Set up customer support that generates higher profits
Setting up your iGaming customer support service should be considered one of the most important steps in any business plan. It is easy to underestimate the impact top level support will have on any operation. On the surface it looks pretty straightforward, once it is running. Yet, it is a crucial part of your tangible end-to-end customer experience that nurtures loyal relationships, strengthens retention and maximizes player value.
iGaming operators that setup great customer service do 5 things very well…
1. They set-up customer support around their core values
Before you take any steps to setup your casino’s customer support service, you need to look inward. Understand how you’re positioning your iGaming company to stand out. How do you want players to perceive you? How do you want customers to talk about you? What are you about?
Perhaps you want to be the most ‘Responsible-Gaming-sensitive’ provider. Or you want to become known for always releasing new games first. Write a mission statement for your support team. What do you want it to do for your business? The how will come later.
2. They perfect their customer hierarchy
Although perception may be different, in the iGaming industry, not all players are created equal. To ensure you offer a top quality customer support service you need to create a player hierarchy first.
Break down your players into buckets: VIP, Top, Active, Inactive, Non-Deposit etc..
Once you’re clear about the various player tiers, you need to decide the level of support you will offer each. How much proactive and reactive support will they get? What is your goal for providing this support? Are you looking to get players to spend more? To delight customers and build loyalty? Get clear.
Create a description and estimate the needs per player in each category. Prioritise customer contact that aims to directly generate more business.
3. They get their numbers right
If you’ve done the work for points 1 and 2, you should be able to create a rough estimate of support contacts you can expect. Your set-up choices will affect the numbers:
– In-House Support Team
Going for an in-house support team will carry the highest cost. You need to carry all the IT, Training and recruitment costs of what is a very high turnover operation. You also need to allocate time to decision making and set-up logistics. Make sure you think of allocating space and resources for future growth too.
– Remote Support Team
This can carry the cheapest per hour rate because you’re hiring home workers across the globe. But, it can be costly in terms of quality. You’re not likely to get quality agents. So if you must use this cost saving option make sure it’s only for the lowest tier players, and ideally just on chat.
– Outsourced Support Team
This may be the best option if you find it hard to make predictions or want to try something new, like re-activating old players. Outsourcing your customer support may be for you, if you like the idea of having capped costs.
It also allows you to scale quickly and easily without too many growing pains. All the training, set-up, IT costs and HR admin are carried by your supplier, which can amount to 80% cost saving potential. It’s a great position to be in.
Outsourcing your customer service often results in excellent ROI. Customer support companies like Enteractive are specialists. We are well set-up, highly-trained and experienced. It is therefore highly likely that we will achieve better results, faster.
The best thing about outsourcing, is that you have more time to focus on your brand and marketing operations.
If you’re thinking of outsourcing your Customer Support click here…
– Hybrid Support Team
When scaling, some iGaming operations go for a hybrid set-up. They create a small core team that manages their VIP clients and services their daily needs. Any additional tasks such as email support, live chat, KYC, payments and handling peak time overflow are outsourced.
Getting the numbers right is not so easy, especially if you’re a first-time start-up. Customer support operations are more complex nowadays because they include more touch-points as mentioned above.
If you have some figures in mind, check out the Erlang calculator for multi-channel customer support. It can help you look at the various scenarios based on the service levels you want to offer. The higher the priority of the customer segment, the higher the service levels should be.
It’s a safer bet to outsource, all or part of your operations, when creating estimates for your iGaming business is difficult.
“All the training, set-up, IT costs and HR admin are carried by your supplier, which can amount to 80% cost saving potential. It’s a great position to be in.”
4. They use the right technology and measure success
In order to build efficiency and scalability into your customer support, you need to choose the right technology. This will depend on your touch-points. The more customer touch-points you have the more custom features you’re likely to need.
The most important part of your software after cross-channel integration is statistical reporting. You need to know your statistics, ideally in realtime, or as close as you can get. You also need to align other forms of customer satisfaction surveying. Knowing your NPS (Net Promoter Score) is key to gauging general performance.
NPS measurement should be integrated into your support interactions as an indicator of overall customer satisfaction.
5. They hire a great team
Successful operators hire reliable people to listen to their customers wants and needs. Whether it’s an in-house or outsourced team, hiring the right people to represent your brand can make you or break you.
When it comes to customer support investment is the name of the game. If you want to become a strong player in the industry, this is one investment you can’t afford to skimp on. The strongest operators in every jurisdiction, across any vertical, trump customer support.
Are you considering outsourcing all or part of your customer support? Contact Andrew Foster at andrew.foster@enteractive.se to understand if our outsourced customer support is a good fit for your business plan.
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