The Benefits of Being Customer-Centric for Gaming Studios

Many gaming studios say they care about their customers, but do they? Gaming companies that build customer-centricity into their way of working can reap proven business benefits. 

But focusing on the customer is not as simple as it sounds. It involves a comprehensive approach and many changes in how your gaming company communicates with your customers, how it targets your audiences, and what it prioritizes.

In this post, we discuss customer-centricity, its benefits, and the different ways you can implement it throughout your gaming company. 

What Is Customer Centricity? 

Customer-centricity is a business strategy involving putting the customer at the center of everything a company does. That includes the company's products, in-store experiences, digital experiences, operations, marketing, and customer service. Everything is focused on the customer to provide a consistently great experience, create customer satisfaction and loyalty, and add value.

Benefits of Customer Centricity

Customer centricity has several advantages for gaming companies that embrace it. 

Players Become More Engaged

Gaming is an immersive experience, and no one wants to encounter an issue that disrupts gameplay. If gamers experience a problem, they may stop playing temporarily or over the long term. Unless a gaming company offers a superior experience—with easy-to-find self-serve options and accessible customer support—they may experience lower time-in-game metrics and unwanted churn. This scenario can spark negative reviews, making it harder to attract new players. 

Instead of losing customers, taking a customer-centric approach can yield positive returns. Research shows that companies leading the market on customer centricity grow 9x faster year over year than companies that don't put the customer at the center of their operation. And companies that lead in customer experience outperform their competitors by up to 80%. 

Employees Become More Engaged

Customer-centricity has an effect on the employees at your organization. Research shows that companies that launch initiatives to improve their customer experience see employee engagement increase by 20%. And companies with engaged employees outperform the competition by 147%.

For gaming companies, emphasizing employee engagement can be especially valuable. Why? Research reveals gaming industry employee attrition is around 15.5%—the highest in the tech sector. Focusing on customers can give meaning to gaming studio employees' work, boost engagement, and motivate them to stay.

How Do You Know If You Are Customer Centric?

Asking for Customer Feedback

You need to have processes built-in to receive feedback throughout the customer journey. For example, the gaming company Activision realized that most of its customers won't leave their feedback on a phone call or in an email and instead voice their true opinions on social media. So they developed an automated way to gather user feedback from relevant Tweets and other social media conversations to increase player engagement.

Focusing Your Marketing Strategy Around Your Customers

Another vital element of any customer-centric firm is the way you promote your product and send out marketing messages to your audience. A firm focused on the customer will naturally shift to the channels and forms of communication their customers are more receptive to. 

Some of the world's most-renowned gaming franchises have mastered the art of staying connected with their audiences, as The Future of Commerce and Customer Engagement explains:

Popular franchises like Pokémon, Grand Theft Auto, and Battlefield are constantly preoccupied with building a relationship with their customers. Real fans know well in advance that they want to buy a game. They are teased with new features, sneak peeks, trailers, artwork, events, and promotional campaigns. Early birds get discounts and unique content, like new levels and rare weapons.

It's critical to keep your finger on the pulse of customer sentiment and build your strategy around it. If you don't, you risk losing your customers to another game that provides a more personalized and engaging experience.

Provide 24/7 Omnichannel Customer Support

Gaming is one of those industries that need 24/7 support. Games are notorious for playing late into the night, and every successful company in this space requires a customer support team that can: 

• Respond to customer questions and solve issues in real-time
• Service customers across multiple timezones
• Handle customer complaints in various languages
• Communicate with customers using a variety of channels and platforms

Many companies just don't have the resources to support their customers in the right way and risk losing them to more supportive companies. Outsourcing customer support to companies that can provide expertise and around-the-clock support is a smart way forward.

Customer Centricity Statistics to Know

• 61% of consumers say that they will pay 5% more if they know they'll get a good customer experience (Emplifi)
• 60% of consumers say they will become repeat buyers after one personalized purchasing experience (Twillio)
• 52% of US consumers abandon purchases because of a bad customer experience (Emplifi)
• Customers are 2.4 times more likely to stay with a brand when their problems are solved quickly (Forrester)
• 42% of consumers expect a seamless experience across channels and devices (Wunderman Thompson)
• 46% of consumers will abandon a brand if the employees are not knowledgeable (PwC)
• A survey of 6,000 consumers found that 66% of them expect companies to understand their needs and expectations (Salesforce)

Unlock the Power of Customer Centricity

When you focus on customer-centricity, you must transform your approach to marketing, operations, and customer service. However, many gaming studios don't have the resources to serve their customers properly. If you're one of those companies and feel the same difficulty, don't despair.

Here at Helpware, we offer you the ability to outsource your entire customer service team. We have expert reps that can quickly learn your gaming products and the platforms you use to serve your customers in multiple languages and timezones. Jump on a call with us to learn more!