Consumers are less likely to recommend a gambling brand based on good customer experience than companies in the retail, mobile, banking and travel sectors.
Just 47% of consumers would endorse a gambling brand, compared with a high of 73% for retailers, and 64% for mobile phone brands, the second lowest score.
With the help of Toluna Quick, we surveyed 5,000 UK consumers in September as part of our research for the Econsultancy / Foviance Multichannel Customer Experience Report.
Here are some of the findings from the gaming section of the accompanying consumer survey report...
Customer experience: areas for improvement
Of course, gambling customers want the best odds for their bets, but beyond that, a user-friendly website, efficient customer service and quick resolution of problems are key areas where customers want to see some improvement.
Indeed, it's interesting that a user-friendly website is so high on the list, which reflects the importance and rapid growth of online gambling.
Which channels are gaming customers using?
Online is king here, with 44% betting using a desktop computer, mobile or tablet, and just 26% heading to the local bookies.
Use of mobile for betting is more prevalent in the 18 to 34 age group, with 15% placing a bet on their phones in the past six months.
Use of tablets and mobile for gaming
Various gaming brands have been promoting their mobile sites and apps, and mobile represents a real opportunity, with the chance to appeal to customers when they are at a sporting event, or watching football in the local pub.
This will be a massive growth area in the next few years, but the results suggest that the mobile user experience could be improved.
56% of customers rated the mobile experience as good or excellent, compared with 67% for desktop. 12% rated it as poor or very poor. The same figure for desktop users was just 5%.
According to the survey results, the user experience on tablets sits somewhere in the middle, a trend which was repeated across the five sectors in the report.
Why customers close accounts
33% of respondents said they had opened a betting account and stopped using it. The reasons given include several usability issues which gambling brands can work on to reduce churn.
It's also interesting that if companies didn't have a mobile version of the service, or the mobile offering was poor, then this was enough to deter 7% of respondents.
Graham Charlton is Editor at Econsultancy. Follow him on Twitter or connect via Linkedin or Google+.
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11:34AM on 9th November 2011
A user-friendly website is always preferable. Social media marketing experts need to address this issue first.
Thanks for sharing.
9:46AM on 10th November 2011
"Just 47% of consumers would endorse a gambling brand"
I guess it's also related to the sector... much easier to endorse a fashion brand.