Running a business is not all fun and games. But there is a lot your business can actually learn from one of the most successful industries and how it chooses to reach new customers. While it’s always important to check out the competition within your own industry, you might not always think to look to other companies outside of your realm of business for help. There’s a reason why gaming has become so popular and why it continues to grow.
Here are 4 ways your business can benefit by looking at the gaming industry.
1. Know your buyer
The gaming industry has done a fantastic job of knowing exactly who they are marketing to and how best to reach their buyers. Gamers tend to have certain, similar traits and they also tend to have a clear idea of what they want from a product. This makes it easy to know how to portray a game coming out and how best to reach those who would be the most interested in. You should take a moment to think about your buyer persona and what it is that would attract him or her to your product or service.
2. Create a community
Creating buzz about what your business does is much easier when you have a community to base it around. The gaming industry is well-known for having a dedicated audience built around new releases and an online community where fans can play together. This means you can create more hype around what you are releasing and how people interact with it. Communities can be built through a number of ways, including social media, blogs, and online advertising. The great thing about creating a community is that it tends to do the marketing for you.
3. Multiple forms of advertising
The gaming industry tends to reach their buyers in a number of ways. This usually entails a full-blown marketing strategy put together months in advance. Because they need to build interest over time and before a game is released, you’re likely to see advertising in multiple areas including online advertising, some commercials on TV, and social media engagement. With all this going on, it might help you to think about your marketing campaign and if there are any other ways you can advertise your product or service outside of what you have been traditionally doing.
4. Listen to feedback
The gaming community is very vocal about what they like about certain games and what they feel can be improved. While you won’t want to use every suggestion throw at you, it’s often worth thinking about when you are trying to create a loyal customer base. Your customer can often be a valuable resource when you are looking to make some changes and you want to increase trust. When you are planning to make some changes in your company, they might be the first people to ask.
The gaming industry definitely has its flaws, but it also has a lot of positive things that other industries can learn from. You might want to think these things over when you plan to bring back repeat clients and create a community around your business.
Guest article written by: Alex Schnee