Paying attention to retention: Finding incremental value in the US affiliate space
Betting Hero President Jai Maw discusses how the US affiliate industry is shifting from an acquisition model to retention and development, with a focus on strategic partnerships, product innovation, and VIP identification.
Over the last couple of years, Betting Hero has focused on delivering incremental value to operators through retention and development activity. Acquisition is always going to play an important role within the industry, but building strong customer relationships on behalf of operators requires a nuanced and multi-faceted approach.
Retention strategy has always been a part of our mission, and the days when an affiliate can focus solely on acquisition are in the past. With a continuing focus on retention and development, an affiliate can provide true flexibility as a valued partner to an operator.
This shift is impacting the affiliate industry; but that is a good thing, as it encourages affiliates to improve via innovation. The affiliates that recognize the shifting landscape and align themselves to clients should thrive, while those that are slow to adopt change may struggle.
Strategic partnerships are key
The best-positioned affiliates have strong strategic partnerships with operators and tend to focus on representing the operators’ brands, in addition to their own. If you don’t have a strong partnership with operators, you could be perceived more as a vendor and less as a strategic partner.
It’s also crucial to listen to what the operators and consumers are telling you. Right now, operators are generally more focused on loyal players who are retained and developed over time. It’s possible to build products and services that enhance the player experience while also adding incremental value for operators.
In the modern marketplace, operators and affiliates share a common goal of creating a sustainable and thriving industry, and everything an affiliate can do to realise that goal should be explored. After all, affiliates share the responsibility of enhancing the sports betting consumer experience.
Fostering and developing VIPs
As the focus intensifies on retaining and developing high-value players, VIP programs and loyalty schemes are going to be more critical than ever to maintain the relationship with the customer. In this industry, VIPs are generally considered the priority and there’s only a certain amount of recognized VIPs in the ecosystem.
It’s the job of the industry as a whole to ensure they are serviced and developed accordingly. Affiliates play a very specific role in the ecosystem, but we are a cog in a greater machine; we need to make sure the whole machine is running correctly to be truly successful.
At Betting Hero, we aim to provide VIP concierge treatment to every single customer, to the extent that is possible. Ideally, through that process and in partnership with operators, we can create a more seamless experience for customers who wish to be introduced to a VIP program.
Staying true to the core mission
There’s a lot of value in remaining focused on a core mission while recognizing the need to be flexible in approach. At Betting Hero, we have a clear long-term vision, but remain nimble enough to carefully adapt our products and services according to the needs of our partners.
Think of an era-defining sports team, that may charge to glory with the help of superstar players or an iconic coach. Those dynasty teams tend to have a long-term overarching vision and philosophy, regardless of the big names who deliver titles.
It’s a similar concept in this business, where the company’s vision and identity should remain constant but the ‘winning formula’ might change here and there along the way.
Finding alignment with operator objectives
Right now, we’re in the ‘offseason,’ which is when operators and affiliates undergo a lot of product innovation and reorganisation. There’s a focus on creating the best product and experience for customers in the opportunity-rich NFL season and beyond. It’s important that affiliates and any other service providers maintain alignment during this period to continue enhancing the customer experience.
Jai Maw is the co-founder and president of Betting Hero, an industry-leading customer acquisition, retention, and development company.
Betting Hero helps operators acquire, retain, and develop customers at scale through its three complementary business units: Betting Hero Activation, Betting Hero Research, and Betting Hero Digital.