What is your e-tunity?
The need to communicate with guests in an expedient and economical method has never been more important. With casino re-opening dates in a constant state of flux and marketing strategies coming together last minute, US Mail isn’t an ideal option for sharing information and offers with guests. To better understand casino preparedness, we surveyed 50 casino operators and asked: What percentage of your database can you speak to electronically? (email, text, push notifications)
The polling results showed significant opportunity, or what we’ll call “e-tunity”, with over half of respondents advising they’ve captured electronic communication data for less than 50% of their active database. A solid number to shoot for is over 80%. Here are some broad strokes to move the needle.
1. Provide guests with an incentive to enroll in email and text communications.
If your property has an app, offer bonus free play to those that download AND connect with their players club account. Push messages are much more effective when you understand who it is you’re communicating with.
2. Create an effective and ongoing email/text/APP communication strategy.
If I’m going to take the time to sign up for something, make it worth my while beyond the initial incentive. Keep your guests engaged by texting valuable reminders of property events, valid unused offers still available or last-minute dining specials. Start deploying bonus offers exclusively via email to create a FOMO for guests not yet sharing their e-contact information. Develop property promotion components exclusively for users of the APP. When memory starts to evaporate on your guest’s smart phones, you don’t want your APP to wind up on the cut list.
3. Keep it simple.
Allow guests to add this information to their account via your website or at enrollment or promotional kiosks. Updating alternative communication methods should be part of every conversation at your players club.
4. Give this metric some weight on team member annual performance reviews.
People tend to respond to things they are measured on. Establish the current numbers and lay out achievable goals. If it’s not important to upper management, it won’t be important to the front-line team members tasked with capturing and inputting the information. Share numbers quarterly and encourage friendly and fun team member competition with weekly prizes.
5. Testing isn’t just for direct mail offers.
The decision on whether you can successfully and profitably migrate your monthly core program to a digital booklet delivered via email each month is what I like to call a “testable proposition”. Several print vendors understand the direction casinos are headed and have created departments to help you digitize your monthly communication piece and deploy them via email at far less cost per piece compared to traditional print and postage. Start with a small sample size and use email to deliver the monthly offers. After a couple of mail cycles, you should have a solid understanding of guest behavior of those receiving offers electronically vs. those that receive traditional US Mail and can move forward wisely.
Hitting an 80%-90% email/text/APP penetration rate can seem like a daunting exercise, but you can get there! We’ve assisted several clients in achieving success growing email and text capture rates with minimal opt-outs.Give us a call to discuss how we can grow your e-tunity!
