Most industries these days need to operate online. Since the internet boom of the nineties, more people than ever are getting everything they need from the online space — whether that’s shopping for everything from clothes to groceries and homeware, to comparing services, to working and enjoying their favourite entertainment platforms. This has pushed many businesses that operated only offline into the digital space. Even if they aren’t running their full operation online, they need to have an online presence and be able to be accessed through a search engine.
The growth of businesses using the online space to sell products and services have led to a saturation of the market. It’s now extremely competitive online, with many new companies launching every day. It has become difficult for these companies to keep their customers loyal when the next new exciting thing is popping up on everyone’s feeds and timelines. Some of the industries that do it the best include retailers, but providers in the gambling industry are also well known to acquire new and retain existing customers. So how do they do it? Read on to find it more.
Sign up bonuses
One way that gambling companies get an edge over the competition is through the signup bonuses. The sign-up bonuses can be all manner of things, but often they involve a certain amount of money that players can use for free while playing their games as a ‘thank you’ for signing up to the website. The hope is that once the player has signed up and enjoyed the games, they’ll continue to play them on that particular website. Sign up bonuses are a way that providers can attract players from other websites as everyone likes the idea of winning real money for free!
Regular promotions
The most successful online casino companies offer regular promotions to their customers. It’s easier to hold onto the customers you already have than attract new ones to your website. In order to keep their customers loyal and not get drawn away by sign up bonuses from other brands, these companies offer promotions now and again to keep customers coming back. This could be in the form of get 30 free spins if they’re playing slots or bonus cash towards playing games like roulette and poker.
It’s all about getting people to want to keep coming back to the site, and regular promotions are a great way to achieve this.
VIP Programmes
In addition to regular promotions, VIP Programmes are a way of getting people to keep coming back to a website and stay loyal. Many customers have entered into VIP programmes automatically and get bonuses the more they play overtime. The concept behind VIP Programmes is to make the customer feel extra special. By giving them rewards for continuing to play and not being lured to another brand, and making them feel VIP, the customer is more likely to be loyal. It’s a classic strategy that works great for both the company itself as well as the customer.
Gambling providers often offer a VIP loyalty scheme to try and retain their existing customers from switching sites.
Customer service
Many people don’t think about customer service when they go to a casino site. But it’s something that gambling companies have invested a lot of resource into — and can be applied to any online industry. Good customer service can make a huge difference should a customer have a question or a problem arise. Online casino websites, like retailers, involve making transactions with money. And if a customer is spending money they want to be looked after if they have issues while using the site. The best casino websites offer an array of options when it comes to getting in contact with customer service including email, phone and live chat. As casinos operate 24/7, the customer service needs to be accessible at all times.
Good design
If the only way that a customer is accessing your product or service online, then the experience needs to be as fantastic and impressive as it would be in real life. Good design is the way that this happens. If a customer has bad user experience when using your site or app, they’ll likely go elsewhere. The entire user journey from start to finish needs to appear seamless. Investing in good design and development is one of the most important things you can do to stand out from the crowd.
Security features
With so many transactions including online banking taking place online, customers have become more concerned around cybersecurity. Sharing personal data, making payments and having an identity online all come with risks. There are many hackers and scams out there that are looking to take advantage of websites that haven’t invested in their security, so it’s important that you consider it as part of your business strategy.
If a customer feels safe making payments on your website, it’s more likely they’ll stick around and not take the risk with something new.
It is important that online companies protect their customers’ data, especially sites like retailers and online gambling providers who take payment details.
Best gaming options
When it comes to online casinos, having an array of great gaming experiences is incredibly important. New games are being released all the time and if they don’t have them available to their customers, they could be unintentionally sending them elsewhere. Other industries can learn from this by making sure they always have the best products and services across the marketplace available to their customers.
There are many tips that could be taken from providers in the gambling industry on how to attract new players and retain existing ones with tactics like promotions. In a constantly evolving world, online industries need to use a range of strategies to try and remain competitive.