Player-centricity, coupled with other elements such as market saturation and the quickened pace at which innovations are rolled out are reshaping the iGaming industry as we knew it, are pushing operators and service providers alike to adjust their strategies, putting the player at the core of their operations and putting his or her requirements at the top of their priority list.

To do so, they must analyze and know every customer’s perspective and intention. Needless to say that adopting a player-centric approach will aid companies in strengthening their brand on the market, reinforce customer loyalty, and increase profits.

So, one surely asks the question of how to switch from an already diminishing product-centred approach to player-centred one?

The strategies for operators who opt-in to make the switch fall into three categories:

Player Development

Data provided by players upon registration must be thoroughly analyzed. Furthermore, it is of utmost importance to monitor the behaviour of players to identify patterns and preferences which can be used for retention purposes later on in the process. Also, this process is essential to identify key market traits and increase the Lifetime Value of each player (LTV).

Player Acquisition

Analyzing the behavior of players allows gaming operators to further adjust their acquisition strategies to acquire players that are most adequate for their business. Adopting the behavioral-based acquisition will further strengthen the operator’s brand identity and evidently enhance the betting experience they provide.

Player Retention

By focusing on players’ preferences operators can greatly increase their player engagement which will in turn result in an increased Lifetime Value. Higher levels of player retention mean lower contained costs, with acquisition of new players costing up to 5 times more than retaining existing ones.

Besides, a player-centric approach allows for more detailed insights from the players which allow operators to segment them and distinguish the less profitable from the more profitable ones. This moreover, improves the resource distribution as operators can focus on the more profitable segments allowing them to win the loyalty of those players.

Surprisingly enough, the iGaming industry is lagging other industries from this perspective, with the betting experience provided by many operators based solely on the product and not how they can alter the UX according to the different player requirements.

As the industry continues its rapid pace of development, accompanied by the rise of customer expectations it becomes more and more evident that taking the player-centric approach represents a new way forward. It’s important to notice the impetus of millennials as a new type of customer populations with their own needs and preferences which are yet to be met.

For operators, it’s of the utmost importance to keep in mind the negative customer experiences that can have a devastating impact. They may arise from poor product design including UI, content, and payment methods that do not align with customer needs and preferences. Also, being unable to understand, deeply analyse, and properly adapt to the many varying factors can harm player lifecycle, causing lower retention rates, account dormancy, and limiting operators’ share of customer wallet.

It goes without saying that negative customer experiences have a severe impact on costs, forcing operators to carry out additional costly customer acquisition strategies to retain their market share.