Casino CRM: Issues and Some Implementation

INTRODUCTION Gambling is as old as time. Whether one is gambling with their life or gambling with their dollar, it is inherent in a person's nature to take a risk. Casinos capitalize on that natural instinct with glitzy decor, buzzing and dinging slot machines, and table games that combine to create an illusion of being transferred into another place and an experience like no other. Over the course of the past few decades, more and more casinos have been built and Internet gambling sites have begun to strip away even more of the revenues from brick-and-mortar casinos. It is critical for each property to implement an effective strategy to keep and retain their customers to remain profitable. It has been shown that satisfied customers are more prone to establish loyalty, and therefore repeat purchases and promote with positive word of mouth (Sim et al., 2006). Crucial to achieving customer satisfaction is providing value to customers. CRM software, specific to the casino industry, allows casinos to track each of their customer's moves and identify which customers are most valuable to the property, which then allows casinos to target specific promotions and offer rewards to different customers based on their preferences. Having a deep understanding of their customers creates value, which can translate into customer loyalty, retention, and higher profits. Unfortunately, the failure rate of CRM implementation in casino industry has been lingered around 70 percent (Kale, 2005). Much of the problem with implementation lies with failing to undergo a change of the organization's core vision to a customer-centric policy. The entire organization must fully commit to the change and understand their role in achieving customer satisfaction, retention, and loyalty. After all, "Technology and technology-driven change has virtually nothing to do with igniting a transformation from good to great. Technology can accelerate a transformation, but technology cannot cause a transformation" (Kale, 2005). For the casino industry, it is imperative to have proper procedures for effective implementation of CRM. Review of background information about CRM in general, and those related to casino industry in particular will be discussed first. Issues related to current status of implementing CRM in casino industry will then be explored. Managerial implications of the key issues identified will be presented followed by some suggestions for improving the effectiveness of implementing the CRM systems. Major findings of this study and some directions for future research will conclude this paper. BACKGROUND INFORMATION CRM is a holistic process of retaining customers by attracting and differentiating them. CRM software supports these processes by storing and retrieving relevant customer data (Kale, 2003). CRM software networks different departments within a company allowing each to input data about customers that may be viewed by all departments. For instance, if a customer calls a casino's call center to book a hotel room, the customer service representative can look at that customer's past bookings and specific details about the customer's visit to that property, or to any other property owned by the company that were recorded by other sales/service representatives. Knowledge of the customer gives the customer a sense that they are valued by the company, and not just another dollar to add to the company's revenue. CRM is more than a process, which can be viewed as a technologically aided version of oldfashioned marketing. CRM allow corporations to integrate organizational focus on communication with and the behavior of the customer. By utilizing the data mined about customer preferences and behaviors to design processes to enhance effectiveness and efficiency, it allows companies to earn higher returns. Companies that use CRM would commit to improve customer satisfaction while concurrently increasing stakeholders' value with consistent positive experiences. …