iGaming Business magazine Mobile Gaming Outlook 2017 | Page 12

Mobile Gaming Outlook 2017
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With mobile now driving the majority of customer acquisitions, Comtrade’s
Aleš Gornjec looks at how operators can tighten those crucial retention
metrics across the channel.
According to AmeriResearch.com, the
mobile gaming market was valued at $99bn
in 2016 and is forecast to grow at a modest
CAGR of 6.4% between 2017 and 2024,
culminating in a global revenue of $163bn
by 2024.
What this shows is that there is incredible
value in positioning the mobile channel as
an R&D priority and financial benefits for
a strong mobile strategy. Simply put, the
channel’s success is based on retention and
highlights that investing a greater amount
of resources in pre-existing relationships is
a funnel that contains a small bottle-neck
when it comes to driving revenue.
When operators choose to emphasise
retention metrics it moves the focus to a
future-oriented view of their business,
versus short-term, unsustainable gains.
The strategy put in place is largely dependent
on the KPIs that are monitored, but overall
it proves to be a lesson in marketing tactics
and campaign management.
Data and information
Operators no longer need to be convinced
of the benefits of player data. Rather it is the
ways in which it is leveraged that they can
gain a competitive edge. Customer satisfaction
can be visualised through individual player
journeys and highlights customer-centric
preferences, channel-wide insights and new
product and service innovation.
Operators that can properly interpret
player activity and understand what factors
make them interact with their content can
create channel modifications that reduce
churn, increase revenue per customer
and finally influence their lifetime value.
Recognising that user happiness is the key to
sustaining their retention is fundamental to
deciding on successful business practices.
Instead of measuring individual KPIs,
operators should measure player-specific
targets to see what aspect of their mobile
gaming channel deserves attention or
adjustments. Observing, documenting and
assessing player value, especially lifetime value,
is the leading statistic in terms of retention
rates and their influence on business vigour.
Marketing and innovation
More than 8.5 million pages on Google
are devoted to online gaming promotions,
which means that there is both strategy and
opportunity when focusing on this aspect
of the mobile gaming business. Whenever a
player gains something, even if occasionally,
they return.
Bonusing in its current context can
provide considerable advantages to players,
especially as platform technology enables
adjusted offers for specific player profiles
and player journeys to optimise the online
gaming experience. The advantage of loyalty
programmes comes through the immediate
configuration possibilities to encourage a
player to continue their journey.
Not all platforms are created equal and
this can create a significant effect on bonus
campaigns and the operator’s ability to
optimise their business. Bonusing modules
within online platforms serve as a single point
for incentive management across multiple
brands, suppliers and products and work as
the control centre for retention strategies.
Customising promotional offers is done
most successfully through an online gaming
platform by combining leading technology
and management strategy with the
capability of handling business intelligence,
customer relationship management and
multi-channel products.
Reputable gaming platforms create a
streamlined bonus module that provides
the functionality to create highly-tailored
60 | iGamingBusiness | Issue 106 | September/October 2017
campaigns that can be tested on player
samples before being implemented to their
target group. The method behind creating a
lucrative bonus campaign should be based
on measurable player data and predictive
modelling as seen on Comtrade Gaming’s
bonus module on their iCore – Enterprise
Gaming. Loyalty programmes and incentives
provide the speed and attention to detail
high-retention rates.
Beyond product design is
product experience
When technology is the foundation of an
industry, there is more or less an incessant
push for innovation. With the competition
to be considered the market leader in mobile
gaming, operators predict and influence
the ways in which the channel will develop.
Investing in innovation has to be delicately
managed when it occurs for both retention
and acquisition directions so that there are no
variances when developing a cohesive channel.
An article in Harvard Business Review
states that “serious customer lifetime value
metrics should measure how effectively
innovation investment increases customer
health and wealth. That’s as true for Amazon,
Alibaba, and Apple as for Facebook, Google,
and Netflix. No one would dare argue that
these innovators don’t understand, appreciate,
or practice a lifetime value sensibility.”
By utilising player data, marketing
campaigns and championing innovation,
mobile gaming reaches the pinnacle of
its capabilities.
Aleš Gornjec founded the
Comtrade Group’s gaming
division and serves as Comtrade
Gaming’s general manager.
Comtrade Gaming is an independent
software supplier to the gaming industry
that delivers open gaming platforms,
casino management systems and professional
services to both online and land-based sectors.