The Feefo gaming report 2019

Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

Introduction Huge numbers of UK citizens enjoy regular gaming. Research this year by the Gambling Commission found almost a third (32 percent) of people participated in some form of gambling (excluding the National Lottery) in the previous four weeks.

Yet despite its success, the gambling industry still has a problem with its reputation. Less than a third of respondents in the annual Gambling Commission survey thought the industry trustworthy and fair.

This was a decline on the two previous years and continues a long downward trend. The logic of this is that if the gaming industry improved its reputation and built greater trust with its customers, it would see revenues rise further.

“Less than a third of respondents in the annual Gambling Commission survey thought the industry trustworthy and fair” It’s against this background that Feefo conducted its second annual research project exploring the attitudes of 1,000 UK customers and 50 decisionmakers in the industry. As experts in using customer feedback to provide genuinely actionable insights to our clients we are interested in how consumer attitudes are shifting and how gaming businesses are responding.

One of the standout figures in this year’s research is that just four percent of respondents stick with a gaming business more than a year. Despite this we found that half the players surveyed choose a company because of its reputation and not far off three-quarters believe gaming firms listen to their feedback.

“Just 4% of respondents stick with a gaming business more than a year” We have a mixed picture. Some gaming businesses are obviously getting it right. The rest, however, need to think very hard about how they can use customer feedback to build trust, just as other highly successful consumer-facing businesses in the UK do. There is a huge resource out there they are neglecting.

By Ben Marley

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CONSUMERS

Consumers

Headline consumer findings

Our research explored the attitudes of 1,000 adults who use UK gaming firms 532 were men and 468 were women

Only 4% of consumers stay loyal to a betting company longer than a year, but 98% feel they get some value from their relationship with a gaming firm

50% choose a company because of its reputation 50% will continue using a firm because of dedicated loyalty programmes

82% use more than one betting company 93% believe they can be persuaded to stay with one company over another

72% of players believe companies listen to and act on their feedback

Most (56%) were in the 25-44 age group

What drives consumers’ choice of betting company?

25% earn £15k or less

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31% earn between £15k and £35K

Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

9% earn more than £55k

50% Choose a company because of its reputation as trusted and reputable (up from 46% last year)

38% Choose a company because they were sent a good introductory deal (same as last year)

38% Choose a company because of best odds, (up 8% on 2018)

This was 62% among players earning more than £55k, 55% among Londoners and 53% among daily gamblers.

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CONSUMERS

Why do players switch between companies?

Better odds (31% in 2018 )

46%

of women chose this compared with 32% of men

40%

52%

among those earning £55k and more

39% 22% 16%

How long do customers stay before switching?

Better offers (40% in 2018)

Better customer service App is too slow (but 30% among daily players)

How often do players switch?

18% 6

Switch every three to five months

Once every two months

Switch once a year

Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

21%

19%

18%

Only 4% stay loyal for more than a year

Stay for between 11 and 12 months

Change company every one or two months (up from 13% last year)

Younger players are more likely to switch

Switch once between six to eleven months

Would never switch

4%

25%

18-34-year-olds switch once every two months

29%

18-24-year-olds and 25% of 25-34-year-olds switch once every three to five months

Compared with: 33% of 55-64-year-olds and 51% of over-65s, who have always used the same company

Frequent players are more likely to switch 39% of daily players and 30% of those gaming between four and six days each week switch companies once every two months

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CONSUMERS

How many companies do players use?

51%

use two

25%

of 25-34-year-olds switch once every two months

18%

have never switched (down 2% on last year)

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Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

Why do customers stay with a company?

24%

use three

82%

of consumers who gamble use more than one betting company (up from 79% last year)

While customers may have little sense of loyalty to gambling companies, a remarkable 93% say they can be persuaded to stick with a firm, even if they don’t know precisely what it is that would persuade them.

Top 3

reasons for remaining loyal: 1

50%

41%

50% because of dedicated loyalty programmes 62% among those gaming every day

2 41% because the company’s app is easily accessible and comprehensive, rising to 55% among those earning £55k or more

46%

3 46% because a firm matches another company’s offers

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CONSUMERS

On average 27% of players choose a betting company because of their loyalty programmes

What do players most value from a company?

With loyalty scarce, it might be thought that consumers are indifferent to the experience companies offer. Yet when asked if they value any aspect of their relationship with the company they use, 98% agree.

43%

30%

14%

43% of daily players say it’s why they choose a company

30% of 25-34s say it’s why they choose a company

14% of over-65s say it’s why they choose a company

79% of players say that if a company achieves integration between the in-store and online experiences, it would make them more likely to stay with a company, which is a two percent increase on last year.

Younger customers are even more likely to agree with this outlook – 88% of 18-24-year-olds, for example.

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Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

More specifically:

43% want frequent special offers for being a regular (the top choice, as in 2018, when it was selected by 38%)

23% want better odds for long-term customers (25% in 2018)

CONSUMERS

Do companies invite feedback from customers, are players aware of it and do they think it makes a difference?

The good news is that nearly three-quarters of customers (72%) believe companies listen to and act on their feedback, which remains the same regardless of age, income or how often people gamble. This was up from 68% last year – evidence that reviews have greater credibility among consumers, who increasingly see them as instigating improvements in service.

71%

of players using more than one company are offered the chance to ‘give their feedback’ But only 31% say all the companies they use do so

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Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

46%

of players using just one company don’t know if it allows them to post reviews

Younger consumers are more likely to be aware that they can contribute reviews to their current company (82% among 18-24s for example).

43%

of customers using one company say it offers them the chance to post feedback

Frequent gamblers are more aware too – 85% of daily gamblers say their current company invites their feedback.

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Decision-makers

Headline findings

For this research, 50 decisionmakers in the UK betting industry were interviewed.

100% of respondents say their businesses collect and encourage customers to provide review feedback

72% provide customers with regular updates and exclusive offers to keep them loyal

72% use data analytics for personalisation in offers and promotions

64% say customer reviews are very valuable

They work for businesses throughout the UK and Northern Ireland with turnover from £100,000 to more than £500 million.

56%

are sole decision-makers

18% are business owners

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34% are senior managers

90%

work for businesses with high street shops

Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

26%

are directors

84%

of businesses have websites

22% are middle managers

Which is the most important channel?

58%

18%

18%

Online

Smartphone

In-store

68% have betting apps

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DECISION-MAKERS

Review feedback

100% of decision-makers said their business proactively collects and encourages customers to provide customer review feedback – the same percentage as last year.

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64%

50%

say customer reviews are already “very valuable”, while for 36% they are “valuable”

read customer feedback daily (75% for those working at firms with up to £10 million turnover)

Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

16%

look at feedback between four and six days every week

12%

read feedback two to three days each week

When asked on a scale of one-to-ten (with one being never and ten being always) how likely they are to use customer reviews to inform business decisions, the average score was 8.1.

(54% of decision-makers rated at between 7 and 9, the frequency with which they use review feedback as a decision-making resource).

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DECISION-MAKERS

Data analytics

How do betting firms retain customers?

The main ways decision makers are using customer data analytics and insight to improve customer retention are:

Providing personalised promotions and odds based on recent bets

72% (same as 2018) Providing exclusive customer odds to bet against other users

100%

of firms with turnover up to £1m use customer data analytics, compared with 38% of firms with turnover between £1m and £10m

The main tactic for retaining customers is providing regular updates and exclusive offers.

Nearly three-quarters (72%) said this was the method employed (a decrease of 2% from 2018).

Other tactics include: Matching other companies’ odds 70% (a 6% increase from 2018)

72% (up 2% from last year) Sending tailored offers to users smartphones

Sending customers personalised offers 68% (a 2% increase from 2018)

72% (same as 2018) Sending time-limited offers to regular customers

64% (down from 70% in 2018)

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Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

Dedicated loyalty card and programme – 52% 75% among businesses with turnover up to £1 million, compared with 17% among firms with turnover between £10 million and £50 million

DECISION-MAKERS

Success rates in loyalty 28%

of decision-makers estimate that 21-30% of their customers become loyal customers (making more than two deposits)

14%

think that 61-70% become loyal customers

There has been a slight downward shift in retention rates since 2018, when 18% said 71-80% of their customers became a loyal customer base. This year the figure was 12%. And this year 10% said 41-50% of customers make more than two deposits compared with 16% last year.

64%

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Social responsibility of respondents believe it is “very important” that they are seen as a responsible and considerate firm (a 10% decrease from 2018), and a further 36% think it is “important”.

Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

Using machine learning and artificial intelligence to improve customer experience As in our research last year, more than half (54%) of gambling decision-makers have been using machine learning (ML) and artificial intelligence (AI) to improve customer experience for over a year.

Every respondent’s firm is using or plans to employ ML and AI.

40%

use ML and AI but only started in 2019 (a 6% increase from 2018)

6%

are not using ML and AI but are planning to do so in the next few years (down from 10% in 2018)

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Conclusion These two surveys give us many reasons to be positive, but also indicate how much more needs to be done to increase loyalty and spend-per-customer.

Conclusion

Why is it that just four percent of players stay loyal to a company for more than a year?

Why do only 44% of businesses obtain more than two deposits from most of their customers? Only 14% of firms say between 61% and 70% of customers make more than two deposits, for example.

There are reasons for this, which I will discuss, but let’s consider the good news. Firstly, half of the players surveyed chose the company they mostly use because of its reputation and more than ninein-ten (93%) believe betting firms can persuade them to stay loyal. Attitudes are not as negative as other research may suggest – almost every player (98%) said there was something they value about their relationship with a company.

How, then are companies using all the tactics at their disposal? Almost three-quarters (72%) use data analytics to drive interactions, along with regular updates and offers. More than half have grasped the potential of artificial intelligence (AI) applications to improve customer experience.

Remarkably, every single decision-maker said his or her company collects review feedback from players and encourages them to post it. More than six-in-ten (64%) regard customer reviews as “very valuable”.

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Feedback, trust and loyalty in the UK gaming industry

Yet 43%of players who stick with one company say it doesn’t offer them the chance to post feedback or write a quick review. Less than a third (31%) who use more than one company say this is true of all the firms they use.

The answer is likely to be that many companies are going through the motions when it comes to reviews and feedback. They don’t have the kind of review platforms that encourage players to contribute and feel they are being listened to by the firm and fellow punters.

While it’s good to see most players think companies listen to and act on their feedback, there is obviously much more that gaming firms can do. Companies that neglect feedback are failing to engage properly with their audiences (particularly younger consumers who are used to sharing their opinions online). They are also neglecting an immensely valuable source of insight into the customer mindset. AI can analyse thousands of reviews at speed, to give gaming firms a level of responsiveness and customer experience agility they would otherwise never achieve. In near real-time they can pick up on sentiments and trends that remain completely obscure unless uncovered by natural language processing and machine learning.

What we see is that while there are many positive aspects to how customers view companies and the tactics they employ, a more sophisticated approach is required to feedback. All companies appear to understand what customer feedback is and claim to value it. There is it seems, a gap between perception and reality. Gaming companies need platforms that encourage greater participation and extract full value from the feedback provided. They need to harness more sophisticated and much more rapid analysis of what customers are saying so they can move quickly to build on successes and remove problems. Then they can convince each consumer that he or she is valued and listened to.

Ben Marley Head of Market Development at Feefo

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