Diamonds in the data mine by Gary Loveman

Harrah’s motto is” if your service can persuade one customer to make one more visit a year with us, you’ve had a good shift. If you can pursue three, you’ve had a great shift.” Their objective is to deliver excellent service from every angle and every department that contributes to the success of the company. No one is left or is expected to perform any less. Although most of their customer walking into Harrahs doesn’t fit the traditional profile of a high roller, their goal (nonetheless) is to target every customer and makes sure they feel special through recognition and great customer service.

Currently, Harrah’s technique to increase customer loyalty is utilized with two distinctive, well thought-out methods: first, through the use of database marketing to widen the gap between casinos that operates based on their customer incentives rather than intuition and evidence. Second the focus is to be on great service that the consumers expect. Fine tuning service-delivery strategies keep customers coming back. Their philosophy is “if you build it, they will come.” I thought the general shift in culture after Gary Loveman stepped on board was very effective. His promoted and encouraged the idea to make sure their regular customers are more than satisfied. Only then can they attract new customers by maintaining the ones that remained with us from the beginning.

Unlike the other fantasyland LV casinos that focuses more on the attractiveness of their facilities and the luxurious limelight of amenities, Harrah’s didn’t depend heavily on its stores, restaurants, bars or other amenities; they focused more specifically on cultivating lasting relationships with their core customers. Such as slot players, many of which are middle class, everyday “Joe the plumber” type of individuals that just enjoyed playing slot machines after work. It’s their continuous dedication that would lead to greater and more sustainable profit. They did so by providing regular customers with incentives to visit Harrah’s properties throughout the country with the launch of their Total Gold card. The three tiered system adds a motivating element (positive reinforcement) to the system that persuade customers to keep playing.

Understanding the lifetime value of the customers would be a critical marketing strategy to consider by focusing on the potential worth overtime. The hard work of some employees often times go unnoticed, even though they are the frontline representation of your company and the first person to come in contact with your clienteles. Harrah’s new incentive program allows highly dedicated employees to earn extra cash for achieving improved customer service satisfaction scores. A bonus system was implemented for the employees that eradicated the concept of individual competition. They’ve created a system that would encourage teamwork. The reward program depended on everyone’s performance. If one department was lacking in some way or another, employees that are excelling in their areas of expertise would be persuaded to assist and offer their colleagues what they can do to improve.