Case Study
Casino Growth Strategy Through Database Marketing

Marketing Results was hired to create a marketing growth strategy for a predominantly locals’ casino located in Eastern Washington. The property had plans to expand the current local gaming operation into a resort-style property with four-star accommodations, meeting space, a spa, multiple food outlets and an expanded gaming facility.

Challenges the property faced:

• Player Defection: The influx of new customers was offset by declines in the active database due to customer defection.
• Players Club: An operational assessment revealed that the players’ club enrollment process was lengthy and impersonal and high-end players were not being rewarded appropriately.
• Player Development: The casino’s player development efforts consisted of informal communication between upper management and their highest value players. They did not have a defined comp policy, department structure or host goals.
• Database Marketing: The database marketing programs focused heavily on active customers and made little attempt to differentiate communications and strategies to specific segments.
• Advertising: Casino advertising messages emphasized entertainment rather than messaging that could truly differentiate the property from competitors in the region.
• Database Analytics: Monthly reporting for customer database trends, campaign results and event performance did not exist.

• Monthly Analysis Reports: Marketing Results implemented a monthly set of management reports to review database and campaign performance to illustrate database segments that were growing and areas that were declining.
• Database Growth Plan: Marketing Results implemented a structured database-marketing program with specific campaigns to address customers in each stage of the customer life-cycle (prospects, new customers, retained customers, defectors and reactivated customers).
• Players Club Restructuring: Marketing Results developed and implemented a multi-tiered players club structure to provide incentives and benefits to current high-valued customers and to attract new high-valued customers.
• Player Development: Marketing Results prepared a player development department manual and provided training to managers and staff within the host department.
• Hotel Yield Management: In advance of the hotel expansion, Marketing Results initiated database growth strategies to build a strong regional database of players to increase market share and revenue, ensure yield management of the hotel, and achievement of occupancy goals.

We are grateful to Tribal Leadership and property management for entrusting our team to support such a pivotal milestone in the casino resort’s expansion:

• During the first 12 months the property experienced 29% gains in active customer accounts and 22% gains in total casino win over the prior year. The property experienced a year-over-year increase of 98% in the number of new members.
• The property exceeded its goal of increasing size of the 12-month active player database from 70,000 players to more than 110,000 to support the casino expansion.