MRI Casino Marketing Blog
How to Get Gamblers Loyal to Your App for just $1

If you’re in the casino industry, there’s a good chance you’ve discovered the importance of having a branded, dedicated mobile app. After all, studies have shown that mobile phone users spend at least 90% of their mobile time using apps — and that there’s a direct correlation between branded apps and customer loyalty. However, has your casino done a good job creating the need for its app in customers, and encouraging them to use it? Has your customer service helped improve your app’s popularity, and does it actually enhance the customer experience?

If you want your casino mobile app to reach its full potential, it’s key to convince your customers — even if they’re not naturally the most tech-savvy crowd — that they can’t live without it.

Feeling skeptical about getting casino customers who are used to printed materials excited about using your app? Here’s a story that may just change your mind.

A few weeks ago, my father-in-law mentioned to my mother-in-law that their drug store was having a sale on his favorite soda, and that if she used her loyalty card, she’d get an extra dollar off. She added it to the list and headed to the corner of Happy and Healthy ready to make her discounted purchase — only to learn at checkout that the soda deal was only available to loyalty cardholders who were using the drug store’s mobile app at the time of purchase. 

Well, lucky for my mother-in-law, she had a smartphone with her — but not the store’s app. Graciously, the cashier agreed to walk her through the download and setup process. After squaring away the download, the deed was done and the extra dollar won. Now, my mother-in-law AND father-in-law (he didn’t learn as graciously) know about the added bonuses of using the app and how they can access it, and they regularly feel excited to go back to the drug store and take advantage of their exclusive deals.

The drug store does something smart with their branded app — and your casino can, too. They make it clear that the customer actually NEEDS to use the app, which means it does get used — and both the business and the customer benefit. Similarly, your casino can offer an app to your players that has offers and bonuses that are only accessed through the mobile app. This ensures your app is no longer just another app icon that people scroll past on the way to checking Facebook, but that it actually improves the customer experience.

It’s a fact that casinos typically attract an older demographic. The regular casino crowd may thus not yet be comfortable using player loyalty apps. However, like the drug store story shows, it is possible to evolve and to change behavior.

To do that, it’s important to put yourself in your target audience's shoes when developing the app, and to create an experience suited to them. You should focus on a strong single takeaway geared towards your players (and if others connect with the message, too, that’s great). Don’t just create an app and expect that your players will start using it. Instead, work to build and reinforce their loyalty to your casino by leading them to features and services that are available via that app icon on their mobile device. 

Making an app that you can train customers to use is a simple, smart business decision. Not only will you end up with happier, more satisfied players, but you will also reap the financial benefits of moving them away from standard print and mail marketing materials toward more cost-effective and timely digital communication.

Ultimately, it’s possible to change your players' behavior for the better, and you don’t have to spend a lot of money to do it. In fact, as we’ve seen, it may just take one dollar’s worth of convincing.