In order to gain a foothold in a competitive market like the sports betting industry, it is no longer enough to just launch a website and hope for customers.
It is usually very difficult for a new bookmaker to enter the market with products that are very similar or identical to the established competition. Because the thought that the same product will lead to the same success is not necessarily correct. Likewise, nowadays it is hardly possible to simply advertise with a larger offer, since most of the major betting providers already feature an equally large variety of games and markets.
Instead, it is crucial to stand out from the competition and gain a market advantage through diversification. The recipe for success is to offer a more captivating experience than the competition – betting on your own platform has to be more engaging and more fun than with the competition, and it has to impress with its simplicity.
The offer and products of the sports betting platform must be geared towards precisely these factors. After a (prospective) sports betting provider has determined his target market and carried out a competitor analysis, he has to ask himself how exactly he wants to stand out from the competition with his own sports betting platform.
Question: How can I convince customers to bet with me of all providers?
Diversification opportunities
1) Marketing & Customer communication
Due to the steadily growing range of sports betting platforms from a wide variety of providers on the market, customer expectations of products, functions and services have changed and increased significantly. The customer demands added value that goes beyond the conventional market offer and nowadays regards the additional services as a decisive criterion for the choice of the betting provider.
Successful marketing cannot do without targeted communication with both new and existing customers. It is important to know the needs and demands of the customers and to align marketing measures accordingly. In addition to tailor-made promotions and marketing campaigns, the user experience on the betting platform can also be used here in a targeted manner. In addition, high-quality customer service and support plays a decisive role in terms of the perceived professionalism and trustworthiness of a platform.
Read how you can optimally communicate with your customers here: Sports betting business intelligence: Customer communication
2) Simplicity
The simpler and more intuitive a sports betting product and the associated processes, the higher the acceptance among betting customers. Since betting on the smartphone has already established itself in most countries with a large lead over placing bets on the computer or at terminals, it being ablte to place bets spontaneously and quickly is essential.
This modern user orientation continues in other aspects of the betting platform. The fact that sports betting has now become socially acceptable and is also becoming increasingly social, especially among the younger population, the demands on the betting platform are also changing. It has long since ceased to be just betting professionals, who expertly navigate through odds lists, to which the set-up of a betting platform caters – even new and inexperienced players must be able to find their way around easily and intuitively and to understand the principle of the betting process.
Endless lists of odds and confusing websites are counterproductive in this regard. Way better are pages which are made less monotonous with various elements and which feature simple and self-explanatory processes, both for registration and for placing bets and deposits and withdrawals.
In this context, especially the latter deposit and withdrawal processes must work in a smooth and quick manner in order to create trust among customers and thereby promote deposits. At the same time, means of payment that are tailored to the market must be offered, which customers are familiar with and which they already use in their everyday lives.
3) Gamification
The game and fun factor has long been neglected in the sports betting industry. For the vast majority of betting customers, sports betting platforms only differ in their color. For the younger target group as well as for hobby gamers and newbies to sports betting, however, the focus is clearly on having fun in betting.
Gamification is therefore an extremely important and successful means of acquiring customers. Betting on your own platform just has to be more fun than betting with the competition. On the one hand, this is a good tool for diversification, and on the other hand, it creates additional betting stimulus (you bet more if you enjoy it).
Although the essence of betting remains the same, the experience around it can be made exciting and varied. New front ends, the embedding of gamification elements and entertaining ways of communicating with the customer are just a few ways to achieve this. The times of the “numbers graveyard” are over both on the smartphone and in the desktop browser.
Read also: What sports betting customers really want
4) Offer & products
Having a larger offer of sporting events and betting markets has long been considered the most important means of diversification. The fact that there are hardly any bets on many leagues / events and bettors are overwhelmed by the number of markets to bet on shows that a larger offer does not automatically equal more revenue. Rather, the focus should be on offering an appropriately large and qualitative range for the target market. “What do customers really want to bet on? ” is a question that not all providers ask these days.
This question can be answered through professional market research and intensive examination of your own customer base. The better you know the requirements and preferences of your (potential) customers, the more precisely your offer can be tailored to them. You can find more tips on how to gain specific insights into your customer base here: Sports betting business intelligence: Customer segmentation
Depending on the market, a sports betting platform can also offer products such as betting on eSports, Casino games (video slots, live dealers, etc.) or Virtual Sports, or entertainment products such as jackpots, betting games, etc. in addition to live and pre-match sports betting. The availability depends on cultural preferences, legal regulations and the possibilities of the platform software.
Especially bets on eSports have proven to be a valuable addition to traditional sports betting, not least in view of the pandemic. eSports, which are particularly popular with the younger generation, are also becoming increasingly popular with older sports bettors who are looking for an alternative to traditional sports betting. Crossovers such as the simulation sports titles FIFA or the NBA 2k also saw a strong increase in popularity in 2020.
You can read more about eSports in the following article: Betting on eSports: the future of sports betting?
5) Odds
To stand out from the competition with better (higher) odds is particularly difficult for smaller, regionally active sports betting providers.
On the one hand, due to the lower turnover, one is often not in a position to offer “better” odds without risking high losses, and on the other hand, especially in the online segment, professional bettors are very inclined to profitably exploit the differences in odds between providers.
If, due to the size of your company, you are able to offer more attractive odds, it is important to use this tool with caution.
6) Bonus
One of the most, if not the most widely used, means of attracting new customers is by giving them bonuses. Bonuses are also often the first choice to stimulate betting and create customer loyalty.
However, this has led to the fact that providers are now rolling over themselves with bonus offers and thus in particular luring the “bonus hunters” out – customers who often only register on betting platforms with the aim of receiving a bonus as quickly as possible without making any deposit.
Properly used bonuses are ideal for reactivating customers, but are only suitable to create customer loyalty to a very limited extent (someone who only bets with me because he gets a bonus, no longer bets with me as soon as he no longer receives a bonus). It is essential to take these factors into account in your own marketing strategy!
Read also on this topic: Successful marketing in the sports betting business
Diversification with Bookmaker NEXT
With Bookmaker NEXT we offer an all-in-one solution with a wide scope for diversification – innovative shop systems, highly customizable web and mobile frontends, fast and efficient payment processes – and all of this with just a single customer account.
In this way you can captivate your customers on site (shop), at home (web) and on the go (mobile) with an individual offer and stand out from your competition. At the same time, the NEXT APIs offer the perfect opportunity to develop your own products and frontends or to integrate third-party content and thus be one step ahead of the competition.
For more information on your diversification options, simply write to us at [email protected]. We would be happy to advise you individually on your project!