CUSTOMER LOYALTY
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one of your key competitors has a large share of your wallet. Analyse the contributing factors, reflect on it at the end of the month, and see how you can use that research to your advantage. It’s not about replication; rather, it’s about understanding how players interact and what they come to expect. 3. Volume versus value – Volume will come through many components of your business, such as food, beverages, functions and entertainment. Once volume has been achieved, it is important to understand and prioritise your players. Remember: at the end of the day, you and your staff are all ‘salespeople’ that need to identify and sell each component of your product. 4. Make sure that there are clear and tangible targets for growth set around everything you do – Just because you’ve always done something isn’t a reason to keep doing it, especially in an industry that moves as fast as ours. Yes, look after the pennies, and the pounds will look after themselves, but make sure that you understand each component of the business and what value it represents – or, more importantly, what value should be achieved. 5. Content is king – This incorporates all aspects of the business. Just as it is important for gaming to have the most up-to-date and popular games, it is just as important to ensure that you are serving the latest trends in food and beverage dishes. In an industry saturated by choice, venues must strive to ensure that all products are current and in-line with the expectations of the consumer. 6. Right to win – Ensure that you have the right to win with what you show your customers. If it’s ‘good enough’, and ‘it’s always been like that’, then it isn’t good enough anymore. In a world in which your competitors are becoming more savvy in understanding their customers, and you have the data to stop them in their tracks, it just doesn’t make sense to take your customers for granted. Instead, make the effort to find out their current favourite games, how much they like to spend per session, and what they like to eat and drink. Target the different content and value propositions that you send them based on the information at hand. 7. Keep it simple – Just because your team has years and years of experience, doesn’t mean that you can expect your customers to appreciate this. We spend numerous hours each week analysing and forecasting our business, but that’s not what the customer wants to hear. They want to hear about their chance to win and what they need to do to qualify for a promotion. It’s about keeping it really simple and approaching your 36 • CLUBS AND PUBS MANAGER WINTER 2015
WHILE IT’S IMPORTANT TO KEEP THE END GAME IN MIND, IF YOU GET YOUR HEAD STUCK IN BUDGETS, AND LOGISTICS , YOU MAY MISS OUT ON THE EXPERIENCE THE JOURNEY GIVES YOU customers in a way that they will understand. Once they become confused, it is twice as hard to engage them. Just because you understand the process doesn’t mean that your customer will. Put yourself in their shoes to find out if a process will truly make sense and achieve the result that you’re aiming for. 8. Launch and leverage, share and reapply – Seek to continually optimise and streamline what you’re doing. It’s not just about getting the promotion/activity live, it’s also vital to add value in your team, and make sure that you have the optimal processes. 9. Win as a team and celebrate success – The key to running a successful promotion and beating your competitors is making sure that everyone is striving towards the same goal. Make sure that your team understands what you’re trying to achieve, and always follow up with a moment to thank your team and celebrate success. 10. Have fun – When you look at the day-to-day and longterm plans for running a venue, sometimes approaching it with a flexible, general outline leads to our best ideas. Some things are about the journey, and some are about the destination. While it’s important to keep the end game in mind, if you get your head stuck in budgets, and logistics, then you may miss out on the experience that the journey gives you. C&PM For more information on how a customer survey or focus group can help identify your customers’ expectations, contact DWS on 03 9428 8595 or email info@dws.net.au