Creating a sports betting website is about much more than offering a good selection of markets. If you want to succeed in the long run, customer service is essential.
You need to encourage new customers to wager with you over the many established sports betting websites, and it’s also essential that you continue to retain your customers and enhance their lifetime player value.
There are several things you can do to offer a better online sports betting customer experience. Getting the basics right is of course essential, but you also have to think outside the box and think about the unique types of content you can offer.
Today, we’re going to show you some of the top ways that you can provide an elite-level online sports betting customer service. We’ll highlight how you can provide more of a human touch, in addition to the importance of loyalty programs and more.
Instil Service at Every Level
You need to implement an ethos of respect and high-quality service throughout your betting company. It’s essential that you hire employees who are a good fit for your company culture and who will want to provide excellent service to your customers.
Moreover, you should recognize your employees’ achievements and offer praise where it’s due. Similarly, you need to offer subsequent training as part of the onboarding process.
You also need to provide a high level of service to all of your players, regardless of whether they’re VIP customers or not. Make sure that you do everything you can to solve their problems and settle disputes before they become a serious problem.
It’s also essential that you develop good relationships with external clients and providers, and that you work together with them to improve your products and services. On top of that, you should ensure that all of your affiliates are looked after and have dedicated managers.
Communication Is Vital
The most important aspect of excellent customer service as a sports betting company is communication. You need to ensure that you’re transparent with everything you do, including the protocols that surround players collecting their winnings and the terms and conditions of free bets. On top of that, you should set the right processes for in-team communication.
You also need to make it easy for players to contact you if they’ve got a question. First and foremost, they should have access to a large information hub that can assess basic problems that may arise. But beyond that, it should be simple for players to reach out and seek the solutions to their problems.
Consider Using Artificial Intelligence
Although artificial intelligence (AI) has become hugely popular, you shouldn’t jump on the bandwagon just to say that you use it. Having said that, you can get creative and use AI in multiple ways to provide a better online sports betting service to your customers.
One big way that you can utilize AI is through chatbots on your website. These are great starting points to help customers get the information they need without needing to go through a lengthier customer service discussion.
You should, however, make sure that you add a human touch to these; you can do that by giving your chatbot a name and ensuring that it mimics a real human conversation.
Another way you could think about using AI is through offering in-depth sports statistics and predictions based on past trends. It’s also possible to utilize AI to discover what customers want and provide that. This brings us nicely on to the next point…
Personalize Your Service
If you don’t make the services you offer personal to other people, you will have a difficult time appealing to your target audience. And over time, you can expect others to choose competitors who know precisely what they want.
Personalizing your services will cover multiple areas, such as providing unique odds and markets while also giving players free bets and bonuses that they’ll actually use.
You can use several tools to personalize your sports betting service. A good starting point is to think about the type of player you want to attract. Once you’ve done that, you can begin creating your customer persona.
Beyond that, you can also utilize analytics and social media to understand what players are interested in. When you have this information, you’ll find it much easier to stand out.
Offer Real-Time Betting Odds
In-play betting has become immensely popular over the past decade, and it’s unthinkable for many sportsbooks to not offer these.
Betting odds will naturally change as a game continues; for example, one team could’ve been the favorite prior to the match but then starts losing and is on the back foot. Some players might see this as a huge opportunity to win and therefore place money.
Offering real-time betting odds not only adds another dimension to your business but also can potentially enhance your chances of increasing your revenue. To offer real-time betting odds, you’ll need to make sure that the betting platform you’ve partnered with allows you to utilize this service.
Make Information Easy to Find
One common issue with many betting websites in the past is that the information you needed wasn’t always available. This was also something that impacted many old company websites, but things are thankfully now changing.
If you want to offer the best possible service to your customers, you need to make the information on your website easy to find.
Ideally, your web pages will have clearly defined menus, and, as mentioned earlier, you should have an extensive information hub for people to find whenever they need it. Furthermore, you will need to ensure that your social media pages and other contact details are easy to discover when they’re needed.
Give VIP Treatment
The best way to increase customer loyalty is by ensuring that your most valuable players feel like they’re special. So, it’s essential that you give these players VIP treatment where possible. Historically, this has meant offering VIP schemes where high-value customers get access to exclusive deals and more.
In some countries, VIP schemes are no longer allowed – but that doesn’t mean you have to give up all special treatment. Where possible, you should still try and offer high-quality deals. You might also want to try offering faster access to customer service and other niceties.
Conduct Customer Feedback Surveys
The best way to continually improve your business is by obtaining customer feedback. You should do these quite frequently, such as once per quarter or every six months.
Ask your customers what they like about your offerings, along with where they feel like you have room for improvement. You should also ask your customers what they feel like you could offer in the future that you aren’t already doing.
You can carry out customer research in several ways. The first is to email your customers if they’ve permitted you to do so. But on top of that, you can also conduct surveys on social media and your website. By choosing multiple points of feedback, you will find it much easier to gather the information you need to make essential changes.
Regularly Update Your Apps and Websites
One of the quickest ways to put off your customers is to have apps and websites that do not function well or respond properly. For this reason (and also because of security necessities), it’s crucial that you keep your apps and websites updated as much as possible.
Each time a major iOS or Android software update is released, for example, you’ll typically need to update your apps as well.
On top of that, you should also make sure that your website has up-to-date plugins and the like. You can set many of your website backend updates to automatic, and doing so will save you a lot of time.
Offer Round-the-Clock Customer Support
One of the best things about an online business is that you can operate 24/7. However, this can also be one of the largest drawbacks if you aren’t careful. Round-the-clock customer support is essential, and you need to think of how you will offer this.
You can potentially set up customer support teams in different time zones, but you’ll need to ensure that they have the right training to meet your customers’ needs. On top of this, you can also hire staff to work at different shifts to tackle issues that may occur throughout the night.
Provide a High-End Sports Betting Customer Experience
Being a high-value sports betting operator requires a significant amount of know-how, and you must consider multiple aspects of the business.
Your service does not just start and end with your customers; you will also need to think about how you instill a winning mentality in your team. Moreover, you have to think about the correct hiring protocols to ensure that your colleagues all respect one another.
Besides hiring the right people, you should also think about the different ways that you will personalize your services. For example, you’ll need to offer the right incentives for new players and also treat high-level customers well.
Check out the EGT Digitals Sports betting module and explore all its benefits, such as creating a custom page sorted by relevance to suit the individual preferences of every player and many more.
Use these tips as a starting point to deliver a better customer experience within your sports betting company.
FAQ
What promotion are sports betting websites using to acquire customers?
Sports betting websites acquire customers through enticing promotions like welcome bonuses, enhanced odds, loyalty programs, and referral bonuses. These promotions aim to attract new users, retain existing customers, and incentivize referrals.
How do I start a betting service?
To start a betting service, you need to research legal requirements, obtain necessary licenses, partner with a sports betting software provider, secure funding, and launch with effective marketing strategies to attract customers.
What do sports betting consultants do?
Sports betting consultants provide expertise in market analysis, business planning, regulatory compliance, software selection, and operational support to individuals or businesses entering the sports betting industry, helping them navigate complexities and optimize their operations.
