So, you’ve built a good level of traffic. But now, you’ve run into a problem. You struggle to attract new users.
Well, that might not be a problem. In fact, retention could be just what you’re looking for.
This topic was discussed at iGB Affiliate London by Benjamin Bilski, CEO & Founder of NAGA. The panel discussion was titled: ‘Giving customers what they want to keep them on-site’. SuperAffiliados CEO Alessandro Valente, pictured below, moderated the session.
They were joined by Denitza Alexieva, Head of Marketing at CoinPoint, and Tobias Svensen – CasinoGrounds’ CEO.
The four of them shared some useful tips on boosting your player retention rates, which you can read below.
Adopting a unique approach
Along with choosing what they perceive to be the best operators, Svensen spoke about the need for “keeping content exciting”. CasinoGrounds is unique in the sense that it offers video-focused content, such as live streaming on Twitch and YouTube. He cited the “video revolution” as something to look out for. He cited a statistic from Cisco to explain his point, sharing that 82% of all IP traffic will come from video by 2022.
Some iGaming brands are starting to adopt more of a visual approach. For example, William Hill has launched its own in-house TV channel. As mobile consumption continues to grow and attention spans decline, this is something that more affiliates should consider.
Meanwhile, Bilski talked about focusing on “who” is behind the content. He spoke about how users “love to trust someone”, pointing to influencer marketing as an example. Because of this, he believes that user-generated content is vital nowadays. As we’ve said a few times – people buy people.
Dealing with complexities
Even in the same continent, player preferences and characteristics differ from country-to-country. For example, Svensen believes that UK players are “more educated” when it comes to casino than Norwegian ones. Because of this, they’re “always shopping around for the best offers” – leading to lower loyalty to operators.
To combat this, he recommends that brands “focus on the revenue share” when setting up affiliate deals. While this is more expensive, “the affiliate will have more of an incentive to retain the players” in his eyes.
Keeping things simple can also be a great way to improve retention rates, according to Biski. NAGA operates within investing and in this industry, he thinks that a lot of trading platforms are “super, super complicated”.
As a means to tackle this, he says that the company focuses on technology to make things more convenient for affiliates. Through doing this, Biski believes that “the product wins – not the vertical”.
Understanding users to provide value
Svensen also touched on the importance of continued brand awareness, which is something that Alexieva concurred with. Cryptocurrency players are very loyal, according to her, which is why CoinPoint is working on building strong branding. This is being achieved via video, mobile-focused content and social media content – plus more.
The marketing expert also mentioned understanding the journey of each user. This has helped CoinPoint to better-optimise its campaigns, as has the utilisation of data. But it also forms a key part of the mix for content, which Alexieva mentioned only works if it provides “value”.
The importance of personalisation is well-known, as is the use of more advanced technologies to better this aspect. Through a well-aligned strategy, player loyalty grows because they know what you stand for.
Final thoughts
Much of retention comes down to offering something unique and valuable to players. It should not only keep them engaged, but also be something that they can’t find elsewhere.
However, operators must also think about encouraging affiliates to keep attracting the same traffic. Rather than a offering cost-per-acquisition (CPA) deal, where they’re incentivised to bring in new depositors, revenue sharing is a better option in this context. Keeping things simple but effective is also attractive, fewer skills and time are required to get up-and-running.
Strong branding across all channels is also imperative. One way that you might find this easier to do is by focusing all of your efforts into fewer of them. As an example, pick one or two social media platforms – rather than all. This will enable you to put more energy into your strategy, improving the execution as a result.
By considering the advice above and thinking about how they best fit your business, you’ll do a better job at retaining existing players.
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