The Business of Social Games and Casino

The Business of Social Games and Casino

By Lloyd MelnickBusiness
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The Business of Social Games and Casino episodes

  • Subscriptions 3.0
    Key takeaways
    • Gamers have responded to the subscriptions model since MMORPGs, though it lost favor to in-app purchases recently.
    • Other areas on online entertainment – music, film, video – are driven by the subscription model.
    • Subscriptions represent an opportunity, though currently unproven, to increase revenue and customer lifetime value.

      • This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2016/05/18/subscriptions-3-0/

      6 min
    • Don’t forget to recruit your own team
      Key takeaways
      1. There are multiple direct and indirect costs in losing an employee and they add up to a much higher expense than you realize. Thus, it is as critical or more to retain your talent.
      2. A critical element to retaining your talent is good communication. Understand everyone on your team, not simply your direct reports, and work with them to ensure you are both in the best possible situation.
      3. Your employees are not your fantasy team. As soon as you lose sight of their individual goals and needs, you set the foundation for churn.

        4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2015/11/04/dont-forget-to-recruit-your-own-team/

        9 min
      4. Five Steps to Reduce Churn
        Key takeaways
        1. With user acquisition costs increasing, reducing churn becomes increasingly important. The cost of replacing churned players is higher by definition when it costs more to get a new player.
        2. To reduce churn, you need to set specific goals, question why users are churning, build a hypothesis on how to combat the churn, then test, implement and refine.
        3. Reducing churn is not a one time event but a continuous activity. You always need to be looking at ways to reduce further churn by optimizing existing practices and coming up with new ones.

          4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2015/10/28/5-steps-to-reduce-churn/

          6 min
        4. What poker can teach you about business
          Key takeaways
          • Remove bluffing from your vocabularly. Do not try to bluff your opponent in business and do not assume they are bluffing.
          • When you are in a strong position, push your advantage.
          • Observe everyone you are interacting with and use those observations to put their actions into context.

            • This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2016/05/11/what-poker-can-teach-you-about-business/

            6 min
          • Why the fear of cannibalization is fear of the inevitable
            Key takeaways
            1. Concern about product cannibalization, customers switching to a less profitable product of your’s, are misguided and potentially cost your company revenue.
            2. If you do not direct your customers to the offerings they prefer from your company competitor’s will give them a reason to switch and you will permanently lose that customer.
            3. By allowing your customers to move to one of your offerings that they prefer, a competitor will need to offer them something 81X better than the product they are currently using rather than just 9X better.

              4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2016/04/13/why-the-fear-of-cannibalization-is-fear-of-the-inevitable/

              6 min
            4. Don’t undervalue time
              Key takeaways
              1. Your time has a monetary value. Keep this value in mind when choosing between options that take up different levels of time or activities that have no hard cost but take time.
              2. One area where understanding the value of your time is critical is travel. You may have a higher expected value taking a more expensive yet more convenient route or you may find the travel overall has a negative ROI.
              3. Keep the value of your time in mind when choosing between personal activities; spending two hours doing something somebody can be hired to do for $10 is not a good use of time.

                4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2015/12/09/dont-undervalue-time/

                7 min
              4. Why you should not focus just on existing players or customers
                Key Takeaways
                1. Early users will not have the same preferences and consumption patterns as customers you attract later in the product’s life cycle.
                2. If you slavishly build features and new content for existing users, it may not appeal to new users.
                3. The key is to innovate for new users while keeping your early adopters engaged so will tolerate the changes to the product.

                  4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2015/07/08/why-you-should-not-focus-just-on-existing-players-or-customers/

                  3 min
                4. The importance of competitive intelligence
                  Key takeaways
                  1. Competitive intelligence, a staple of many industries, is often over-looked in the gaming space but can be as critical as business intelligence (analytics).
                  2. Competitive intelligence allows you to understand the choices your players are making, both in terms of what products to play and where to monetize.
                  3. To perform CI effectively, you need to devote resources and create a process around it where you are regularly (daily) reviewing competitive products for new features, changes in the economy, promotions, etc.

                    4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2015/04/16/the-importance-of-competitive-intelligence/

                    6 min
                  4. What really went wrong at Quibi

                    Key takeaways

                    1. Quibi’s failure was very predictable and these predictors provide a framework of what companies need to do to succeed in the entertainment space.
                    2. Quibi relied on a unique technology, the ability to watch content seamlessly in portrait or landscape mode, rather than relying on creating content people wanted. You cannot succeed in entertainment by relying on technology.
                    3. Other key lessons are that great entertainment companies need to deliver a overabundance of content, much more than you expect even your heaviest users to consume, and some flagship products that forces people to try your offering.

                      4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2020/10/28/what-really-went-wrong-at-quibi/

                      12 min
                    4. Up-skillOR vs Up-skillEE
                      Key takeaways
                      1. Recruiting candidates with the expectation you will train (upskill) them to do the target job well shows an arrogance that you think you can train them better than anyone else has.
                      2. Upskilling people ensures your team does not go to the next level, you set your current skillset as the ceiling.
                      3. You also miss the opportunity to bring new skills and experiences to your team, where the new hire can make everyone else more valuable.

                        4. This episode is also available as a blog post: http://lloydmelnick.com/2020/11/24/up-skillor-vs-up-skillee/

                        7 min

                      About The Business of Social Games and Casino

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                      How to succeed in the mobile game space by Lloyd Melnick. Lloyd is a serial builder of businesses (senior leadership on three exits worth over $700 million), successful in big (Disney, Stars Group,…