|
|
|
Press Releases & Articles
|
(Print,
PDF) |
|
Ellis Communications, Inc. - NEWS STORY
|
|
Casino Marketing, Employee Training Can Work Hand in Hand But
That Is Not Reflected
in How Casinos Budget |
For Immediate Release:
November
14, 2007 |
Contact: Tom Ellis
Ellis Communications, Inc.
Phone (417) 881-5635
E-Mail tellis@casinocustomerservice.com
www.casinocustomerservice.com
www.advcoatedevelopmentsystem.com
|
|
|
|
|
Casinos spend millions of
dollars on marketing to attract guests, but some of those
dollars could be budgeted for employee training that helps the
staff provide the kind of service that keeps customers coming
back.
“I know of a casino in a very competitive market that spends
more than $1 million a month on marketing,” says Martin R.
Baird, chief executive officer of Annapolis, Maryland-based
Robinson & Associates, Inc. “That casino and many others are
throwing away precious revenue. They keep spending money to
chase after new guests when they could be wisely investing a
fraction of the marketing budget to retain existing customers.”
Baird offers the following tips on budgeting for employee
training.
Tip No. 1. Attracting new guests is expensive, Baird says.
“There’s a marketing adage that says it’s 10 times more
expensive to get a new customer than it is to keep an existing
one,” Baird says. “There’s a lot of truth to that. So it makes
good fiscal sense to invest in employee guest service training
to give existing guests a great gaming experience.”
Tip No. 2. It doesn’t take much to make a difference, Baird
notes. “One or two percent of the marketing budget could be
earmarked for training casino employees to provide outstanding
guest service,” Baird says. “Yet casinos that spend millions on
marketing just can’t find the money for training. That is a
mistake that will cost the casino money down the road.”
Tip No. 3. Training is an investment, Baird says. “The cost of
employee training is not an expense,” Baird explains. “It is an
investment – an investment in the casino’s employees and the
property’s future.”
Tip No. 4. Training is critical to successful internal
improvement, Baird says. “Savvy casinos implement internal
improvement programs designed to boost the property’s
performance over time,” Baird says. “Employee training is a
critical element of internal improvement and casinos must plan
to budget for it.”
Tip No. 5. Marketing and quality guest service can work together
for the good of the casino, Baird says. “Marketing and quality
guest service each serve their own purpose and they can work
hand in hand,” Baird says. “Marketing’s responsibility is to
generate trial. However, while it can set new guests’
expectations, it cannot control their actual experience. If a
casino’s marketing shows happy, smiling dealers and spectacular
food, that is what guests will expect. Each person who works at
the casino must be trained to deliver that and more.”
Robinson & Associates, Inc., is a global customer service
consulting firm for the gaming industry. It helps casinos
determine their Advocate Index, a number that indicates the
extent to which properties have guests who are willing to be
advocates. The company then implements its Advocate Development
System in combination with the proven methodology of Advocate
Index and best business practices to help casinos create more
guest advocates and chart a course for growth and profitability.
Robinson & Associates may be reached by phone at 480-991-6420,
by e-mail at mbaird@casinocustomerservice.com or via its Web
sites at
www.advocatedevelopmentsystem.com and
www.casinocustomerservice.com.
Robinson & Associates is a member of the Casino Management
Association and an associate member of the National Indian
Gaming Association. |
|
|
