Casino marketing has become a highly competitive industry that has undergone significant change as digital marketing tactics have advanced. With more than 1,623 casinos across the USA and 104 in Las Vegas alone, how do you distinguish out within a market this crowded? Marketing professionals, casino managers, and other hospitality experts need solid plans and ideas to keep ahead of their competitors in a competitive market. In this post, we will look at some of the following casino marketing tactics and concepts.
The casino marketing sector is distinct. The gaming industry attracts a wide variety of people, each with their own objectives, needs, and preferences. To present them with relevant content and create conversion funnels, the first step is to build your buyer personas and target/segment these personas.
Personas of the Casino Industry
There are four different business personas for casinos. Here is a deeper examination of some of the people you might encounter most frequently in the casino business.
Gamers
The player/gamer is looking for gambling materials relating to casinos. They inquire about the variety of table games you offer, the newest slot machines you have on the gaming floor, the number of poker games you host each night, and other information. Tell them what kind of experience they may expect when they attend your casino in order to lure them.
For this persona, an illustration of online or real conversions would be signing up for your casino’s player’s club or another loyalty program. The player, as opposed to a novice who must learn the first set of policies and procedures, is sure of their choices and knows what they are after.
Entertainment Seekers
The entertainment seeker finds attraction in many types of entertainment, including events, performances, nightclubs, and dining establishments. They desire enjoyment away from the gaming floor.
Your goal is to draw them into the casino, amuse them to their hearts’ content, and track conversion through event bookings and ticket sales.
Vacationers
In gambling paradises like Atlantic City or Las Vegas, tourists want to have a wonderful time, and they want a good variety of entertainment, gaming, fun, cuisine, attractions, and things to do.
Hotel reservations, package vacation revenues, and other comparable indicators can be used to gauge this group.
Business Owners
The corporate executive is interested in visiting your conference spaces and showrooms. They want to host business gatherings for their clients in a location that offers first-rate event planning, a buzzing nightlife, and a variety of entertainment to dazzle attendees.
To monitor conversion for this group, use quotation requests and conference reservations.
What Is Marketing for Casinos?
Among the most loyal customers frequent casinos, coming back repeatedly. Marketing to these customers requires engaging with their emotions in order to get them through the door.
For instance, customer reviews can be a potent inducement for high-value clientele to visit. The casino is exceedingly eager to announce a large gain to the public. This is because it enables clients to imagine themselves in the other person’s position: the best incentive to keep playing is the possibility that you might also win.
There really are a few crucial on-site techniques you may employ to hold them there after they have entered. Those who frequent casinos seek more than simply entertainment. After playing for a while, customers start to get hungry, they may grab a cocktail from the bar following a significant win or loss, or they may invite family and friends to see live entertainment there. Casino marketers are aware that non-gaming attractions can keep visitors on the property longer.
All of them are standard casino marketing techniques. What services do casinos offer to their wealthiest customers? Let’s look at some bizarre casino marketing concepts.
Unusual Casino Marketing Concepts
Casinos offer amusement, opportunities for player companionship, and financial rewards. Despite the fact that the casino has the advantage, it cannot make money unless players engage in the games. Innovative casino marketing strategies can attract new customers and encourage returning players by increasing awareness of the casino.
Let’s examine some bizarre suggestions for your casino advertising campaigns.
Loyalty Programs
Customers have the option of signing up to become members in order to receive benefits like free flights, hotel stays, or exclusive discounts from airlines, hotels, grocery stores, and other retailers. Casinos might follow suit by giving their patrons preferential service, complimentary meals, and bonus chips dependant on how much they have wagered.
A few casinos have connections to hotels. If so, members are eligible for free hotel stays.
Code to Start
When they register, new visitors receive a player’s card with a number that provides them with $20 in free play. Gamers can use cash or a credit card to refill the card once the $20 has been used up. Based on the games which every person chooses to play, the $20 may last for several hours or go in less than 20.
Another option is to offer the user free play during their first visit, along with savings on the additional play. There is less chance of one individual exploiting the free play because visitors must present identification to access the casino, and the card contains an ID number. One of the best casino marketing strategies now in use is this one.
More Cash
The happier and longer-staying casino patrons will be, therefore, the more money there is. Massive jackpot prizes increase the excitement of the game. It is feasible to tune slot machines such that different payouts are distributed at random.
The $1 million prize serves as an incentive for players to keep participating. Everyone in attendance takes pleasure in seeing the money grab. You pick the participant at random. He walks into a large, transparent plastic box filled with numerous $100 dollars as well as crumpled $1, $5, and $20 bills. The player catches as much of the money as he can as it swirls within the box when the fan is turned on.
Holiday Festivities
The casino hosts holiday parties for individuals of all ages around the casino even though anyone below the age of 18 or 21 (or any other age set as legal for gambling depending on the country) is not allowed inside. There might be a fireworks display on, say July 4th if in the USA.
In celebration of Christmas, Santa Claus and his real reindeer should pay a visit. Send out press releases and run radio and television ads to announce the celebrations in addition to Internet ads.
Charity
In Las Vegas, for example, Native American Heritage Day is observed on the Friday after Thanksgiving, and tribal casinos are advised to tie it in with a fundraising campaign that supports a Native American charity by Dennis Conrad, whose marketing agency specializes in gaming businesses.
Non-Native Americans can also benefit from charitable aid as part of a casino’s marketing plan.
Tournaments
Whether they are long, slow, drawn-out poker games or brisk action at the blackjack table, tournaments draw both competitors and an audience. A tournament setting can be used to play almost any game.
Slot tournaments draw new clients because they do not require the same level of skill as blackjack. Each contestant chooses a machine after paying the admission price. The machines give out points. The guest either gains or loses points when they touch the spin button. The participant with the most points at the conclusion of the competition wins.
Strategies for Casino Marketing
Casino marketers use these effective marketing techniques to stack the deck in five different ways in favor of long-term client relationships:
Be welcoming
Free gifts, also referred to as “comps”, are a mainstay of casino marketing. Just 42% of businesses across all industries give those to clients or prospects.
Free rooms, meals, and drinks are the most frequent comps offered by casinos. Contrarily, casinos give free everything to the exceedingly rich, including cutlery and vacation packages.
If you run an outdoor business like REI, a few additional tent stakes can go a long way in satisfying your consumers’ top needs. Choose presents for B2B organizations that employees would value, such as a housekeeper credit or a spa gift card.
Embrace Them at Social Events
Another way to make your best customers feel special is to let them know first-hand about brand events. Repeat customers are more likely to get along well with one another. Why not gather them for a fun evening?
Customers who have liked the band on social media can be sent Facebook advertisements when your casino announces a concert. This encourages visitors to visit your casino for pre- or post-concert gambling in addition to letting them know the resort is thinking about them.
Look into the Demographic Preferences
Despite sharing a love of gambling, not all visitors to casinos are the same. Boomers and Gen Xers spend more than 80% of their casino spending on slots and table games, leaving only 20% for meals and entertainment, but Millennials expend only about 30% of their money gambling and 70% on non-gambling activities, according to studies.
Look for parallels in the demographics of your top customers. Compare your spending patterns to others’. Initially, spend money on the services or products that your most enthusiastic fans desire.
If you run a grocery store, for example, are working parents your main source of income? Their buying patterns may reveal that they are looking for prepared meals. Do a stockpile and then see whether those customers will spend more.
Prioritize Neighborhood Efforts
The majority of high rollers are conscious of their financial expenditures. Although they appreciate it, they wish to see their dollars used well in their neighborhood. The marketing for casinos focuses a lot on promoting these benefits.
For instance, Pennsylvania’s 12 casinos generate and over $6 billion in annual economic activity despite the state not being a major gambling hub. These properties also produce a staggering $2.4 billion in tax income.
Make high-spending clients happy to do business with you. Giving money to organizations is wonderful, but giving goods in exchange is even better. Organize a day of service with your best clients, or provide to equal their contributions to a charity of your preference.
Create a Group
Even the most ardent gamblers engage in more than just placing bets. Because they are conscious of this, casino marketers work with other companies to develop offers for valuable customers.
As a result, the casino behemoth Caesars extended a 20-year contract with the hotel chain Wyndham Destinations, three years ago. Wyndham offers lower rates on travel and entertainment activities to Caesars customers, and Wyndham can advertise to Caesars’ consumers.
Consider which other brands or products are preferred by your best customers. Make sure you have something to trade, for instance, a discount or a marketing list regarding your own products, before bringing up cooperation.
Unless there is a strong incentive to do so, people will not consistently put money into machines. Deal yourself a winning hand by incorporating these five casino marketing strategies into your own client retention campaign.
For the End: Why Is a Marketing Plan for Casinos Crucial for Them?
A casino promotional plan is crucial for casinos for a number of reasons, either physical or online like those at TopCasinoExpert.com. In order to expand and succeed, casinos must first draw in new customers. Second, since returning customers bring in the greatest money, casinos ought to keep them around. Thirdly, in order to differentiate themselves from the congested gambling market, casinos must set themselves apart from their competitors.
All of these goals can be accomplished by casinos with the aid of an efficient marketing plan. Casinos can reach out to potential customers and entice consumers to try their services by utilizing a variety of marketing platforms. Casinos can also utilize marketing to keep their current customers returning for more. Last but not least, casinos can employ marketing to develop a distinctive brand that distinguishes them from their competitors.
Therefore, it is obvious that casinos need to have a marketing plan. Without it, they will find it difficult to stand out from the competition, retain existing customers, and draw in new ones.
