Having a business model that turns engagement into sales and subscriptions is what you want to implement if you are to thrive. This is a reality that applies to all kinds of circumstances that await in many different sub-fields of the online commerce world. It’s all about setting up a model full of intentionality that can become sustainable.
As far as strategic choices go, many of them are reinterpretations and refreshed ideas that follow old and established principles. Naturally, there is much more to an online vendor’s success than just its marketing or its line of products and services. The necessity of striking a balance between them is what combines engagement, conversion, and returns.
If the online vendor tries to bring forth the very same principles that it sees in its competitors, all while trusting what it sells, it’s hardly going to establish itself as an outstanding brand. As such, it needs to establish its own unique identity and make sure that customers know that they are vying for something new and commercially expressive.
The surprising part about this situation can be the fact that online gambling platforms, otherwise known as bookmakers and online casinos, have been trying their best to personalize their marketing models in order to stand out. In the process, their efficiency has garnered them incredible success, as proven by Statista’s online gambling study and its imposing figures.
Given that online commerce vendors can adapt these strategies within their own brands and platforms, wouldn’t it be feasible to use them for discernible efficiency? This is what we’re going to see in this article!
How can we make the connection between iGaming and regular vendors?
The most essential way to connect these two would be the application of customer acquisition and loyalization principles. It’s all about knowing what the customer wants by default (within the scope of the broader market), giving it to them, and then having them come for more. However, it’s also establishing a rapport with the customer.
Naturally, the iGaming industry is a world in which the product on display is more like a service: the provision of gambling activities within a structured and purportedly safe environment. However, the premise that is the real core of this field is the possibility of winning, making it a high-risk, high-reward aspect that is very enticing.
The part that would translate the best would be the idea of promoting advantages that create personal value for customers. It can be something as simple as incentivization protocols that make using a certain service more attractive on a certain platform that provides the same games/betting opportunities as the competitors.
However, it can make it more engaging by default, not to mention the idea of turning the concept into something personalized. In this sense, immersion and a narrative incentivization structure can simply make a vendor more interesting, as is the case with plenty of high-level online casinos.
Loyalty programs and linear incentivization
We ought to begin with loyalty programs because they are the easiest to understand due to their general applicability. You have all kinds of vendors (and gambling platforms) setting up membership-ready elements that, in short, makes it worthy shopping through a certain vendor.
When you have elements like point-based gift redemption and exclusive discounts, the customer thinks of a vendor as a presenter of special opportunities. Many online stores have instant coupons for new customers, which we’d call instant incentivization. Online casinos have something similar by offering their real money online casino no deposit bonus codes.
By gaining membership and continuing to shop/play there, the customer gains some form of digital and internal currency that can yield advantages like gifts, exclusive incentives, and even a client status that can serve as a psychological reward element.
Offering a sliding scale of advantages can provide customers with a real and truly relevant sense of continuous value. In this sense, it’s normal to think of commercial opportunities for vendors as their ability to convince their existing customers to return to that hub due to the extended value of doing so.
Gamification elements and the progress of engagement elements
Gamification is quite an interesting aspect that is viable in many elements of how we live our lives, not just commerce.
The idea of creating a narrative and engagement action is definitely relevant within any learning, commercial, and any other development structure because it gives us a sense of purpose, especially when there are individual (personal) achievements in this mix.
Let’s think of a few examples by starting off with another parallel with iGaming. In this industry, aspects like challenges, tournaments, and even Fortune Wheels are central to standard gamification inserts. Instead of fortune wheels, you might see crabs or even arcade/fair-style shooting, in which you engage in a small action that comes with a guaranteed prize.
The ensuing reward might be something that you receive in order for the casino to convince you to play/bet (i.e., a special bonus or access ticket to something like a tournament). Doing so translates to you spending, which is exactly what a casino would want.
Naturally, this is exactly what a commercial online entity would want. What it can give you is yet another set of special discounts, or even bundle deals like ‘buy 2, get 3’ deals. You can also earn special deals by having lifetime expenditures up to a certain sum. In terms of challenges, it can implement things like reaching a spending threshold for a special cashback.
With this kind of strategy, the consumer has a sense of purpose when it comes to spending. It makes it worth doing so at a certain vendor because they have the benefits, but it also happens within a certain narrative structure.
Mobile-first mentality — an adaptation method
Things are much simpler if you look at the mobile-first part. Smartphone usage statistics show that much of the world’s population has a smartphone and uses it. Shopping of any kind can definitely apply to a very significant degree.
There are simple strategies like providing special deals for acquisitions made in the vendor’s app, where ad revenue and data-based, personalized offers become more feasible. Nowadays, the use of AI for data handling and sorting can make automated suggestions.
Since vendor apps are the most common in mobile usage, vendors can push their customers towards this medium in order to create a better environment for their commercial ambitions. As such, this is a match that has a lot of bearing for vendors looking to reward customers in a way that stimulates buying.
Conclusion
We’d say that these are the main points that would connect the newest and most strategic incentivization elements in eCommerce. Given that iGaming is a cousin of regular commerce, it’s no wonder that there are parallels that we can spot and explain.
If you’re a voracious buyer, make sure to spend your money efficiently and frugally. If you’re a regular of iGaming services, make sure to play responsibly!
