Customer experience is extremely important in mobile gaming. Convenience is at the utmost importance to mobile gamers, therefore support must be ample and quick. In excerpts from this article by Shawna Wolverton on TechCrunch, she discusses how support affects the customer experience, translating to value.
“Mobile gaming in particular has a set of unique challenges. Most games have large numbers of both casual and heavy users, as well as free and paid users. And so it is incredibly important to understand how to deal with each kind of player. There are differences in their level of commitment to the game, and the support they need.
The foundation of any gaming customer service strategy should be to quickly resolve gamers’ issues. This is so they can get back to playing as soon as possible. That is particularly important for mobile gamers who are used to being able to get the support they need within the app they are already using. You can have an engaging, beautifully designed mobile game, but you risk losing customers with a poor experience in a matter of minutes.
As game time increases, so does the need to make support faster
For these companies, the aim is always to keep players in the game, with loyal players tending to invest more time and money in their favorite ones. This makes it imperative for gaming companies to retain existing players, and not just attract new ones. It’s also a much more affordable marketing tactic.
When mobile gamers need help, they often struggle to find where to go to get support, and are often sent down a rabbit hole of confusing and vague self-service channels. This is interrupting gameplay and adding a layer of friction to the customer experience. However, we are seeing a larger trend shift across industries as customers increasingly prefer the ease and convenience of contacting support. Using a company’s own mobile app is great — in other words, within the game itself.
Good support translates to good value
We know that customers prefer to seek answers on their own, without involving customer support agents—and gamers are no exception. It can be argued that usually tech savvy gamers have been ahead of the curve in this respect. But the last thing players want to do is leave their favorite game in order to conduct a web search or call a customer support number.
Many gaming studios are under the impression that they don’t have the bandwidth or resources to provide constant player support. That encourages gamers to seek help over peer-to-peer networks, like third party community forums. While that may work sometimes, game developers have more control over the customer service experience if they provide their own support channels. This should also include company-hosted communities. And with the rapid growth of mobile games this year, it’s more important than ever for players to get the help they need – and even connect with other players – so that they continue to stay engaged.
The winner is customer experience
Ultimately, providing great customer support has always been about creating a seamless experience for customers. It lets them get back to their day – or in this case, their game – faster. Mobile gaming companies are no different. They need to embed quick and easy ways for customers to get the help they need inside the game.
The gaming industry has experienced an exponential boom this year. Developers and publishers will need to keep their fingers on the trigger for what’s to come in the months and years ahead. With significant growth comes significantly bigger expectations. That is, to continually deliver a better experience across the player’s journey.
And as some of the world’s leading gaming companies have realized, inventive game design and brilliant code are only part of that path to success. The real end game is a winning customer experience, from start to finish.”
