MRI Casino Marketing Blog
How Would Your Casino’s Report Card Stack Up?

A few weeks ago, kids everywhere were experiencing the best time of the calendar year — the last day of school! It’s a day where there’s no lessons or quizzes, and everyone in the building is in a great mood. The final day of the school year could even top Christmas morning. 

The last day of my 5th grade year at St. Ed’s elementary in 1980 represented a great day for me and my classmates. We’d officially survived the strictest, most math-loving teacher in the building, Miss Regina Rigoroso. I still fondly look back at some of her words of encouragement: “It’s my way or NO way!”, “Mr. McElroy, please use your head for something other than a hat rack!”, “Any idiot can memorize,” and the oft-spouted, “You come to school unless you’re dying or dead!”

I’d actually done pretty well in spite of the added pressure of Miss R and the transition into my double-digit years. As my classmates and I received our final report cards, we compared our marks. My buddy Donald was excited by the good report he received because his parents promised cash in exchange for high marks. 

You Can Get Cash for Good Grades?!?!

When the early dismissal bell finally rang, plaid-clad children spilled out the doors into the parking lot to celebrate the first day of freedom. As I eagerly showed my straight-A report card to my mom and grandpop, I asked what I now thought was the obvious question. “So, how much do I get?”

Mom: “Get for what?”
Me: “My good report?”
Mom: “Oh, I’m expected to pay you for getting good grades like you should?”
Me: “Donald’s parents promised him five dollars for his report card!”
Grandpop: “You see Kevin, your friend Donald is good for five bucks, and you’re good for nothin’.”

So, Casino Marketers, How Much Will Your Report Get You?

While you don’t have to suffer a tough disciplinarian these days, and plaid attire is optional, you’re being graded. Your gamblers grade your casino on a daily basis. Each interaction with your brand, from visits to your dining facilities to interactions with your app, are a test. 

Unless you’re dealing with my mother, these marks definitely do have an impact on your bottom line. A barely passing grade could mean that a gambler decides to patronize your competitor instead of you the next time they’re planning a weekend getaway. 

And I’m sorry to break it to you — there’s a good chance that while Miss R was a strict teacher, your gamblers may be even stricter about what defines an “A” experience. 

How Did Your Casino Stack Up for the 2016-2017 School Year?

Much like I compared myself to Donald, your casino needs to compare itself to customer expectations. How did you fare? Are you meeting or exceeding customer needs, or working to catch up? While you’re not being graded in physical education or algebra, you’re being assessed against a number of factors that contribute to the gambler experience. 

• Brand: How effectively your casino differentiates itself against competitors in terms of “look,” “feel” and guest experience. 
• Advertising efforts: Measured in ROI and sentiment, how well has your casino reached the right audiences through advertising?
• Digital Marketing: Is your digital content enabling your casino to get found online by the right people?
• Social Marketing: Does your social content drive views, engagement and visits?
• Data Integrity and App Integration: Have you integrated your data to create comprehensive understanding of your guests, improved communications and an end result of personalized guest experiences?
• ROI: The ultimate measurement of your marketing success is the return on investment of your casino marketing.

Here’s Where Casino Report Cards Get Really Tricky

Unfortunately, while all it took for me to get straight As in Miss R’s class was a lot of homework, your casino’s success isn’t quite as simple. There’s no one factor that feeds into your guests’ perception of your casino brand. Instead, the results of your report card are a combination of all of your marketing efforts. As Miss Rigoroso would’ve said to her 5^th graders, “I can only give you what you gave me.”

The casinos who get straight As and reap serious rewards in the form of ROI, invest in knowledge via marketing research and fulfill the promises they make across their branding, digital marketing, social marketing and mobile outreach to their gamblers.

#BeTheDonald