AUTUMN ROUND-UP GameCo
new amazing opportunity rather than being flummoxed and depressed about the decline in your business.
kovaleva_ka/Adobe Stock
Who Moved the Casino Industry’s Cheese? Strategies to future proof the retail casino business from GameCo chairman Robert Montgomery
“W
ho Moved My Cheese”, Spencer Johnson’s popular self-help tome from 1998 on how to
deal with change is perfectly back in vogue. Subtitled “An Amazing Way to Deal with Change in your Work and in your Life”, casino industry stakeholders would benefit to give the book a read and find ways to revitalize their respective playbooks. For casino operators, suppliers, and
customers, the COVID era has made it abundantly clear that everything has changed forever. What is not clear to everyone, but is beginning to emerge, is that the industry was already entrenched in a period of stagnancy prior to the pandemic, dragged down by homogenous product and aging customers. Instead of debating the challenges, the industry has every reason to focus on the future. The situation has inadvertently framed a generational opportunity for the industry to re-foot itself. An urgent focus on new, emerging casino customers deserves far more cycles, investment, and attention than its currently receiving. For now, it is fully understandable that some
casinos are just glad to be open and that the sturdiest customers (trending significantly younger today) are just happy to be out of their homes. However, companies that don’t mobilize now risk being caught flat-footed when society is at full - or close to full - functionality again and demand for leisurely pursuits normalizes. At that juncture the reality of the casino industry’s structural decline will become as obvious as stars on a clear night, with the winners and losers consigned to their respective corners. So, what can we as operators and suppliers
do to ensure we are winners, or at least avoid the losing corner? What is the secret to having an ongoing, viable casino industry
52 SEPTEMBER 2020
business built for the long-term in a world of constantly moving cheese? Here are some ideas: Focus on the next customers not the last ones. The high-value customers of the future are obviously Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z and we already know they don’t like playing slots in a traditional casino environment. Or at least not in the numbers retail operators presently need to stay in business. Commit to a plan to provide the products and experiences new and incremental customers want to engage with in an environment where they want to be together.
Have a “leverage your assets” mentality. Be bold and optimistic about utilizing your business infrastructure to engage a whole
Focus on Lifetime Value of customers. Experiment with new and differentiated products, even if the economics are less favorable at the outset. The lifetime value to your business of a new customer far exceeds the lifetime value of a declining product or service whether B2B or B2C. Always focus on the lifetime value of customers and revenues.
Don’t wait. Innovate. Demonstrate leadership by aligning yourself with a new crop of innovators who are trying to solve the same problems as you are, whether that is from a component, product, experience, service, or delivery perspective.
Embrace marketing to new customers. “Marketing is a race without a finish line”, to quote guru Philip Kotler. A profound and sustained commitment to marketing and maintaining a new, younger player is required. GameCo’s response to this new opportunity
is Video Game Gambling™ in single and multiplayer, esports betting, skill-based iGaming, omnichannel game development, and other groundbreaking solutions. What is your solution to the moving cheese dilemma?
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60 |
Page 61 |
Page 62 |
Page 63 |
Page 64 |
Page 65 |
Page 66 |
Page 67 |
Page 68 |
Page 69 |
Page 70 |
Page 71 |
Page 72 |
Page 73 |
Page 74 |
Page 75 |
Page 76 |
Page 77 |
Page 78 |
Page 79 |
Page 80 |
Page 81 |
Page 82 |
Page 83 |
Page 84 |
Page 85 |
Page 86
