Casino Gaming Database Marketing Strategies
August 19, 2011 by Stics·
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No Change in Database Marketing Strategies
Another fact we learned from our casino marketing survey was that most casino properties stuck with their existing db marketing strategies, even with the downturn. Basically, we found that:
- Despite the status of the business, almost 40% (39.1%) of properties are not changing their db marketing strategies.
- About a fourth of the industry is simply adjusting their marketing budget. More properties are increasing spending (17.4%) than decreasing (8.7%) marketing spending as a response to the situation.
- Another quarter (26.1%) are mailing different individuals with the same budget.
- Another 8% of properties are dealing with industry situation by buying new machines.
Strategies for db Marketing
The survey revealed that the gaming industry moved toward more tiering.
- 27% used Three-tiered database
- 42% mail 4- 12 tiers
- 12% mail at least 25 tiers
- 19% did not use or not known
Opportunity to improve mailing sophistication
Stics believes there is a lot of opportunity to database market more effectively. Based on the survey results, campaign effectiveness can be improved by:
- Trying new things (because 40% were mailing same)
- More complexity (because 69% were mailing fewer than 12 tiers)
- More Sophistication (only 23% using predictive analytics)
At a high level we know that loyal customers do come back, they just don’t spend as much. The problem is knowing which customer are likely to have more money to spend and how to bring back less frequent customers. Stics can help with that. Stics can unlock the power of your current database to maximize profitability and marketing effectiveness. For more information, call us today. We are here to help.
Casino Gaming Pain Points
July 1, 2011 by admin·
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Reduced Revenues from Same Number of Players the No. 1 Pain Point
Casino businesses have diverse pain points, so we narrowed them down to find out which is the biggest source of pain last year. According to our survey, these were the pain points of businesses last year:
- Increase spend of players already coming (28%)
- Get new customers to make up for the deficit in current play (24%)
- Get players to play more since spending less (20%)
- Add other form of spending to mix (12%)—stays, events, food, etc.
- 4% changing reinvestment
With 57% of our respondents in their positions for less than 2 years, companies seem to be making investments in marketing talents to improve results. However, it appears that getting the same number of players to spend more is the top source of pain by their marketing people.
Stics, as your predictive analytics partner, can help you find your pain points and determine effective marketing solutions that can achieve 10x ROI fast.
If you would like to learn more, call us today. We are here to help.
Casino Gaming Business Performance
June 10, 2011 by Stics·
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More Up’s than Downs for Casino Gaming
We wanted to know how much the overall business performance in the casino gaming industry has changed in the previous year and our survey reveals that there actually has been more “up’s” than “down’s” as compared to the previous year.
More companies have improved in their performance than those who experienced decline; even so, most businesses yielded flat in their performance. This is vis-à-vis last year; so bottom hit for some.
- Things are better in places than expected (30.8% of businesses are up)
- More are up than down (30.8 up and 23.1 down)
- No improvement for bulk (61.6%) though (38.5% flat plus 23.1% down)
Stics offers predictive analytics to help you derive insights from your current data, make better informed decisions, and ultimately, improve your business performance. Call us if you would like to learn more. We are here to help.
Casino Gaming Industry Survey
April 29, 2011 by Stics·
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Casino Marketing Research
Over the past year, Stics has conducted a series of market research surveys to better understand the current challenges facing the U.S. casino gaming industry. There is a lot of research on the U.S. gaming industry, but most of it was done prior to the great recession and did not provide answers that took into consideration the current economic environment.
Stics conducted the survey to better understand our markets’ needs and develop new and innovative solutions to significantly improve the success rates of casino database marketing campaigns. We surveyed U.S. based casino executives (from CEO through director level) across the nation in the functional areas of marketing, finance and IT.
Over the next three blog posts we will explore some of the more interesting results and share our perspective on them with you.
These findings include:
- Turnover
- Measurements of Success
- Change in Business Performance
- Biggest Source of Pain
- Marketing Strategies
- Marketing Investments
We know that the casino gaming industry is set to move forward in a positive direction. But we also know that by understanding your customers at the deepest level and leveraging innovative new technology services your business can get on the fast track to revenue generation success.
Stics, has solutions that generate millions of dollars for our clients each month. Call us if you would like to learn more. We are here to help.
Optimism Seen at NIGA Indian Gaming Conference
April 15, 2011 by Stics·
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Indian Gaming Moving in a Positive Direction
There was a lot to be excited about during the NIGA conference last week in Phoenix! From Lynn Valbuena, vice chairwoman of the San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, receiving the Chairman’s leadership award to Danny Glover and Adam Beach opening the trade show floor for business on Tuesday. The buzz at the show was optimistic that the gaming industry may finally be shifting back in a positive direction.
Consider Predictive Analytics to Launch New Growth
Now is a great time for Indian gaming properties to gain a new competitive advantage from Stics℠ Predictive Analytics. Predictive analytics can help you significantly increase revenue and build stronger relationships with your most valuable customers.
Predictive analytics is a form of statistical science that Stics uses to predict a customer’s worth and behavior. It is a cutting edge technology that blends marketing with science to deliver an ROI that exceeds its investment rate by ten times, in less than 90 days, with no software or hardware to purchase.
Make Stics Your Casino Marketing Advantage
Stics works with leading casinos in Indian Country, on the Las Vegas Strip, and regionally throughout the US. We give our clients a significant completive advantage that helps them drive revenue from their existing customer databases.
Contact Stics if you are interested in the most affordable and effective predictive analytics solution for the casino gaming industry. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have.
Las Vegas Strip Recovery Under Way
February 25, 2011 by Stics·
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Casino Stocks Rise from Recession Lows
The Las Vegas Sun reported that the gaming industry recovery on the Las Vegas Strip will continue this year and accelerate in 2012 according to a prediction by, Moody’s Investors Service in a recent market update.
Wynn Casinos, Las Vegas Sands and MGM Resorts have all shown huge gains in stocks from their March 2009 lows, outstripping even the solid performance by the broad market. Las Vegas Sands (LVS), Wynn Resorts (WYNN) and MGM Resorts (MGM) are up 3,299%, 722% and 546%, respectively, but they are still not close to their 2007 highs.
Does this prove that people are feeling better and ready to gamble again?
G2E 2010 Gets Serious
November 19, 2010 by Stics·
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Stics back from Global Gaming Conference
In keeping with serious economic times, the Global Gaming Conference (G2E ) turned serious this year. Upon entering this year’s G2E in fun filled Las Vegas, many things looked the same but one thing had clearly changed. The suits were back!
Stics has exhibited at the G2E for many years. In the recent past, the de facto dressed code was the business casual polo shirt. That fashion statement changed this year in keeping with the serious nature of business.
In addition to a sea of suits, we observed fewer booths, less giveaways, lean booth staffs and more earnestness. Next year the gaming industries marquee event will be moved up a month and have a new location at the Sands convention center.
So as the saying goes….everything old is new again. But I do hope that shoulder pads get lost forever.
Probabilities and Statistics Pay-Off for Marketers
August 20, 2010 by Stics·
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Conditioning Probabilities
When observing our customers, sometimes evidence can look pretty persuasive and sometimes it can be down-right compelling. And yet, without proper attention to underlying statistical properties in the customer data, you might form an entirely false impression of your customers. It is not uncommon for marketers to ask this question, at least once in their career.
“How did I make such a wrong conclusion from such compelling evidence”?
The answer lies in its numerical underpinnings, what statisticians call “conditioning”. Conditioning can cause you to reach the wrong conclusions and send lots of marketing dollars down the rabbit hole and take you to the Mad Hatters Tea Party.
The unhappy results of conditional probabilities exist in all facets of animal and human behavior. These are typically complex scenarios of layered assumptions, so I am using this simple example, of one type of casino player, to demonstrate how the application of incorrect assumptions can lead to lost revenue and profitability.
Casino Gambler Example
Let’s assume one percent of the casino gamers who played at your property were cheaters. That percentage might be high (Cheaters = 1%), but this is an example after all. Let’s also assume that when a player is a cheater, he or she will decline to fill out a loyalty Rewards Club card application about ninety nine percent of the time. (If cheater, 99% decline application.)
Now comes the interesting part. Let’s say that you see a suspicious player, approach him or her, ask the player to fill out a rewards application, and the player declines. What are the chances that that player is a cheater?
Intuition vs. Reality
Intuition would suggest a high likelihood of cheating. But the reality is different. There is only about a one in thirty-three percent chance that this individual casino player is a cheater. So consider the statistical probabilities before you decide that the player is not worthy of a revenue generating comp or a coupon.
Here’s a table that describes the situation exactly. You have total players showing up in green. In red are the 1% or 100 are cheaters. 99 of those 100 cheaters were not willing to fill out an application, so your test was very good.
Wrong Assumptions Equal Lost Profit
So here is the big question. If someone refuses to fill out an application (the red boxed group), should you refuse to serve them or market to them? The answer is No for the following reasons.
- First, there is only roughly a 1 in 33 chance (more precisely 99 of 3,399) that the player is a cheater.
- Second, there is a 3,330 out of 3,399 chance that they are a good player who will be profitable.
- And finally, these 3,300 players are likely to be even more profitable than reward applicants.Even when making generalizations about customers, it is essential to understand the effect of your assumptions on your conclusions. Especially when formulating policy, it really pays to know your probabilities and statistics.
If you found this interesting or want to learn more about the power of statistics for marketing, feel free to contact Stics. We are happy to help.
How to Tell What Your Customers Want
August 1, 2010 by Stics·
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Past Behaviors: Misleading Facts
When we make guesses about the future, we usually go off past behaviors. But people change their minds frequently. So even if you know what your customers bought in the past, you cannot necessarily predict what they will buy in the future ― from their past behavior alone.
To illustrate that point, let’s look at Bob, Carol, Ted and Alice. We want to know if we should be marketing SUV’s to these people. From our customer records, we know they bought an SUV in the past.
As you can see from the chart, the traditional SQL (Structured Query Language) a
nswer correlates their past behavior with a recommendation to market to these people. But this approach falls short compared to the deeper statistical answer, because it only evaluates a limited set of the available data.
- For Bob, both the SQL and statistical answers are in agreement, telling us that he is worth marketing to because he is an SUV buyer.
- For Carol, the two answers lead to opposite conclusions. Perhaps she no longer needs one because her kids are grown. Maybe it’s something else that changed?
- Both Ted and Alice have some chance of buying an SUV having never done so previously.
- But Alice has a much higher probability of buying one. Perhaps she is starting a family or taken up a new sport that an SUV would be good for. Without statistical analysis, we would not know that Alice is worth marketing to.
Predicting the Future
The better way to make predictions about future behavior is to use a statistical model. A statistical model can take many complex inputs and produce outputs, like the probability of someone buying an SUV in the future.
The important difference here is that statistical models can respond to all the details within your data. This is superior compared to using generalities or segments of your data, like the “previously purchased” example shown above. By using statistical models rather than a traditional SQL approach, your will gain a better view of your customers and better refine your marketing efforts with increased accuracy and profitability.
This is one of the reasons why Stics statistical models improve marketing performance above other methods. Stics can provide customized statistical insight about your customers – and use less time than traditional segmentation models take to make. Plus, Stics has years of experience and the technological tools to quickly and reliably give you the information you need.
How Averages Can Be Dangerous
We use averages in our business life all the time, and they are usually pretty straightforward. However, when it comes to making business decisions involving customer data, averages can be misleading.
Let’s say that we had a sample of 100 gamblers from your customer re wards system. From your current database analysis tool you can learn that their average income is $55K per year. So from that information, you might assume your typical customer has an income of $55K and act on that assumption, by building a marketing campaign targeting customers with an income of $55K. When you imagine averages, you probably think about a curve like this:
The problem is there are other kinds of curves with the same average as the one above, but they have wildly different distributions and implications for your marketing campaign. For example this chart shows a flat or what statisticians call a uniform distribution which would be bad news for your marketing campaign.
If you are an optimist about your gambling population, you might think you have a narrowly grouped base around $55K like this chart.
And if you are unlucky, some day you might experience this unfortunate distribution and none of them have an income of $55K as seen in this troth shaped bi-modal chart.
The important thing to note here is that all these graphs have the same averages, so if you were relying on averages alone to make decisions for your business, your success would be at risk. With misleading data, you may be spending thousands of dollars marketing to unprofitable customers and overlooking potentially valuable ones.
Distributions Matter
Averages don’t matter as much as the distribution around the averages, when it comes to finding ideal customers. Distributions give you a fuller picture of where your customers are and just as importantly― where they are not.
The way to the right people is to use more information, specifically, to use all of the distribution and not just the average. Predictive analytics is the clear winner for making more profitable decisions, because it uses all of the information in the distribution. Predictive analytics is a more complex way of looking at potential consumers, taking into account their past behavior and predicting whether or not they would be receptive to the product or service you have to offer.
To use predictive analytics, you could start studying distributions, send your staff to statistics classes or start benefiting immediately from Stics. The professionals at Stics have made it easy for people who aren’t knowledgeable about statistics to get the important information they need for their company. Stics has predictive models that can give you valuable information about your customer information― which will lead to more profitable marketing campaigns.
