Abstract
Introduction:The field of sports nowadays experiences a continuous development, both from the sports performance and social perspective, transitioning from a free time activity to a complex industry. On this growth trend where more and more people practice sports a large sports services market has developed, which brought a new applicability for marketing in this area of consumption.
The efficiency of a new marketing policy with regard to a sports entity depends on the importance given to consumer’s needs. By studying the consumer’s behavior one understands identifying the ways the consumer comes to a decision when deciding how to spend available resources (time, money, effort) in the acquisition and consumption process.
Aim: Sports clubs, especially the private ones, are in a continuous competition on the sports services market, we decided to identify the demand and needs of parents in Timisoara when it comes to choosing a sports activity for their children.
Methods:We obtained the information necessary for carrying out this market study based on a questionnaire. The research took place in Timisoara throughout the year 2016, and a number of 217 parents having children that were enrolled in seven different private sports clubs were included in the study, our target being sports games.
Results:The results help in highlighting the needs and demand of sports consumers, offering information about the amount of money parents are willing to pay, the number of weekly training sessions, the day and location for the activities, the best advertising etc. With these data we hope that sports managers can implement new marketing strategies, having a more detailed vision on the target group.