It certainly should not come as a surprise when I say that since the first issue of Poker Digest went into distribution, I, along with Trish, Steve, and Hap, have been contacting poker rooms around the country to sell them advertising space. It also should not come as a surprise if I told you the responses were as varied as asking everyone in your cardroom, “What’s your favorite movie of all time?”
On one side of the coin we have the multimillion dollar casino operations, most of which treat poker as the black sheep of the family and can’t do anything right now because “management won’t be reviewing the budget for another seven months.” Then there’s the other side of the coin where you have just the small cardroom operators. This list would include friends like Larry Hatler in Grass Valley, California, and Larry Smith in Folsom, California, who probably wouldn’t find it cost effective to advertise in any nationally-distributed magazine if the offer included free room and board.
So here’s what’s planned for today. First I’m going to tell you a true story about how a very perceptive and courageous executive once handled a sales and budget crisis … and then we’ll cover some ideas on how to improve business in ways far less expensive than print media, radio, or TV.
Many, many years ago I took a Prentice-Hall course entitled, “Marketing Campaigns — The Winners and Losers.” One of the guest lecturers stated that, in his opinion, the most brilliant marketing strategy of the last 40 years was executed by Proctor & Gamble.
During the depression years, virtually every major company cut its budget as another step to stay in business. P & G, on the other hand, took every dollar they could scrape together and bought air time on all three radio networks, (in those days no one knew how to spell television.) Then, in afternoon time slots that even competed with each other, they started broadcasting human interest stories. They named these stories “soap operas.”
Within six months, Ivory soap and its slogan (99.9% pure …) became the most well-known product name in the world while sales continued to climb. During a subsequent interview with the president, when asked what led to their bold advertising “gamble,” he replied, “We just felt that to survive we had to get our message to as many women as we could … and as often as we could.”
Now I would like to ask all the readers readers who are in any cardroom management position to ask yourself this question: “Have you ever asked any of your players … those people who pay the bills … if they have any ideas on how you could improve your business or make the cardroom a more enjoyable place for them?”
A few years ago when Paul Fontaine was general manager of the Garden City Club in San Jose, he said to me, “I keep reading about all the effort these major corporations make to conduct focus groups and learn more about the public’s perception of their product, service, or the industry.
“I don’t want to spend a lot of money or make a big deal of this, but I had an idea. I’m going to host a private dinner, away from the club, and invite a ‘mix’ of our best customers to what I’ll call a brainstorming session instead of a focus group,” he added.
A short time later, I had another conversation with Paul and asked how his dinner went. “It was one of the best business investments I ever made. We’ve already implemented five of the most and the one that’s been the most productive is the one I never would have thought of,” he replied. When I asked Paul what the idea was he continued with “We had a menu for those who ordered food at the table games that wasn’t too extensive. Our one gentleman pointed out that under our listing of Asian selections we only had three. It was too limited a menu to hold many of the Asian players for a long 12-to-24 hour stretch.”
Not too long after that conversation I again talked to Paul. He told me they increased the Asian food selection to 12 items and there was a noticeable increase in business as players stayed longer.
A simplified idea to this ask your customers approach was used years ago at the Oceanside Cardroom in Oceanside, California. When you walked through the door from the parking lot, the first thing you saw on the wall in front of you was a big poster. I don’t remember the exact wording, but the big colorful letters went something like this, “If you have any ideas to help us improve the club, tell us about it! We’ll pay $000 for each idea used.” I don’t remember the amount but I do remember that they paid out hundreds of dollars to quite a few people.
Here’s another one. How would you like to use a very inexpensive direct mail idea that will probably bring you a return of 40 percent to 50 percent? No it’s not impossible! The only problem with this recommendation is that you need an up-to-date customer mailing list (you do have one, don’t you?) and you also need the month and date of the customer’s birthday.
There’s a cardroom located in Sacramento, California, owned by Ken Worsham. Ken sends out birthday cards to his players and includes a birthday gift certificate. He usually uses an offer like $50 in chips for a $30 buy-in, but like all other suggestions, the offer is up to you.
Ken also uses expiration dates. Expiration dates are extremely important because they precipitate a “call to action.” If I recall correctly, the certificates were valid for 60 days… 30 days prior to the birthday and 30 days after the birthday. Players not only appreciated the thought, but they took advantage of the offer. One additional tip: use the word certificate as opposed to coupon. It not only has a classier ring to it, but it has pulled a better response in split-test mailings.
There’s a philosophy of doing business that I’ll never let up on, it’s the least expensive way of promoting your business that you’ll ever come up with … and it’s all categorized under the simple phrase of “relationship marketing.” As I think back on all my cardroom visits over the years, it’s really disheartening to recall how little effort I see devoted to the servicing of customers and the training of dealers as goodwill ambassadors.
There was a book written about 5 to 7 years ago called Marketing Services to Competing Through Quality. Try to find it and read it. The two authors maintain that the heart of their message that a company that has even a mediocre advertising or marketing program — but is dedicated to providing excellent service and hospitality — will have higher customer retention and more business than a company stressing customer training but falling short when it comes to customer service. The book also discusses how to attract, develop, motivate, and retain quality employees who can better execute your relationship marketing strategy.
Good service and friendly employees can even overcome a mediocre physical facility, yet players to stay longer and return more frequently. As managers and owners, you should place yourselves in a “take-charge” position of all relationship marketing for your club or cardroom the same way you take charge of finances and operations. Believe me, you won’t find a less expensive or more effective form of advertising.
Poker Digest Magazine – Volume 1 Number 4