## Customer Perception: Does Brand Recognition Influence Devotion?
Operators frequently prioritize brand recognition when striving for customer devotion. But does it truly influence devotion, and is it sufficient for long-term prosperity?
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Does brand recognition truly influence customer devotion?
Welcome to the third part of our five-part consumer insights series, designed to outline and analyze customer acquisition, retention, and growth opportunities for leading operators in North America.
In the first part, we explored common challenges bettors face when trying to register, deposit, and use their preferred apps, highlighting the correlation between a smooth user journey and brand devotion.
Last week, we delved into the everyday frustrations consumers face and the opportunities for operators to develop improved customer experiences that can impact devotion and market share.
This week, we leverage our unique insights to analyze the operators performing best in terms of brand recognition, app preference, and customer devotion through the lens of the consumer. As operator business units continue to battle for seemingly limited resources and budgets, these insights will inform the optimal strategies for both leading and challenger brands.
**Insights**
Initially, it’s crucial to acknowledge that these observations stem from diverse marketplaces, encompassing a Canadian territory. Our examination encompasses a multitude of operators, some of whom opt for specific state launches, while others expand across all accessible markets. These elements might influence the subsequent rankings.
We posit that only a select few operators achieve prominence in brand recognition, and these entities are likely to spearhead customer contentment, thus also positioning them as frontrunners in loyalty.
We further hypothesize that the potential link between brand awareness and loyalty is insufficient to sustain a long-term lead within the industry.
As showcased in the preceding week’s presentation, numerous daily consumer grievances primarily revolve around perceived promotional deficiencies, technical malfunctions, difficulties in locating or placing wagers, user experience/interface shortcomings, deposit/withdrawal complications, and subpar customer assistance. In actuality, brand awareness and recognition appear to have no bearing on these everyday frustrations.
Number of Governing Regions: 3 US states + 1 Canadian province
Number of participants: 720
Total registered accounts: 2,520 (averaging 3.5 per participant)
Betting regularity: 32% of individuals engage in sports wagering at least once daily
Online Casinos: 46% of individuals utilize online casinos for wagering in authorized states.
In response to a request for a list of online sports betting and gambling company names that came to mind, participants clearly recognized five leading brands.
DraftKings, FanDuel, and BetMGM were among the top three in each category, but it’s interesting to note that BetMGM ranked first in online casino brands and third in online sports betting brands. DraftKings took the top spot in online sports betting recognition and second place in online casino recognition. FanDuel came in second and third, respectively. Caesars and Barstool ranked fourth and fifth in both categories.
Now that we’ve established that consumers are more familiar with certain operators than others (billions of dollars in marketing spending have paid off), it’s crucial to understand how this awareness translates to the first app used in various established and emerging markets.
As shown below, the three most well-known brands are also the three most frequently chosen as the first app used. However, you’ll notice that the difference between the three is greater than before (the gap from first to third is 22 percentage points, compared to 17 percentage points previously).
While some may favor DraftKings and FanDuel’s advertising campaigns over BetMGM, it’s safe to say that the early advantage DraftKings and FanDuel gained from their dominance in daily fantasy games is more relevant when looking for a cause-and-effect relationship.
Examining the relationship between bettors’ favored applications and their top-rated apps, the accompanying chart reveals a compelling narrative of app preference changes from DraftKings to FanDuel. Thirty-five percent of participants initially selected the DraftKings app, but 32 percent of participants designated it as their preferred app.
Conversely, 28 percent of participants identified FanDuel as their favored app, but 33 percent of participants listed it as their top-rated app (a net gain of 8 percentage points compared to its primary rival).
Not unexpectedly, when analyzing this group of bettor app preferences, user interface and user experience played a critical role in determining users’ top-rated apps (36%) – FanDuel achieved the highest ranking in this category.
Intriguingly, according to this study, Caesars and Barstool ranked first and second, respectively, in “strong brand name,” which was only the fourth most significant factor in determining favorite apps, with only 7 percent of bettors identifying it as important.
Consistent with the hypothesis demonstrated in last week’s program that consumers opt to wager on multiple operator platforms and individual apps can be utilized to fulfill bettors’ specific requirements, the following active user summary illustrates this.
These findings not only propose that bettors are actively seeking out multiple apps, but also that bettors are more likely to be loyal than we initially thought (at least with a portion of their funds).
Over the last three weeks, I’ve emphasized what users don’t desire from internet sports wagering platforms and theorized about what they anticipate from their preferred applications.
In the concluding episode next week, we’ll examine practical actions that operators and leagues can take to enhance the user experience, which could affect the industry’s long-term viability.
*Data collected by Betting Hero Research from March to September 2022
Writer: Jai Maw, Head of Betting Hero
Jai co-founded and served as Chief Executive Officer of Betting Hero in 2018, expanding the company from two full-time employees to 25 full-time employees and over 250 Betting Hero independent contractors in 2022. In November 2021, Betting Hero merged with American Affiliate, which was subsequently acquired by FansUnite Inc. Jai currently serves as President of Betting Hero.
Regarding Betting Hero:
We are widely regarded as the top live activation company in the sports betting and online gambling sector, having generated over 300,000 new depositing customers for our strategic partners since our establishment.
Unlike online affiliates that primarily convert customers through digital content and promotional comparisons, our live team educates difficult-to-reach high-value consumers about their respective sports betting products’ unique advantages, then guides them through the registration, funding, and wagering process.
Our crew is committed to getting individuals utilizing our application, and we’ve been exceptionally effective at it. We’ve developed a unique method for educating people about our app and encouraging them to register, and it’s working! Over 80% of the individuals who download our app actually begin wagering, which is significantly higher than the average (around 50%).
Here’s a concise guide to get you going:
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