Wright 2 Know

Casinos often embark on campaigns to make themselves "friendly." But be careful. Trying to legislate friendliness and respect sometimes backfires. Murray Raphel, writing in Direct Marketing Magazine, tells of a department store that offered a gift certificate if their people didn't say "Thank you for shopping with us" at the checkout counter. When one customer complained that a clerk forgot to say the phrase, the clerk responded, "That was last month's campaign."

Now let’s look at trite words and phrases. The casino business abounds with "in" language. For example, "Complimentary room, food and beverage...upon your arrival... should you desire to extend your stay." Replace these honkers with "Your room, meals and drinks are on us...When you arrive...if you're staying longer." See how easy it is? But wait--there’s more. In your letters to customers, keep your words, sentences and paragraphs short. And stay away from the tired old phrases that businesses often use. How many times have you seen these three? "We are in receipt of...Enclosed please find....We are forwarding." Instead, write, "We have... I'm enclosing...We are sending."

Sell the sizzle, not the steak

And now for the closer: just what is “the offer?” It's not, as some think, the entire sales pitch. Offers are strictly dollars and cents. In other words, the offer is the price of the product or service you're offering. But don't stop there. Every offer needs a "proposition" to close the sale. The proposition is the benefit you'll get if you accept the offer. You've probably heard the line, "Sell the sizzle, not the steak." The proposition is the sizzle.

In a tough market, add value

An enduring myth in the casino business is that--in a tough market-- you have to give away the store. The fact is, most customers rate value and personal attention just as high as they do discounts. More in some cases. It’s easy to give things away. The challenge is to sell at a fair price. The problem casinos face when they start discounting is the same problem retailers face when they drop prices. Rather than build loyalty, the discount destroys it. Customers who once had “favorite” stores wind up chasing all over town to find the deepest discounts.

What to do? Increasingly, commercial hotels are keeping their prices steady but adding value. Free breakfast buffets, free coffee, free cocktail hour and free morning newspaper delivered to your door are staples of the “added value” tactic. So before you panic and drop your room price, think what you could add to sustain the regular price. If you’ve pushed “quality” in your ads, prove it.

P.S. You don’t spend advertising money to be a good person or to fatten the portfolios of rising young artists and writers. The only reason you advertise is to increase room, food, drinks and casino revenue. Make sure the creative people working on your business understand that before they write a line or draw the first rough layouts. They succeed at Wright Casino Marketing because they live by these standards.

John Romero, a Wright Casino Marketing associate, is the author of Casino Marketing and Secrets of Casino Marketing. Together, his two books have sold more than 9,000 hardcover copies in the casino business and to colleges for use in gaming courses. His website is Romeromarketing.com