There really is no other industry on the planet right now that is as crowded and saturated as that of online casinos. In order to stand out some market themselves as so-called “Crypto Casinos” and the rest spend an absolute fortune on advertising and marketing.
That’s just a few examples of how businesses in a particularly crowded industry stand out from one another, but what about outside of the world of online casino gambling? What are ordinary businesses doing to help themselves be heard in noisy markets? Read on to find out.
Unhinged Marketing
I am a millennial and throughout school and in my first few jobs I was always, always told that professionalism and excellent customer service were the absolute core principles of succeeding in business. You can imagine my horror therefore when I first started to see car dealerships partaking in rude trends on TikTok and Instagram. Or clothes companies sharing the online arguments that they had had with customers on their Facebook pages.
On first glance these examples – there are many more as well – felt like an affront to everything I had been told growing up. On second glance though, I saw them for what they were: a savvy exploitation of modern online culture to make a business stand out from the crowd. In recent years, companies that have broken the mould and discarded that air of online professionalism have done well. Yes, many have missed the mark and drawn criticism, but those who have done it right have gained valuable exposure and increased their customer base.
Nailing a Value Proposition
That is the modern, corporate way of saying – finding a USP. What this means is that companies are finding something unique to offer customers as a way of standing out from crowd. In the introduction we touched upon online casinos. The gambling industry has exploded in Canada, particularly online. This has resulted in providers having to pull out all the stops to get ahead of one another. Offering gamblers the opportunity to wager in crypto is a perfect example of “nailing a value proposition” or finding a USP. And while it may seem obvious, the best paying online casinos in Canada often see the most success.
Sites which thoroughly review online casinos keep a record of those which payout most regularly. Unsurprisingly, there is plenty of demand for these with players, so it’s in the providers’ best interests to give their players the best possible chance.
In other industries this typically focuses on either providing the best value possible – a tale as old as commerce itself – or finding a way to offer customers a unique and particularly enticing quality of life improvement.
The fitness world is doing the latter at the moment with gyms now focusing on small group PT sessions, nutritional advice and community activities to increase their retention rates and make their clients feel more engaged and, crucially, spend more money.
Having an Authentic Social Conscience
This is an incredibly interesting trend, not because it is new or novel, but because of what it stems from. It doesn’t stem from a want from consumers for their brands to be more socially conscious, but rather from a dislike of corporate social consciousness.
There was a time in the late noughties and early 2010s when it felt like any brand on the planet would throw their support behind a social justice cause just to make money. For example, a company might change their social media to support an initiative to reduce childhood poverty whilst also using child labour to manufacture their products.
As an almost direct response to that, companies that now throw their backing authentically behind a cause – almost no matter what it is – are receiving kudos from customers. It’s the authentic aspect that is appealing to modern consumers.
In Summary
There are many more things that companies can do to stand out in a crowded market such as investing in innovation, leveraging online content and focusing on the online and offline customer experience.
The topics covered above however are the three most interesting and impactful ones that are currently impacting modern trade. Whilst things like unhinged marketing may play havoc with my millennial sensibilities – God help older generations – we also have to applaud it as an innovative and forward thinking use of social media.
As trading environments continue to grow and change we can expect to see more and more novel innovations from businesses who are eager to stand out from the crowd.
