What is a value proposition and why should it be the cornerstone of your marketing plan?

Cash In! is a series of concise communiqués that offer our perspective on topics that challenge marketing professionals in the gaming industry.

It may go without saying that the main reason for marketing in the first place is to make your casino stand out from the competition. The funny thing is that most casino marketing and advertising sounds exactly the same. And, if not exactly the same, eerily similar. This happens for many reasons. But probably the most common reason is that each casino wants to be everything to everyone. The problem with this (and I'm quoting a famous country song) is that if you don't stand for something, you'll fall for anything. Unfortunately, your customers won't.

This brings us to the term value proposition. Simply defined, a value proposition is the sum of all your casino's offerings versus the price that your customers are willing to pay for them. Let's take a moment and analyze the word "proposition," which in this sense means an exchange: product or service for money. Is the product or service that you are providing worth what you are asking your customers to pay? Many attributes make up products and services in the casino industry: promotions, players' club benefits, customer service, quality (F&B, hotel, etc.) The point of this paper is to get you to see the true value in positioning your casino to be perceived as being "different" from your competition. Because a true "difference" in a well thought out and executed value proposition is what sets yourself apart from the competition. The intent of your value proposition is not to charge more (although this will inevitably happen in the future) it is about delivering a consistent product and having a clear vision of where your casino is going and why. Once you have established your value proposition and are successful in delivering it consistently, you can usually charge more or become more profitable in the delivery of your services. There is an exception to this however. It occurs if your value proposition IS "price." Price can be a value proposition. The challenge with this value proposition, especially in the casino industry, is every casino like it or not, is selling an experience. As hard costs continue to rise and competition intensifies, it becomes increasingly more difficult to successfully market a casino based solely on a "price" value proposition. And honestly, you need to look outside your casino competition and into entertainment competition when your marketing is based strictly on price.

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