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Did you know there were nearly three billion gaming players estimated around the globe in 2021? That figure represents a 5.3% increase over 2020, which saw a hike in gamers due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to NewZoo's 2021 Global Games Market Report.
At 7% of the global, North America makes up only a small fraction of the world's gamers, with its gaming population totaling 212 million players, according to the same study. That's a far cry from Asia-Pacific's 1.6 billion players.
NewZoo's report also estimates that the global games market will generate $175.8 billion in revenue this year.
With a global market this large, it's no surprise that competition for players is fierce no matter what game or console they play. To stand out in a crowded marketplace, gaming companies can differentiate themselves with top-notch customer support.
How Do Most Gaming Companies Approach Customer Support?
In a 2021 customer support benchmark report, Netomi found that most players preferred email as their channel for customer support. However, that same study found that only 53% of gaming companies worldwide had an easily accessible email address. Even among those that did, a shocking 76% of email inquiries requesting game recommendations were ignored.
Not only were responses to player emails. few and far between, but when customers did receive a response, many were not relevant to the question. On average, gaming companies took an average of 39 hours to answer player emails.
When customer service isn't readily available, players must look elsewhere for support. Many players seek help from peer communities and user forums, but this approach can be frustrating, disrupt gameplay, and lead players to turn to other company's games.
Needless to say, current gaming companies' customer support leaves a lot to be desired.
Why Should Gaming Companies Improve Service?
Offering personalized, efficient, and relevant customer support within the game allows players the ability to get back to playing as quickly as possible. This positive user experience will promote customer satisfaction and brand loyalty. What's more, players will feel a stronger bond with the game and are more likely to invite others to join in, growing the company's player base.
As you can imagine, gaming companies make more money the more time players spend on their game and remain loyal to their brand. Unfortunately, companies that fail to provide proper customer support experience more player turnover, which costs them more money because new customer acquisition is more expensive than player retention.
How Can Gaming Companies Enhance Customer Support?
If gaming companies cannot build out a support team on their own, they should outsource to a company that can provide timely, personalized support. Look for companies that offer:
- Multilingual, multi-platform user support across multiple channels such as phone, email, in-app, and social media
- Marketing solutions to upsell and promote increased sales
- Front and back-office support to create a positive brand reputation
- The ability and strategy needed to scale up customer support and build your audience
- Data management to ensure customer satisfaction and support strategic decisions
Level Up Your Customer Support
As you can see, gaming companies have been behind the curve in offering customer support and need to catch up. With the gaming marketing growing more competitive each year, game studios need top-notch customer support to thrive. Companies that do not offer efficient, personalized, and relevant support lose customers and brand loyalty.
With all the responsibilities on your game studio's plate, it's can be a challenge to build an adequate in-house support team. That's where we come in. Helpware can offer customer service and back-office support that creates a positive end-user experience and helps with market penetration, brand reputation, scaling, and data management.
Say goodbye to poor customer service, delayed gameplay, and lost customers. Say hello to Helpware.
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