18 Feb 2018 Indian Gaming Magazine Marketing Feature

Integrating Technology With Social Media Channels

By Anthony “Bert” Bertino

“Reaching capacity of your facility is always the goal of your organization… Having the
appropriate information as to what your customers want and how they wish to have
their experiences delivered is a huge advantage.”

Every organization has a menagerie of computer systems that
must integrate with each other to provide a full circle of
data accumulation. Many of these systems do integrate, butsome
do not. Does your Customer Relationship Marketing (CRM)
system integrate with your kiosk system, point of sale (POS)
system, and front desk system? Does you player card get
utilized in all outlets throughout your facility or just the casino
floor? There are presently a group of systems that are add-ons,
that will accumulate this information for you, and allow for
greater relevant material without completely renovating your
casino systems, CRM, data mining and POS. If you have
bridges between these, then your data is merged, allowing an
overall picture of what your facility is doing with all customers.
If there are gaps in your systems, then you are not getting the
whole view of your customers, and your data mining is
working overtime just to keep up. Being able to view everything
that your customer participates in and utilizes tells you what
is appropriate to offer, what is needed to grow and where the
next generations of development will come from.
The time has come where you must be part of the social media
generation as a business participant. If you speak to your
present and future customers, then that conversation is
advantageous to the growth of your organization. That conversation
must be two-way, with the organization disseminating
information and then also responding to the follower’s comments,
therefore an actual “conversation” occurs and growth is
made. If you are part of the Facebook, Twitter and Instagram
generation, then your organization is experiencing a great start.
Other channels like TripAdvisor, Yelp, Open Table and Ssnapp,
will further your visibility and allow your clientele to share their
experiences with your other customers (present and future).
Having a collection ofsocial media channels extends your advertising
networks and allows your patronsto recommend your offerings
to others and to consistently comment on their wants and
needs. If a patron has good things to say, other customers will
see this and take as a recommendation. If a patron has a
criticism of your organization, this gives a forum to address and
respond to short-comings.If a consumer has a future suggestion,
your organization can address for future consideration. In all of
these cases, a conversation with your followers shows the
organization’s attentiveness and empathy through “conversation.”
Many organizations now allow their patrons to immediately
give feedback through kiosks at the restaurant table, iPads by
the front desk and systems throughout the facility that gather
opinions and steer the decision makers to make changes the
consumer wants. Taking your followers from social media and
integrating them into your in-house systems will allow for
greater data integration. If you can send a message on social
media and prove a response through visitation and play, this
solidifies your social media usage, and firms up another
channel to reach present and future consumers.
Offers through social media can be for gaming and nongaming
entities, which allows for further usage of your
facility. Your organization is larger than just a casino, you are
a hotel/resort, spa, restaurants, golf course and entertainment
outlet. Having your social media channels reinforcing your
advertising and making future customers aware of your
offerings brings full circle the integrated resort concept that
your organization desires.
Reaching capacity of your facility is always the goal of your
organization. Capacity is the ultimate goal for financial stability
and future growth. Putting a price on what you can do to
improve your facility is pertinent to the growth of your
organization. Many organizations spend extraordinary amounts
of money to build and re-establish what they feel their customers
need. Having the appropriate information as to what your
customers want and how they wish to have their experiences
delivered is a huge advantage. Is this foolproof? Absolutely not,
but it gives a greater direction and insight into where
additional revenue streams can come from. Knowing what
your social media costs are returning on your investment is a
major step towards the growth of your organization, today and
for future periods of time. If customers are giving appropriate
feedback to your organization and to the viewing public, and
if you are listening and adjusting your offeringsto the consumers
and your customers see this – your organization wins

Anthony “Bert” Bertino is CEO of Casino Excursions Resort
Gaming Group. He can be reached by calling (609) 892-1298
or email bert@casexc.com.

http://www.indiangaming.com/istore/Feb18_Bertino.pdf