Opinion: Cross-promotion vital during World Cup
Realistic Games commercial director Andy Harris on why sportsbook operators need to get their other verticals right
Cross-sell initiatives from sportsbook to gaming are still a hugely important part of new customer recruitment to gaming products. When it comes to mobile, there seem to be an increasing number of ideas being implemented. Some of these are well-known from a desktop environment, but others are more innovative as operators evolve their offerings.
The most common options to take you to a mobile gaming site from a sportsbook include navigation bars, menus, banners, icons, and text links. Less common methods include one (or more) click launch of key games, such as Roulette and Blackjack, and links in the bet slip confirmation screen.
We’ve recently worked with Paddy Power to develop embedded Roulette and Blackjack games that reside in the bet slip of their new iPad App. We believe these are unique and allow for a seamless interaction between sports betting and gaming without the need to leave the sportsbook. This approach obviously only works for iPads and tablets due to the real estate required to implement such an initiative.
In order to make the most of the mobile cross sell opportunity, I would advise integrating some of these and other ideas into a carefully considered strategy that is complementary to your approach on other channels.
What would my strategy include? For a start, I’d ensure adequate planning goes into it rather than adopting an ad hoc approach, as it’s easy to rush into getting initiatives live without really giving the overall plan enough thought.
As obvious as it sounds, it is important that any chosen cross-sell method is tailored to different devices rather than employing a ‘one size fits all’ approach. Directions should also be clear. If a player has to search for a banner or a link the opportunity has been missed, and when he opts to visit the games or casino tabs it should always be easy for him to navigate back to the sportsbook where his journey began.
In terms of making those journeys more customer-friendly, there is still a great deal that can be done. For instance, maintaining login sessions between sportsbook and gaming products should be a given ““ because there is nothing more frustrating than having to login again in order to play. Nothing, that is, aside from having to transfer money from a sportsbook to a gaming balance in order to be able to play a game. Also, if a player chooses to deposit or transfer from the casino, for example, he should be returned there (rather than the sportsbook) once his transaction is complete.
A number of the above points, if executed well, will help to minimise the number of clicks a player has to make to the point he transacts with a game. Cross-sell opportunities should never be too intrusive as most players ultimately have come to bet on sports, yet in decreasing those clicks, it gives them simple options should they want to switch.
Having worked on the operational side for many years, I’m aware cross-sell brings with it internal tensions, but I’ve always believed that the overall good of the business should be put before any internal politics related to product owners protecting their specific verticals. Cross-sell is just too valuable to the business as a whole to allow politics to get in the way.
The World Cup presents a unique opportunity for recruitment this summer, and as every operator knows the most valuable customers are multi-product customers. In order to reap the benefits those customers bring their cross-sell strategy must be world class too.