generated during roster process when you create team shells. The organization does not need to lift a
finger and the coach/team manager is ready to go! No coding, design or technical skills required. Host
your club or team site with Korrio and manage everything in one place. Our sites are mobile optimized
and designed to help people find what they need fast.
• Free, automatically created team pages
• Cloud-based reliability
• Standardized addresses, directions and maps for fields
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8. • Every member has their own personal dashboard connected to their teams
These sites act as the “hub” for your club/team community to find everything they need in one location.
Your website can also easily connect your membership to your social sites through pre set social media
icons activated in the admin panel.
“The most important component of brand is the Customer Experience.
Working hand in glove with your customers will create a truly differentiated
and remarkable experience for coaches, players and fans to build your
unique brand.”
- Former Nike, Reebok, Starbucks leader and Korrio Advisor, Martin Coles
Individual dashboards
Every person who signs up for a program (player, parent/guardian, coach, team manager, etc) has their
own personal dashboard to their sports life. Korrio automatically creates this dashboard upon registration.
Our smart technology knows who you are and who you are connected
to - and presents the information that matters to you. When you sign
in, your dashboard displays everything connected to your family - at a
glance. Updates are pushed there automatically.
Your personal dashboard stays with you through time and sport. You
have ONE place to organize and share sports. Simple.
Conclusion
Building, maintaining and growing a successful sports organization or club is a perpetual effort. Establish-
ing a strong brand can help ease some of these challenges. How can you best service your customers
and minimize administrative tasks? Your time is best spent teaching, building educational curriculum for
coaches and players, building your community and having FUN!
Korrio’s mission is to transform youth sport by delivering a contemporary sports automation system that
unifies and amplifies sports for every stakeholder. Gone are the days of cobbling together multiple prod-
ucts from multiple vendors to get the job done. Korrio provides the tools required to get players on the
field as well as an online environment for staff, families and fans to share and build community. Every-
thing you need in ONE place.
One for all. All for sports. Visit us at korrio.com to learn more.
*Survey Source: Korrio youth soccer leadership survey 2011
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