Imagine
sending a direct-mail piece inviting a customer to visit a Web
page, but not just any Web page, their personalized Web page
One of the greatest,
never-ending challenges casino marketers have is to create a “connection” with
our customers.
We try
to connect with them on an emotional level by making them feel welcome when
they walk into our door, telling them that they are very important to us; or we
try to give customers the opportunity to fantasize about wealth and luck, or to
live another lifestyle, even if for only a weekend.
We
use advertisements that try to speak to them, or we book entertainment that we
know they would like, and we create promotions that will trigger a desired
response, typically an incremental visit to the property. Sometimes we even
create “hybrid” promotions that are multifaceted in their delivery by offering
the guests cash prizes, free merchandise and a multilayered prize pool where
“everyone” wins.
All of
these typical behavioral triggers wrapped up into one monster promotion.
Basically, we try to cover all the bases. But I would venture to argue that our
greatest challenge is to connect with our guests on a personal level. We spend
hundreds of thousands of dollars on new technology that collects and analyses
our customers spending habits and patterns, then we turn around and (ideally),
mail them an offer tailored to their needs and wants. It makes sense too. Why
send a buffet offer to a good customer who never eats there, but instead
prefers a steak in a fine-dining restaurant? Or how about a hotel offer when
they live only five minutes away? I particularly dislike getting table game
“match plays” when I am strictly a slots player. Giving the customer what they
want and what they have earned is a great way to connect with them.
One of
the most powerful and effective tools has been the personalized letter, which
was elevated to an art form by gaming marketing expert John Romero. While I
would say that the contents of the letter as well as the “call to action” it
contains is an important part of the appeal of these letters, the real deal
maker and attention grabber of a letter is the fact that we use the customer’s
name, seamlessly placed throughout thanks to the miracle of variable laser
printing. It makes each letter look as if it is one of a kind.
So what is in a name? A
lot, according to experts. A customer seeing or hearing their name during
interactions is more likely to respond the way we are hoping them to.
Now,
marketers are complementing their direct mail strategies with modern technology
and the wonders of the internet by using another powerful tool that takes one
step forward into creating that personal connection with our customers that we
so covet. It is called personalized uniform resource locators, or PURLs for
short. If you have never heard of it, you might be asking; “what is a PURL?”
Imagine sending a direct mail piece to a customer of yours inviting them to
visit a Web page, but not just any Web page, their personalized Web page that
has their name as part of the address. An example would be
www.anycasino.com/John.Smith. The options you can create for that customer on
that personal Web page could be endless, but the magic is it’s their Web page!
Like a one-two punch, the personalized mail piece gets the customer's
attention, but the personalized Web-site is the knockout you need to tell the
customer the story that they want to hear. And it is rooted in the human
psyche.
One industry expert
stated that; “from a psychological perspective, PURLs offer the opportunity to
capitalize on something valuable to almost everyone: hearing our name. Placing
a person's name next to your (casino’s) URL lays the foundation for a
trust-based connection. If it's important enough for your (casino) to make the
effort to develop a personalized Web link, then it's reasonable to think you
will also be the type of trusted hospitality venue that they will want to
frequent.” And like a vanity license plate, the address is theirs and no one
else’s. Talk about bragging rights! If password protected, the personalized
site could have an endless range of information, offers, and features that
would be exclusive to that customer. Potentially, depending on how complex the
casino would want to make it, information like the players slot club point
balance or available comps would be a click away. If you wanted to send a
special offer to that guest, such as a comp for hotel and F&B, it could be
easily accessed by the guest through the PURL. Even requests for win/loss
statements could be done through the customer’s PURL. Most importantly though,
it will give your guest a reason to check their PURL, and therefore your
property, online. There are however two caveats before starting a
campaign that involves PURLS. One is the fact that security precautions have to
be taken, and second, just like in direct mail, the devil is in the details.
While some PURLS offer password protection, some do not, therefore you have to
be careful about if and what kind of your customer’s personal information is
being shown. Today, with identity theft at an all time high, coupled with the
fact that we live in a litigious society, you do not want to expose your
operations to un-necessary liabilities by having a breech of your patron’s
sensitive information, and then getting blamed for it. Make sure you have the
right security precautions in place and managed by experts in the field of web
security. Also, if you are going to start a program with personalized URLs, be
sure to get it right by not misspelling your customer’s names, creating
something for a patron who might not have computer access, or other errors that
might be caused by having a sloppy player database. Just like in direct mail,
you can really foul up the personalization and your attempt to make a
“connection” by getting your customer’s name wrong.
PURLS, combined with a well-laid-out direct
mail plan and a well-managed database, can be a huge part in any property’s
marketing “tool kit.” It may allow you, as a marketer, to stay in touch with
your customers on a higher level.
Properly executed, it shows your guests that you will bring value and
benefit to their lives because they know you care about them as a person, not
just as another “player” “high-roller” or “lead.” It gives them a name, a sense
of ownership, and real, tangible evidence of you valuing them as a customer to
your property. CJ
Even getting the program
started could have significant ROI implications and data collecting
enhancements for a marketing department’s database management team. Once the guest logs into their PURL for the
first time, they could be asked to answer a few questions (specific demo
information, recent property visit surveys, and any other informational piece a
management team would deem relevant to understand), and confirm their contact
information. Immediately upon completion, the information could be sent to the
casino’s sales and marketing teams to begin follow-up efforts. When correctly
implemented, a PURL should give near-immediate response rates, (access and
click-through rates, as well as property visits because of the custom tailored
offers). You should be able to monitor your program results and get immediate
feedback on your campaign, which would then allow you to modify your web
program when you are not getting the results that you would expect. Marketers
can begin measuring ROI as soon as a prospect visits his or her Web page and
starts providing information. If the casino is experiencing a slow part of the
month and it feels the need to add an extra incentive to drive traffic, gone are
the days of last minute “panic mail.” With a strong PURL program in place,
notification of a comp or free slot play offer could be e-mailed to customers.
In the e-mail they could be re-directed to their PURL in order to see their
specific offer.
PURLs of casino marketing wisdom
November 2, 2008
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