If you help a sports team choose fan engagement software, you’ll probably send vendors a request for proposal, or RFP. It’s the document that lists what you need and asks each vendor to explain, in writing, how they’d deliver it. The fan engagement RFP questions in this guide help you look past a polished demo. They show which products will actually work for your team.
Most teams already have a ticketing system, and many have an official app. The real question is whether those systems know they’re talking to the same fan. Add a team shop, sponsor campaigns and a long off-season, and simple feature checklists stop being useful. These fan engagement RFP questions focus on what matters instead. Anyone on your team can use them, whether they work in marketing, membership or procurement.
What these fan engagement RFP questions help you confirm
- Each fan has one profile across tickets, the app and the shop.
- Fans have a reason to stay engaged when there are no games.
- Game-day features keep working in a full stadium.
- Sponsors get results they can trust.
- Fan photos and chats are properly managed.
- You understand the price, the security and how to take your data with you.
These fan engagement RFP questions are written for a full fan engagement platform, meaning software that supports fans all year. If you only need a polling tool for home games, that’s a smaller, separate purchase.
1. Can the Platform Recognize One Fan Everywhere?
Start here, before you ask about any features. A season ticket holder, a single-game buyer and a team shop customer may all be the same person. If your systems treat them as three separate accounts, every campaign after that is a guess. Renewal emails reach the wrong people, and sponsor reports count clicks you can’t connect to real fans.
Question to include
“How does a ticket account become the same fan profile that uses our app and buys from our team shop? Please describe the method and the data involved.”
A strong answer explains exactly how records are matched and shows it working.
A weak answer just says “we integrate with ticketing.”
2. What Happens When There Are No Games?
Vendors love to demo game-day features. But the off-season is where many teams lose their fans’ attention, and it’s where software proves its value. Ask what the platform does when app use drops, or when a longtime season ticket holder goes quiet.
Good answers include daily streaks, weekly trivia, targeted shop offers and personal messages rather than mass emails. Your mobile app marketing team will care about how often fans open the app. Your membership team will want to know whether a quiet fan is recognized as the same season ticket holder. The answer should cover both.
Question to include
“What does your platform do for a season ticket holder who hasn’t opened our app in eight weeks during the off-season?”
A strong answer describes an automatic, personal response for that specific fan.
A weak answer suggests sending a newsletter to everyone.
3. Will Game-Day Features Hold Up in a Full Stadium?
Digital tickets in phone wallets, check-in offers and live polls can fail in front of thousands of people. Ask how each one performs when the stadium is full and mobile networks are busy. How it looks in an office demo matters far less.
If your venue also hosts concerts or other events, include that in the same question. Those guests should connect to the same fan records as your season ticket holders, rather than living in a separate system.
Question to include
“How do your wallet passes, check-in offers and live polls perform during a sold-out game with heavy network traffic?”
A strong answer explains how each feature handles high demand and weak signals.
A weak answer only shows screenshots of the features.
4. Can Sponsors See Real Results?
Sponsors renew when they can see who actually took part in their campaigns. Telling them “we reached a lot of fans” isn’t enough. Ask whether the platform can show who viewed, clicked, and completed a sponsor’s challenge. Then ask whether each of those people is linked to a ticket or app account.
Rewards matter here too. Fans might earn points in one system and spend them in another. Then you’ll end up with two different numbers for the same fan. A rewards platform that uses the same fan profile keeps sponsor reports and reward balances consistent.
Question to include
“Can you export a list of verified fans who completed a sponsor challenge, linked to their ticket or app accounts?”
A strong answer includes a sample report sponsors could use.
A weak answer offers impressions and screenshots.
5. Who Manages Fan Photos and Chats?
Photos fans share are great marketing, until your legal team asks who gave permission to use them. Ask how the platform collects usage rights when a fan uploads a photo. Also ask how a moderator removes a post from every screen at once, including stadium displays. Fan chats need the same kind of record.
If you offer exclusive videos or content, ask how the platform confirms that only real, verified fans can see it. A username alone doesn’t prove who someone is. Challenges and leaderboards can run alongside these controls. For ideas on running them well, see our article on gamified challenges for fans.
Question to include
“How do you record permission when fans upload photos, and how do moderators remove content everywhere it appears?”
A strong answer shows permission captured at upload and a one-step removal process.
A weak answer leaves permissions to your own terms page.
6. What Will It Cost, and Can You Take Your Data?
This section is less exciting, but finance will ask about it after the first year. Ask how pricing is calculated. Can it follow results you already track, such as app downloads, ticket renewals or merchandise sales? Also ask which security and privacy standards are in place today, such as a SOC 2 Type II audit and GDPR and CCPA compliance. Plans to get them later don’t count.
Most importantly, ask what you can take with you if the contract ends. That should include fan profiles, reward points, privacy consent records and photo permissions.
Question to include
“What exactly do we pay for, and what data can we export, in what format, if we end the contract?”
A strong answer names the pricing unit and lists every export.
A weak answer says pricing “depends” and avoids the data question.
How to Score Answers to Fan Engagement RFP Questions
Once responses arrive, score each vendor from 0 to 3 in every area. A 0 means no real answer, and a 3 means a clear written answer backed by a live demonstration. Then compare totals.
Question area Single-feature tools often A full platform should 1. One fan profile Keep their own separate logins Link tickets, app and shop to one fan 2. Off-season Go quiet between games Keep fans engaged all year 3. Game day Do one thing well Cover passes, check-ins and polls together 4. Sponsors Report clicks and views Report verified fans who took part 5. Photos and chats Leave permissions to you Capture permissions and support moderation 6. Price and data Offer limited data exports Explain pricing and export all your data A single-feature tool may score well in one area and poorly in the rest. A platform built for the whole fan relationship should answer all six. Weigh each claim against the fan engagement RFP questions. Don’t let a strong demo hide a weak written answer.
Putting These Fan Engagement RFP Questions to Work
Add these fan engagement RFP questions to your document, and ask vendors to answer each one in writing. Then score every response the same way. The vendor that answers all six clearly and proves it live is the one most likely to serve your fans all year.
Get our written answers to all six questions
Our fan engagement platform links ticketing, app, shop and concession data into one profile for each fan. Streaks, trivia and personal offers keep fans active in the off-season. Sponsors get verified reports on who took part. Photo permissions and privacy consent tools are included, and the platform follows SOC 2 Type II standards. Our fees are linked to commercial goals agreed with your team, like more app downloads, higher renewals or stronger merchandise sales.
Tell us which ticketing system you use and share one sponsor campaign. We’ll send a written response to each of the six questions.
