A Test of the Sport Clubs Marketing Mix Model in the Professional Volleyball Leagues

The purpose of this study was to test the marketing mix model for sport clubs participating in the professional volleyball leagues. For this purpose, a descriptive-correlational design (structural equation modeling) was used. Initially, based on the seven-factor marketing mix (i.e., product, price, place, promotion, people, physical evidence and process), 75 items were determined for the marketing mix, and after examining its content validity, 405 actors of volleyball and sports marketing (specialists, managers and experts, athletes and coaches, consumers) were selected using the cluster random sampling method, and then they were asked to determine the importance of the items in a 69-item questionnaire. The data were analyzed using the partial least squares method and the third version of SmartPLS software at 95% confidence level. The results showed that after deleting four items, the measurement model of the marketing mix, with seven factors and 65 items, has an acceptable fit, good validity and reliability, and desirable predictive power. Based on the loadings of the mixed elements items, the marketing activities of sports clubs should focus on professional league games (as the main product), dynamic pricing, online ticket sales, holding events at standard volleyball facilities, media coverage through television, indorsement of outstanding celebrities, online advertising on social media, employment of specialized workforce (outsourcing of the services), adequacy of the security forces during the event and appropriate and accurate timing of event-related activities. The findings of the present study can be used to properly manage the marketing mix in volleyball clubs.