Even sports are becoming digital. The word moves fast, and sports were quick to follow. Many changes in sports are driven by the sportsbooks engagement. Betting lines, social media reactions, data, and games are all mingling together. This is not secret for the bookmakers in the US. Everyone knows that a fan of cricket and a fan of the NBA are not identical. That’s why audience segmentation matters a lot.
In this article we’re attempting to bring the audience segmentation in sportsbooks closer to you. The end goal is to give the same level of engagement to everyone based on their preferences. Check out how it works.
Audience Segmentation as a Method
There is nothing too complicated with audience segmentation. It aims at dividing bigger groups of people into smaller ones. The goal is to have people ion newly formed groups having something in common. The parameters to making this decision can be anything from age and location to betting preferences, sports interests, and even financial prowess of a player.
When you talk to a large group, you might not deliver the message to everyone. It would be ideal if you could speak to everyone individually, but that’s not possible. So having people in smaller groups makes every bookmaker US deliver their message more clearly and directly as possible. That’s how connections are made. For online casinos and sportsbooks this is done to gain more engagement through simple connections, in the end the players have more fun, the house has more money and higher revenue, and everyone gets what they wanted in the first place.
Audience Segmentation Importance in Sports Betting
Sports betting is all about two things relevance & timing. Any message wrongly delivered gets ignored. If it gets to where it is intended you can bet that a wager is incoming. Precision matters. Let us give you a few vital examples, to help you better understand why timing and relevance are everything.
- Let’s say we have a 38 year old baseball fan from Massachusetts, and a 21 year old basketball fan from Illinois sitting in a bar in Boston. They certainly do not desire the same experience from a betting app.
- Secondly, you have different types of users based on their frequency. Daily bettors will bet on every sport, every game regardless of the tier of competition, and even on obscure sporting events that have betting markets. Some bettors only wager when there is a monumental event on TV such as Eagles vs. Chiefs Super Bowl, Pereira vs. Adesanya UFC title fight, or Champions League Final between Inter Milan and PSG.
- Also, there might be users who want to have their odds delivered to them the second they’ve changed, to those who want injury reports, lineup shifts, and anything on the field related.
If sportsbooks can’t differentiate between these groups they will fail to keep their attention and that’s bad for business.
Standing Out Is Hard in Digital Sports Economy
God is our witness that there was never bigger competition in the world of online sports betting. Today you have Sportsbet, DraftKings, FanDuel, and ESPN Bet, and many minor bookmakers available. They all want to reach the same audience. Thanks to segmentation they can stand out among their competition.
Sportsbooks that have grown their user profiles have the following data:
– When a player is going to wager.
– What sports is a fan off and which one avoids.
– How big wagers are incoming depends on the betting markets.
-Which device is a user using to wager.
– How well do you respond to push notifications, emails, and messages delivered to you through an app.
Most Common Segments
There are many groups in which US sportsbooks put their users into the most common ones, and probably the most important segments are the following:
- Activity Level-You know it matters, and that it matters a lot. Those who wager in high volumes get VIP perks, custom tailored odds just for them, and even a direct line to a customer service. Next to them are occasional bettors who get more engaged the better promotion they’re receiving from a sportsbook. Lastly, the first time users get perks they can use before wagering such as access to betting guides, risk free bets, and tutorials .
- Sports-The games you follow are an amazing reference. Not all users follow all sports. Some like the NFL, while others tend to favour soccer. With the amount of different sports such as cricket, MMA, baseball, basketball, tennis, and volleyball among many others, sports preference matters a lot for sportsbooks. Based on your preferences, app and website banners, notifications, bonuses, and proms might widely differ.
- Location-As in most businesses, location matters a lot on online betting. Someone who is living in Minnesota wants his odds boosted when Vikings or Timberwolves play. Someone in Los Angeles wants the same for Chargers, Rams, Clippers, Lakers, As, or Raiders. Also, when you take into account different legal reasons and licenses locations plays an even more crucial role.
- Device & Platform-We live in a digital age, remember. Push alters, for example, are always aimed at mobile first users. Desktop users get their notifications via email. Lastly, some users want to receive text messages, or to be contacted via their social media platforms. Others like to keep their communication only to in app one available.
- Time of the Day-Aspect of times is essential for sports bettors. Games are played at all times, depending on the sport you can find matches 24/7. Yet, the time we’re talking about is the one users dedicated to their wagering, making the slip. Some people wager in the morning, others during their lunch breaks at work, while third do it over the night. Alerts and offers are distributed to users based on time when they’re most active.
Why Does Segmentation Strategy Work?
At the end of the day is simple, people love a personal touch. When users are properly segmented, the platform appears personal to them. Tailored for them personally. It is important for sports bettors to feel like they’re not just a number, another customer in line. Every betting app or a website needs to be able to respond to user habits. Making users feel relevant is what creates loyal customers, and you need those in these testing and highly competitive times.
Relevance is what keeps users at bay. Furthermore, segmentation does wonders for churn. Once a sportsbook loses users, it is hard to get them back. You know why? That user is already somewhere else at someone who did their audience segmentation better. Any sportsbook that wants to keep their users close, and to attract new ones needs to have targeted content, promos that are not ordinary, and to apply different and all available engagement tools, if no user is to leave.
Will The Importance of Audience Segmentation Vein?
It will not. In fact, in the future it is only going to be more precise. The betting platforms collect more user data by the day. In the future their offers will be more personalized than ever. What we can expect to happen is for each player or group of players to have dynamic odds based on what they’ve wagered on before. Bet slips are going to be custom built, and shared with social betting groups from region or even locally. The future of audience segmentation lies in the plans that it’s going to be possible to have a different betting experience for each user.
As we’re reaching an even more digitally equipped present time, soon enough we will be able to bet through wearables, to apply voice search across the betting markets, and to access live sports broadcasts through means not available right now (VR & AR). While the future looks bright, the goal will be the same as it ever was know your audience. The better the bookmaker understands the player and vice versa, it will be easier to have everyone engaged.
Bettors are no longer tread all the same, and they shouldn’t be. Through the means of audience segmentation, the bookmakers were able to focus on what their players really want & need, and the players have found a way to enjoy their favourite pastime even more and show just how loyal they can be.