As gaming professionals it’s important to be aware of what is happening in other jurisdictions as well as your own. Be mindful of what other operators are doing to keep up market share. You will reap results if your staff is watching their strategies, new plans and programs they are using to keep their slice of the pie. There is always a better mouse trap out there that gets the job done. Find those mouse traps. What’s the casino down the road doing that you’re not? In our business it takes just one mistake to create chaos and poor results. We’ve all been there. Before you launch get it right. Plan, Communicate, Train, Produce, adapt and do it all over again.
So how do you stay ahead of your competitors? Be different. You have to set yourself apart from the other guys. Maybe that’s increased creativity in your collateral, possibly that’s modifying your brand, expanding your reach advertising wise, offering more payback in areas that have high perceived value but are bottom line efficient. Lastly one of the fundamental areas we over look because we think it’s performance levels are always static??? C’mon what is it?
The Worker Bee. That’s right. It is our hardworking, under acknowledged, under trained and under rewarded staff. The “worker bee” still has to fight your battle every day. All to often we overlook those that do it right. We take that performance for granted. All too often we give more attention to those that won’t wage that battle for us. Protect and nurture your worker bees. These are only a few areas that will help your efforts to make it through tough times. There are more, but start simple.
Know your competitor better than they know themselves. Know their customer better.
Listen to the radio and watch the TV. What are the other stores doing new and different?
Look at other jurisdictions and glean what might work in your area and with your customer base. It has to be different. Right now that’s an edge.
Don’t forget the Worker Bee… ADMIRE THEIR HARD WORK, PROMOTE THEIR RELATIONSHIPS WITH PATRONS, CONTINUE THE PERPETUAL TRAINING AND ACKNOWLEDGE THEIR EXCELLENCE. And please show that on the floor every day. It just works.