PLAYER DEVELOPMENT
Top 10 Reasons Why a Player Won't Sign Up or Use Your
Free Casino Players Card... and How to Win Them Back
by Rick Harshman
Y
our carded play has shown a steady increase over the last
two years. Suddenly, over the last three months your new card
sign-ups have reached a plateau. Understanding why a player won't
sign up or use the card is a key to understanding your player base,
the perception of your loyalty programs, and how your front line
staff is effectively communicating the benefits.
10. “The offers aren't worth it; the only
thing I ever got was a free coffee mug.”
How guilty are you of not communicating the benefits of
your club? Are you also guilty of luring someone into signing
up and then forgetting all about them? This happens all too
frequently, where the best offer a player will receive is the initial
$5 in Free Play or the logo disposable camera they received at
sign up. The reasons why are understandable. More emphasis is placed on new player acquisition and less on existing player
development or simply, the player didn't play enough.
SOLUTION: There should be no excuses why you couldn't send a letter or email stating: “Hey, thanks for joining…as
a reminder, come back and enjoy these great benefits…” If they
were worth the coupon book or free travel mug expenditure,
they should certainly be worth the 17 cents to get them back.
9. “The lines are too long.”
Wow, talk about a double-edged sword. You can't get any
new sign-ups because the line for new sign-ups is too long.
Really? That sounds like Yogi Berra's famous statement,
“Nobody goes there anymore…it's too crowded.”
SOLUTION: The next time a surge of new sign-ups comes
along, stand back and reevaluate your queuing area. All too
often, the long line isn't due to new sign-ups, but to your
customers redeeming coupons, comps, and dropping off entry
tickets. In order to reduce the lengthy lines, ensure proper
signage is displayed at the beginning of the queuing lines (on
top of the stanchions) and if possible overhead. A counter-top
sign is useless during busy times and there is nothing more
frustrating than standing in the wrong line. Ensure your most
seasoned team members are enrolling and explaining benefits
during peak times to expedite the process and keep the lines
and communication flowing.
8. “I don't want my personal information
given out; I don't want to be tracked.”
In reality, this statement loosely translates, “I don't want my
wife/husband knowing how much I play.” The player is your
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October 2007
number one reason why you're successful. Why would you even
think of giving out any information? You wouldn't, and the
player should know it. Your player database is the “Holy Grail”
of all that is right with gaming. It is protected better than executive compensation packages…let your players understand this.
SOLUTION: Explain to your player how you can add
them to the “do not mail, call or email” list and creatively come
up with a system to manually pick up their rewards. Let them
know being tracked is what the club benefits are all about. It's
the number one reason to become a free member! Much like
your F&B director won't accept the excuse, “I don't eat at the
buffet because I don't like to make choices.” You need to
emphasize the value of re-investing in their play, building
points, comps, and other benefits to offset those days when they
may not be winning. Having a tracking system and using the
player’s card is the only accurate way your player can request
a win/loss statement for their taxes.
7. “I'll get a better offer in six months.”
Actually, this happens more often than originally thought,
as it is the 7th top reason. What your player is stating is
straightforward, “I signed up, didn't get much, played a little,
then when I quit using my card you sent me a better offer
in the mail (again) to come back and enjoy a free buffet, a
discounted room or even show tickets.”
SOLUTION: Utilize your tracking system; analyze the
play before the offer is made. You can “fish” for defectors once,
maybe twice, but beyond that you need to cut your losses. Most
casinos won't delete an account, they'll archive it. Check again.
If the file shows a player has been fished before and has
redemptions, resist the temptation to bring them back.
6. “I lost it/I forgot it.”
Claiming to have lost your card or forgetting to bring your
card implies you once had to have a card. Chances are, nope,
nada, no way. They are just too nice to say “No thanks.”
SOLUTION: Ask for their name or their driver's license
and let them know you'll bring back their card. If they say no,
they really never had an intention of getting a card. Simply leave
them with your brochure outlining the benefits of your club.
5. “I only play tables.”
Here you have to read between the lines. Two messages
can be derived. One, “Every time you send me something in
the mail, it's for a slot drawing, a slot tournament or slot free
play.” Secondly, “The dealer never asks me for my card and
when I set it down, nothing is ever done with it.”
SOLUTION: Although you may not have a state-of-theart RFID (radio frequency identification) system in your pit,
you can still manually track your table play and record the results
into your player tracking system and ensure the player is
flagged as craps, blackjack, etc. That's a great start. The next
step is to tier your table players’ offers and rewards against other
table players and not to compare them to slot players. With new
technology, you can now offer variable imagery and text into
your direct mail and e-marketing campaigns seamlessly.
4. “I don't play enough.”
Actually this is a very valid excuse, as they may not be
placed on your loyalty programs, thus never receiving any
offers or rewards.
SOLUTION: However, you should certainly remind them
of your exclusive benefits given only to players club members
who continually use their cards. Such as, your “hot seat”
random drawings, discounted rooms, double, triple point days
and discounted meals by just being a free member. Again, you
have another great investment for just 17 cents.
number: 2,567,875, chances are you've got more than just a red
flag, you've got an epidemic.
And the number one reason…
1. “Superstitious - I can't win with it, I win
more without it.”
This is the number one excuse in every gaming jurisdiction
on the planet. You can't argue with superstition. Heck, gaming
has been built around hunches, gut feelings, fate and luck. Now
we all know, Vegas wasn't built on winners (was that supposed
to stay in Vegas?). And honestly, every casino does such a tremendous job in broadcasting their winners albeit on slot toppers, wall
of fames, direct mail or websites, you just can't combat this
excuse. Can you imagine a marketing director running a promotional campaign, “Please don't use your card, you'll win too
much!” Well there's your answer! ¨
Rick Harshman is the Vice President of Marketing/Gaming for
G.A. Wright Marketing, Inc. He can be reached by calling
(720) 941-2422 or email [email protected]
3. “The card never works or the card reader
doesn't work.”
When was the last time you watched a salvo of players
having a great time at their slot machine only to get up a few
hours later and realize their card reader is flashing: “Please
re-insert your card!” Admit it, you've watched players dance
the dance of card re-insertion and flip and rotate only to move
to another less popular machine. It happens.
SOLUTION: Ensure your slot department has a routine
maintenance program designed to clean those card readers.
Have your staff walk the floor and offer to replace the card and
look for card readers not working and assist these folks. Ensure
your club staff knows the formula to calculate and manually give
the player their “lost time on device” if they request it. Remember if a player has to change seats or play a less desirable
game, your credibility suffers.
2. “I see too many people using someone
else's card.”
Although this happens quite frequently where rewards or
status are based on this trip only, usually only at the local joints
are the players complaining. At these places, the players
actually have a better idea of who was playing when, where and
how much than the promotions coordinator.
SOLUTION: If your players club is issuing one card short
of infinity to a player, stop it. Set policy and inform your
guests of the new policy. Sure, the culprits won't like it, but the
other 98% will love it. Look at the field on the player tracking system titled “Number of Cards Issued.” If you see the
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