Case Study: Harrah's Crm Strategy

Case Study: Harrah's CRM Strategy

Questions:

1. Why does Harrah's consider itself to be in the entertainment business? What is Harrah's major source of revenue?

Casino gambling has become one of the most popular forms of entertainment today and this industry still continues to grow even now. Millions of people worldwide are keen on casino gambling and have selected this form of recreation as a way to combine fun with a chance to win some money. Casino gambling captivates and unites risk loving people from all around the world. While some see it as a mere form of entertainment and spending spare time with fun, others are seriously concerned about promising jackpots.

With the appearance of online casino gambling, this kind of entertainment grew even more in popularity since it also offers casino free gambling in its online form. Online casino gambling is actually more accessible as compared to the traditional casino gambling. You don't have to go to a land based casino, if you'd like to play. Within a couple of minutes and a few mouse clicks you can start playing online from any place where you can get a computer connected to the Internet. Online casinos offer a great selection of games including slots, craps, roulette, casino gambling poker, blackjack games and more.

Whether you play just for fun or for a chance of hitting a big jackpot someday, casino is available for both types of players. However, when playing for money, you should do it with responsibility not spending more than you can actually afford to lose. Casino games operate with mathematically-calculated odds which mean that the house will always have an advantage over the players, even the most skilled ones.

Casino gambling everyday. (2011, April 15). Retrieved from http://www.casinofan.org/casino-gambling.html

Harrah's major source of revenue comes from its casino business ventures; in fact they claim that 90% comes from its casino business and not from their other associated ventures. Being so heavily involved with the casino aspect of the industry therefore would make Harrah's consider itself in the entertainment business.

2. Briefly describe Harrah's CRM (customer relationship management) Total Reward Program. How does it work?

The Total Reward Program rewards Harrah's customers with comps of food and lodging benefits to stimulate customer loyalty to the Harrah's brand of entertainment products. The program is aimed at gathering information about customers and using it to customize their marketing programs for each individual customer. Customers who are enrolled in the program are given an electronic card which they can insert unto the slot machines that they play. The card allows Harrah's to keep track of the customers' preferences and collect data about them. Through this program Harrah's makes extensive use of IT to aid the effective use of collected data. Harrah's then uses decision science tools from its business analysis software on the collected data so it is better able to understand their customers and gain knowledge about how to deal with them in the future.

3. What are some of the objectives of Harrah's loyalty program?

Total rewards program is a loyalty program that rewarded customers with comps of food and lodging to stimulate loyalty. This program is aimed at collecting information about customers and using it to customize the company's marketing programs for each customer to create a customized guest experience during their visit. Customers enroll in the Total Reward Program by providing Harrah's their personal information. Some of the objectives of Harrah's loyalty program:

* Get existing customers to spend more

* Build long lasting relationships with its customers

* Get more information about customers including their playing habits

* Customize the relationships that Harrah's has with its customers

* Focus on customer's worth over a period of time versus one visit

* Encourage cross marketing play by using the companies branding strategy that focuses on building the Harrah's brand and not promoting any one particular property

4. Apply the customer loyalty ladder concept described in this chapter to Harrah's Total Rewards Program. Does it fit? How well does it fit?

"Loyalty Ladder"

* Suspects-someone who comes across your companies' promotion, they are a potential suspect for your company.

* Prospects- someone who is interested in your promotion they become a potential prospect.

* First-Time Customers- someone who purchases either your product or service.

* Repeat Purchasers-someone who has purchased two or more times

* Clients- those who come back to you.

* Brand Advocates- those who promote your business on your behalf, they are so happy about your product/service that they tell others

Relationship marketing is about developing long term relationships with the customer. A company needs to be able to turn a one off sale into a fruitful long-term relationship where both parties will benefit.

The ladder of customer loyalty talks about the different types of customers the company encounters. The aim of relationship marketing is to retain customers, as it can cost a company anything as up to six times as much to attract new customers.

Customer loyalty ladder. (2011, April 15). Retrieved from http://search.aol.com/aol/imageDetails?s_it=imageDetails&q=Customer+loyalty+ladder&v_t=wscreen-smallbusiness-n&b=image%3FinvocationType%3Dwscreen-smallbusiness-n%26q%3DCustomer%2Bloyalty%2Bladder%26oreq%3D22a6946863bd4714aa857f16e77464f2&img=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.learnmarketing.net%2FLADDER.gif&host=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.learnmarketing.net%2Fladder.htm&width=51&height=94&thumbUrl=http%3A%2F%2Fimages-partners-tbn.google.com%2Fimages%3Fq%3Dtbn%3AfgYkfwp817qGvM%3A%3Awww.learnmarketing.net%2FLADDER.gif%26t%3D1%26h%3D94%26w%3D51%26usg%3D__evWAwpoam2WtRSiECxDEksK3dzM%3D&imgWidth=150&imgHeight=274&imgSize=3611&imgTitle=Customer+loyalty+ladder

Under Harrah's program, customers fall into four categories:

* Prospect-non-gamers