A Study of the Effect of Service Marketing Mix Factors on Satisfaction of Football Fans

sport industry is to attract and maintain fans by football clubs that can provide the clubs with high revenue potentials. The aim of the current study was to assess the effect of marketing mix factors on fans’ satisfaction as major customers in football industry. The research method was descriptive – survey and a applied one. The data were collected by a combination of a researcher-made questionnaire (Marketing Mix Questionnaire) and a structured questionnaire (Zabkar et al. (2010) Satisfaction Questionnaire) designed based on 5-point Likert scale. The statistical population consisted of football fans in Tehran city and a sample (n=381) was selected through random sampling method. The reliability of the items of the questionnaires was found to be 0.91 by Chronbach’s alpha and their validity was verified using content validity and sport management and marketing management experts’ viewpoints. AMOS18 and SPSS18 were used for data analysis. To measure the validity of the model, Structural Equations Modeling (SEM) was applied, and based on the results of path analysis, the effect of all service marketing mix factors except for promotion on fans’ satisfaction was verified. According to the importance of financial revenues in professional sports, it is suggested that sport managers in football should effectively manage service marketing mix to attract fans’ satisfaction.