Superhero strategies for Clark Kent customers
There’s something about the $100 ADT customer. Properties large and small. Locations urban and rural. It doesn’t matter, when a player crests $100 ADT, she reveals something. The stars align. At $100 ADT, she steps from her proverbial phone booth as a Player with a capital “P.” Look closely and the data shows us that most of a casino’s Theoretical is made near this tipping point.
Ask yourself the following questions:
- Do we treat our $100 ADT players like superheroes who shoulder this kind of revenue? No.
- Do we code them to a Host? No.
- Do we flag the customer on the casino floor for personalized attention? No.
- Do we send them decent offers? Most likely.
- Do we eventually grant a $100 ADT status within our Tiered Card program? Kinda.
It’s time to develop a game plan for the $100 ADT player. The battlegrounds for revenue begin with this Clark Kent customer. Win here and you will grab marketshare right out from under your competitors’ noses.
What the data tells us about the $100 ADT player
Look at your worth segmentation. If you stack your worth segments in $25 increments from $0 to the moon and look at Count, Theo, and Trips, you will see it: The Turn. This is the point when the masses fall away and a cohort of real gamers emerges. Count begins to taper off and Theo builds. The percentage that the $100 ADT players generate in Theoretical is greater than the percentage of their size. This kind of Upside potential may start sooner in your database, but over a hundred snapshots from over a hundred properties pinpoint this spot as the strongest segment.
Getting to know the $100 ADT player
At $100 ADT, the player isn’t dinking around anymore. This player came to play. This player is willing to surf the highs and lows of winning and losing. This player has a budget for gaming. This player has a section in her wallet for slot spend. This player can stomach a downturn. This player has stories of jackpots and bonuses, and winning streaks and losing streaks. This player has a favorite game.
Here’s the problem. We have aimed our Direct Marketing program at this customer. We have filled her mailbox monthly with Free Play coupons, food, and hotel offers. And then we let the click whir of our programs maintain the relationship. This player falls through the relationship-building cracks.
Our relationship with any customer is a journey. The redemption of a Direct Marketing offer is only a 2D reflection of what happened in a single moment. Your offer may have driven a visit, but did it drive an incremental visit? Did it change behavior? Did it motivate the pursuit of a Tiered Card, or a deeper level of engagement across all the property’s outlets?
Translate the elements of a $100 ADT customer into multiple languages
Within a casino, each department speaks a different language. The slot department views the customer according to Time-on-Device, Time-at-Device, and Coin-in. Take this a step further and a player can present himself very differently, according to the volatility of his slot machine choice and his ability to play through wins and losses. The marketing department views the customer according to ADT for Direct Marketing, cumulative Theo for inclusion in events, and Point accumulation towards Tiered Card status. All of these are valid viewpoints. In order to build a strategy for this customer, both the slot department and the marketing department need to understand how this customer contributes to the metrics that the property currently tracks and the metrics that the property should track.
Map the pathway of the $100 ADT customer
How many Points does this customer earn during one session? How long will it take and how many Trips need to happen before the next Tiered Card status is earned? If this is such a critical segment, are you asking for perfect attendance over an extended period of time from this customer in order for him to feel the benefits of a higher tiered card? Look at all the touch points made with this customer. At this level of ADT, what do we ask of this customer and what do we give in return? Is it reasonable? Is it attentive? Do the various forms of reward complement each other, or do they cause confusion and frustration?
Look back at the casino experience from the player’s perspective
How much money and how much time does it take to register $100 ADT? I can guarantee that it is not $100. A player sees himself and the value that the casino places on his business through the size of his Free Play coupons, his Tiered Card status, and the level of recognition that he receives when he is on-property. In his eyes, he may give you thousands of dollars per month, and you may see only what the system registers in Theoretical. Theoretical is a marketing tool, but it does not reflect what’s in the player’s wallet. Only the player knows what he walked in the door with and what he is willing to wager. I have heard the same lament from many players in this segment. They receive glowing packages to visit a casino. Upon arrival, there is no heightened level of service to go with the room, food, and Free Play offers. Or a player has achieved a higher level of Tiered Card status, but gets smaller coupons, fewer hotel offers, and no party invitations because his ADT falls below your hidden programmatic targets.
An audit of the math behind this crucial player segment, a second look at the journey of the customer, and a realistic assessment of the chasm between player perception and benefit delivery will help to reveal where you are succeeding and failing to serve this superhero player.
