No one seeks online casino websites looking for business advice. Yet strangely enough, the endurance of most of these websites in the face of massive competition shows remarkable business savvy. If you do a quick web search for playing free slots no download or poker, you will get thousands of casino websites. Not all the sites are successful or even legal, of course. But the top ranking sites have mastered the art of customer retention. There are lessons here that other, non-gambling e-retail businesses can learn from.
So how do the top ranking online gaming casinos beat the competition and prevent customers from fleeing to numerous other similar websites? Here’s how:
Table of Contents
Unbeatable Loyalty Programs
One standout feature of the best casino websites is that each execute its own loyalty program. Some sites are built entirely around loyalty programs. The loyalty programs reward customers who stay on and keep playing. These programs are designed with the potential to win big bonuses and similar perks, but only as long as the customers keep playing.
Casino loyalty programs are highly popular because these offer smaller rewards to loyal customers frequently. It’s not much different from playing a game. Customers are often entitled to cash bonuses upon signing up for a loyalty program. Afterwards, there are plenty of opportunities for customers to easily win smaller rewards. Bigger rewards are also available for those who really commit.
There’s a big difference between online casino loyalty programs and others you get at regular stores. Participating in the program is an experience in itself. With regular loyalty programs, customers may not even be aware of the reward points they are acquiring. That’s not the case with online casino programs. In this sense, these programs are similar to gathering air miles.
Many, Many Bonuses
Customer retention is highest at online casinos that give out various bonuses. Often, these bonuses are cash rewards, but there could be other rewards such as coupons. Bonuses are such a deciding factor for casino players, these majorly feature in advertising for these sites.
Nearly all big players in the online casino field now offer lucrative welcome bonuses when customers sign up. That allows new players free cash to start betting with. And later, more bonuses are made available for special events, different games, and so on.
Small businesses often offer bonuses in conjunction with special holidays or shopping seasons. However, with online casinos, the bonus system is tied to how ardently a player remains attached to a website.
Top-Notch Customer Service
It’s inevitable that customers who engage with a web-based product run into technical difficulties. Online casinos face many other customer inquiries as well, particularly pertaining to withdrawals and legal issues. Customers stick with sites that offer the most reliable troubleshooting service. Therefore, the best-rated online casinos also have the best customer service programs.
Sites offer customer service in many ways, including via phone, email, live chat, and online contact form. The more options there are, the more likely customers are to stick with a site. Online casinos have made good customer service and essential component of customer retention programs.
What can small businesses learn from out of all this?
First of all, prioritize customer retention. Don’t treat customer retention efforts as a secondary method of marketing. According to market research, it can cost as much as five times to find new customers than to retain existing ones.
Therefore, small businesses should invest in designing great loyalty programs that customers are willing to actively participate in return for rewards that are actually useful. Make rewards easy to cash in or enjoy, such as a free product for certain reward points. Rewards that are intangible may not be perceived as good.
As online casinos show us, excellent customer service is crucial to retaining customers. Focusing on just these two aspects, a small business can jump ahead of the competition in customer retention rates, just like the best online casinos.
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