How to Build Success and When Excellence Becomes Mandatory

I have always viewed the world of gambling as a magical one! And so it is!

by Irina Iagăru, management consultant

Irina Iagăru, management consultant

I joined this industry after 19 years in the financial industry, where I trained and led sales and operations teams, and after a period of entrepreneurship, and I can say that in this industry I understood what it means to love the dynamics of what you do, to feel that even though the business does not belong to you, the mark you leave can have a major impact on its smooth running.

The last 3 years have been quite challenging for the gambling industry, forcing organizers to approach the business with more attention, adjusting their activity to new tax and legislative regulations, but also to changes in the dynamics of marketing campaigns.

The behavior of players has changed, as they are much more careful in choosing how they spend their time in casino floors.

There is no general manual on how to be a successful organizer or how to manage emergencies in unison, but there are a number of best practices that, when applied, yield excellent results.

After legislation, the market dictates the trend.

Being present is the first rule of business. Being alert is the second.

Know your customers, keep up with the competition, but also deliver excellent services, provide customer care and customer service, and prevent rather than cure.

To develop an excellence management plan for land-based venues, one need to implement a set of guidelines designed to position you at the top.

1. Choosing the location and setting it up (or several locations)
2. Human resources
3. Hardware and software system
4. Competition
5. Know your customers (KYC) and customer profile
6. Supply and demand
7. Marketing campaigns and indoor promotion
8. Customer service
9. Customer care
10. Fair play

Each of the above points requires clear, concise, and applicable action plans, which operators adjust in their internal KPIs, with the goals that each wants to achieve.

Below, I will highlight a few characteristics that I consider important.

1. Choosing and Setting Up the Place of Business

How to Build Success

• With the regulations imposed by law regarding the minimum number of inhabitants of an administrative-territorial unit for casino floors (min. 15K inhabitants-UAT), organizers were forced to adapt the opening of new locations, which caused a reduction in the appetite for regional-territorial expansion, but led to a greater concentration of casino floors in small and medium-sized cities in compliance with methodological norms.
• Although delicate for certain organizers, the current moment is an opportune one for major companies in the market, which have the opportunity to consolidate their position or rise in the national hierarchy.
• The development of a business plan differs depending on the financial potential of each organizer, whether we are considering an increase in market share or a capital infusion aimed at maintaining a leading position in the competitive arena.
• The points to be considered in the business plan for opening a casino floor are listed below:

1. City population (demographic ratio – number of inhabitants, aging ratio of the population)
2. Economic and social features (degree of industrialization, key areas on which the local economy is focused, etc.)
3. Competition (number of gambling facilities, types of agencies/casino floors)
4. Proximity
5. Players potential, medium- to long-term forecasts (verification of the actual number of players and stakes wagered in competing halls)

• The design of a hall focuses on two aspects:

1. Customer comfort and satisfaction in the hall (atmosphere, lighting, decorations)
2. Opening plan, P&L, game mix, with regulations on the movement and placement of gaming equipment (time and space), authorizations,

Costs are also divided into several categories:

1. Rent (depending on the size of the city, location—central or peripheral, surface area in square meters, etc.)
2. Interior design (determined with the construction and design team)
3. Employees (depending on the type of venue, their number can vary between 6-8, white collar staff)
4. Authorization fees (depending on the number of slot machines)
5. Indoor promotional campaigns and marketing campaigns.
6. Other expenses.

2. Human resources

• One of the most important components of the company is its employees.
• Investing in people means investing in the business.
• Employee recruitment, ongoing training, how they are valued, and the sense of security they feel at work are all triggers that determine the success or failure of a casino floor.

An actively involved employee is one who feels that his/her work brings a real benefit and values it humanly, financially, and socially.

• Salary benefits are important, but they are not decisive when it comes to employee loyalty.

3. Hardware and Software Systems

• Purchasing a professional slot management system makes the difference between mediocrity and excellence.
• A professional system works for you, not just sending data to the relevant authorities.
• It profiles, analyzes customer preferences, ensures the technological implementation of promotional campaigns, monitors unforeseen situations, all designed to allow the organizer to offer personalized experiences.
• It allows each customer to have 24/7 access to their own account linked to their loyalty card, including personal data, points accumulated with each interaction with the slot machine, active campaigns, and a call center system for unforeseen situations.
• In practice, a system of this type is a virtual wallet, just a click away, but with multiple benefits for both the customer and the organizer.
• It offers data security and stability.
• It provides daily/monthly/or on-demand maintenance through a dedicated 24/7 call center, which is very important in daily operations.
• It is a calling card among gambling professionals.

4. Know Your Customer (KYC) and Customer Profiling

• Know your customers (or KYC) is one of the important aspects of the business plan.
• Know your customers is an automated process that includes personal data, document verification (in accordance with regulations on the minimum accepted age, consultation of ONJN databases, blacklists, or any suspicions that may affect the quality of interaction with casino floors), monitoring gaming behavior in halls, or assessing the risk of practices that do not comply with company policies.
• Customer profiling is usually done in two ways:
• Through a high-performance slot management system, a system that provides real-time monitoring and analyzes customer gaming behavior in order to improve the quality of services and products offered, prepares various reports necessary for launching targeted marketing campaigns based on customer preferences, and can improve services by monitoring customer satisfaction.
• Using the traditional method, with an active presence of hall employees among customers, observing and interacting directly with them in order to learn about their gaming preferences, objections, or suggestions for improving the services and products offered. This method is quite limited in its effectiveness due to several factors (the seriousness and involvement of certain employees, the reluctance of some customers to be open to conversation, the way in which data is stored and processed, etc.).
• Why is customer profiling an important component?

Because it is a clear tool for monitoring the trust that customers have in the business, but also for developing promotional campaigns and measuring their success among customers.

• Customers fall into several categories:

1. Loyal customers
2. Occasional customers
3. Hunter customers
4. Arrow customers

• As is evident, we all want to have loyal customers, and their loyalty comes from the points I shall present below, in the customer service and customer care section, but obviously also from trust in the marketing campaigns presented in the hall.
• Occasional customers are those who can become loyal customers through an appropriate customer service-customer care approach.
• Hunter customers are those who have not become loyal to any hall, but oscillate between several halls of different organizers, attracted by Happy Hour prizes, raffles, or jackpots.

Their behavior remains constant, their presence in the hall being temporary.

• Arrow customers – well, these are the ones that no one particularly wants in the halls, as they are not interested in the concept of the game, but rather in certain unfair competition practices, and are to be avoided.

5. Supply and Demand

• Customer gaming behavior differs depending on several aspects:

1. Territorial region
2. Type of city (small/medium/large)
3. Player education (studies, culture, habits)
4. Mix of games on the machines
5. Number of machines in the hall
6. Marketing and promotion campaigns
7. Jackpot types

In the next issue of Casino Inside magazine, I will continue my presentation with the rest of this managerial decalogue, which can help any operator to have a sustainable business in the field.