Sep 25, 2001 M

While the rest of corporate America is waking up to the value of truly detailed customer information, the neon-lit enclave of casino gambling is already taking it to unmatched levels.

Socioeconomic databases, loyalty cards and the cross matching of credit card data with other information files- they are all at work in the gambling business. Casinos have become masters of Player Relationship Management (PRM), having mined more complex customer data on a larger scale for a longer time than just about any other industry.

Loyalty cards are the key. At a typical casino, when a player swipes his card at a table game or slot machine, a network of databases jumps into action. The system captures, among other things, how long the person plays, how much he wins and loses and what his betting strategy is. It can compare statistics from previous visits and provide real-time hints to casino workers about how to treat a given customer, based on how much he is worth to the company.

To make PRM work, there cannot be any downtime for data entry, backups and database updates. The casino employees also need data, as soon as possible and while the customer is standing in front of them. Effective PRM is also about setting expectations - and appropriately reacting to expectations that are not met.

The role of PRM is to gain more knowledge about the customer, improve the relationship and manage the retention of the player. It also provides key customer data across all internal delivery channels. In particular, exact and up-to-date information about the customer (hard and soft data), transaction and contact histories and asset value of the customer.

The analysis of player data should tell us what type of expectations we should set for different player segments. Fortunately, PRM, when properly executed, ensures that the expected service level can be achieved at each touch point.

As players increasingly demand the same level of service across all channels, casinos' PRM initiatives become more complex. To facilitate the type of service players expect, these casinos need to build an architecture to support the following areas:

	A data store containing clean, integrated information to support analytical functions in the organization (a data warehouse or marketing database).
	A data store containing clean, integrated information to support operational systems.
	Campaign management functionality to supply a central view of marketing initiatives across all channels and all promotions.
	A delivery mechanism to supply information from the centralized operational database to all relevant touch points.
	A personalization mechanism to ensure that the information is turned into a customized and easily facilitated experience that enhances the relationship.

The Challenge

At present there are over 450 Indian Casinos owned, operated and managed by Native American Tribes within the United States. Their offering of Vegas style gaming activities such as Slot Machines, Black Jack, Poker, Video Games, Keno and Bingo have attracted a phenomenal growth. With this growth comes the necessity to better compete with the established Vegas and Atlantic City casino properties. In doing so, better marketing and customer retention programs are now being researched and implemented to lure that customer. Such programs include utilizing available and future technologies to help provide a greater competitive venue.

One way Indian Casinos utilize luring prospective gaming players is by offering transportation from strategic points within their geographical areas. As buses arrive, players may be directed towards a registration area to sign up for a player's card. Each bus can carry between 25 and 50 people. When multiplied by 5 to 10 buses, the registration process is dramatically increased and gambling activities are delayed. The first strategy is implementing a wireless application while en route to the casino; a gaming Host can capture and send each player's signup information for processing prior to arrival. Upon exiting the bus at the casino, the player's card can be available at the Host or registration desk, accelerating the player to the gaming activities. Additionally, the opportunity presents itself to capture missed opportunities of registration by allowing a roving host to find visitors at various gaming activities who are not using a player's card. As an incentive to the casino, the Business Intelligence process can highlight any VIP Players for further specialized treatment.

One of the many responsibilities of a Pit Boss is to closely monitor betting performance. That is, tracking the individual profit and losses of the individual player as part of the profiling process. This enables the Pit Boss to also provide additional services to the player dependent upon their needs such as providing markers (Cash Advances) or other considerations. This process is currently a manual event that hinders the required Player Relationship Management aspect. The second PRM strategy is to utilize a wireless application not only to replace several of these manual processes but also, to gather a more accurate account of player's activities. The wireless application would allow the Pit Boss to capture the player's card number, including VIP players who will be highlighted for recognition and service. Each player's betting performance is then easily tracked and wirelessly transmitted to the casino's operational systems. Furthermore, if a player requests a marker, the information is transmitted to the cashier for approval and a marker ticket printed within the pit area. Thus avoiding the annoying manual process that can take up to 30 minutes.

The Goals

4GL Solutions provides gaming strategies to focus on Player Relationship Management (PRM). The primary strategy focuses on increasing player knowledge and retention through a Wireless Gaming Card Registration Application, which includes a Business Intelligence backend to further provide player-profiling analysis. The second PRM strategy focuses on two activities of the Gaming Pit Boss, who is responsible for the monitoring of the table games. This includes a Wireless Player Recognition application, where betting performance can be tracked and wirelessly interfaced into other operational systems. The second is a Marker Acquisition application, thereby automating the process of requesting cash advances (Markers).

The Benefits

Increasing the attraction and retention of targeted players, Player Relationship Management (PRM) solutions combined with a powerful data warehouse allows the tracking of player activities and provides the means to analyze, predict, and maximize the value of each player relationship. This is a competitive advantage.

Corporate:
4GL Solutions, Inc.
18500 Von Karman, Suite 540
Irvine, CA 92612

COPYRIGHT 1999 Advanstar Communications, Inc.
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