Without any loyal patrons, online and land-based casinos in the United Kingdom and worldwide wouldn’t be able to keep their doors open. However, consumer needs, preferences, and demands continue to evolve.
Each year, gambling companies spend millions of pounds on direct mail offers and advertisements, and many still experience a low response rate. To optimize costs and enhance profitability, a land-based or online casino UK must understand the effect of direct mail on casino customer loyalty and value.
In this article, our expert author, Kate Richards, takes a closer look at:
- Pertinent aspects of customer relations
- Direct mail marketing
- How direct mail impacts casino customer visitation and value
Different Aspects of Customer Relations
Customer relationships are a central component of any business. They can be described as automated, personal, transactional, helpful, or long-term engagements with consumers.
These connections form the foundation of the customer lifecycle, from reach and acquisition, through conversion, and ultimately, retention. According to a survey conducted by Statista, some leading reasons why UK gamblers chose a betting brand were:
- Friendly customer service
- Bonuses on offer
- Familiar brand name
- Company reputation
Fruitful customer relations consist of a few core elements, including loyalty, satisfaction, and value. Understanding these aspects individually and how they affect one another helps casinos develop targeted marketing strategies.
Customer Loyalty
Customer loyalty is the outcome of a consumer’s consistently positive experiences with a brand. In the gambling industry, it’s what prompts existing account holders to keep choosing a specific casino over a competitor offering similar games and benefits.
Loyalty builds trust over time and strengthens connections to the point where a business can even redeem a disgruntled customer. It also drives repeat purchases, or in the case of a casino, increased visitation.
Customer Satisfaction
This term can be defined as a measurement of how well a company meets its clients’ expectations. Customer satisfaction is often calculated from surveys, reviews, and ratings. For casinos, it’s about how happy a player is with the games, services, and promotions on offer.
Customer Value
This aspect can be defined as a customer’s perceived worth of a product or service in relation to how much they paid for it. For example, the customer value would be higher for gamblers who believe a casino gave them a brilliant welcome bonus. This could be due to low wagering requirements or because they only had to make a small deposit for a large reward.
What is Direct Mail Marketing?
It’s the physical equivalent of email marketing. It describes an advertisement, catalog, coupon, or offer in the form of physical correspondence delivered to a targeted recipient’s post box.
Although casino marketing efforts nowadays are predominantly digital, this “old school” alternative can make a gambling brand stand out. According to one survey, campaigns in this category actually produced a better return on investment (ROI) than online display and paid search adverts.
The survey also revealed that social media, being the second-highest ROI medium, was only 1% ahead of direct mail marketing. Additionally, other studies concluded that the response rate was much higher than email.
As a result of this kind of marketing, research showed that:
- 92% of recipients were driven to digital activity
- 87% were influenced to make online purchases
- 86% connected with a business
- 54% engaged in social media
There are numerous reasons why direct mail can be an effective form of marketing.
How Direct Mail Impacts Casino Customer Visitation and Value
Land-based and online casinos usually collect data such as wagering and demographic information on their players. They then use this data to develop targeted customer relationship management (CRM) strategies and individual player profiles.
“Player reinvestment” refers to the marketing expenses that a casino company uses to foster repeat visitation, loyalty, and increased spending per visit for its loyalty or reward program members.
These reinvestment or loyalty programs often come with personalized benefits or incentives in the form of physical correspondence. As such, they help build loyalty by encouraging repeat visits and boosting customer profitability.
According to a study that examined a casino’s customer visitation and value before and after the implementation of direct mail CRM, the research indicated that:
- Physical correspondence (with and without offers) positively influenced customer loyalty in terms of visitation frequency.
- No or weak correlation was found between the receipt of physical correspondence and the average spend amount of the casino’s patrons.
- The loyalty program increased customer profitability, but the precise rate was also affected by previous customer behavior.
The study concluded that direct mail appeared to positively affect casino customer visitation and, therefore, revenue.
The Bottom Line
Loyalty, satisfaction, and value are key components of customer relationship management. With an effective reinvestment program and direct mail marketing strategy, casinos can boost customer loyalty, visitation, revenue, and profitability.
Author’s bio: Kate Richards is a highly devoted professional in marketing, specializing in event marketing, public relations, and the gambling industry. Kate is passionate about her work because she loves what she is doing. Kate has a steady source of motivation that drives her to do her best.
