48 Indian Gaming February 2008

MARKETING

Marketing directors always want to know how they cancreate the biggest, best, and most effective website at

the cheapest price. It is not uncommon for general managersto“e-lance” their site design and development to foreign countries only to have stories of miscommunication. These stories conclude with poor or no end product. As a quick ruleof thumb you will always get what you pay for. The reality isthat there is no easy, cheap or quick way to build a website. Thetruth is, building a website is just as complicated as building anew player loyalty program or outdoor advertising campaign.

There are many pieces to the puzzle when it comes tobuilding a solid web design strategy. Building your brandonline is as equally if not more important than many of theinitiatives you are handling offline. Organizations that havethe ability to produce quality web, email marketing andintegrated (web + print) campaigns will see the most rewardin 2008.

What's the recipe for success? The recipe is simple – itcenters around your guest and five key processes. For instance,during the holidays did you shop online? Was the experiencepositive? Were you able to successfully find the productand/or service you were looking for with the least amountof confusion? Did you find that navigation on the site easyand clearly denoted with calls to action? Was your checkoutprocess safe, secure and efficient? The same questions areapplicable in the gaming industry. When designing websitesfor clients with just gaming, food and beverage, lodging, orall of the above, take a look at five specific areas beforestarting on a site build-out.

Define the Purpose of Your SiteWhat are your intentions for your property's website? Is

the goal to create a strictly informative site? Or are you ona journey to collect new e-mail addresses to keep both localsand tourists abreast on new promotions, entertainment, etc.?There are properties who struggle to clearly answer thesequestions. It is crucial for you and your organization toassess the needs and end goals of any new website or e-marketing campaign. It is amazing to see the faces of marketers who forget that everything today can be trackedand reported on. Advanced web analytics tools allow prop-erties to continually update their sites to fit the end user. Ifyour goal is index in top search engine positions, such asGoogle and Yahoo, then an all Flash website with music andmovies may not be the logical answer to your site design.Instead, take a logical approach to designing a functional site

that welcomes players to gather information on new events, dining, meetings, and other promotions. Functionality willalways trump beauty. Don't forget that during this discoveryphase it is also important for your team to establish a budget for the site design and development along with otherongoing costs associated with hosting, tracking and marketingyour site on the Internet.

Site Structure and CompositionTake a closer look at site structure and composition. What

are the most important tabs/buttons that should reside onyour main navigation bar(s)? If you have a lodging compo-nent at the property, “reservation” and “driving direction”links are essential. If you sell show tickets through yourwebsite, then you certainly want a “reserve now” option.There are many affordable online booking methods and itis important to research all of your options. Properties thatboast meeting and convention space should be displayingonline interactive floor charts, and downloadable banquetmenus. Give the meeting planners the ability to fill out andsubmit an RFP online that is sent directly to the director ofF&B or sales and catering department. During this pre-production or information architecture phase, it is impor-tant that the marketing team work with web professionals todevelop a structure that requires the least amount of usersearch time. On average, estimates claim a guest will typically abandon a site if they cannot find what they aresearching for within the first 10-20 seconds! Additionally,when creating these site structures, take into considerationhow the design will promote “calls to action.” Will these “callsto action” be static buttons or will they have an animated component? Will this be content that your department needsto switch out or update frequently? Work closely with all ofyour department heads to develop self-intuitive storyboardsand flowcharts that establish a clear direction before build-ing of the site commences.

Produce Different “Look and Feel” CompsNext, work diligently to begin producing comps that look

drastically different from one another. Explore many differ-ent looks or feels that are harmonious to a property's brandboth on and off the web. It is important to remember rulesapplied to print most likely never apply to the web. It is inte-gral you explore as many different looks, feels and colors aspossible. As the look and functionality begin to merge it willbecome evident what has been traditionally completed on the

Your Website Matters

by Peter Yesawich, Jr.

February 2008 Indian Gaming 49

printing press is now a much more complex, well planned initiative on the web. Don't be afraid to test even in the pre-production phases. It can never be strongly emphasizedenough that testing is one of they keys to learning more aboutyour site and most importantly your users.

Technical Engineering, Production and ProgrammingAnother secret of “best practices” is the technical engineer-

ing, production and programming phase. Think of this phaseas taking inventory on a loading dock then distributing therelevant items to the various outlets of your property. Thisis the time for the marketing department to do an audit ofcontent it wants and needs on the new website. Think of allthe photos, images, links, menus, maps, and text you will needfor each respective section based upon your site structuredesign. Never use photography, images or text that you havenot appropriately purchased. Copyright infringement, espe-cially for rights managed photography on the web, is a veryimportant issue and an area you do not want to ignore. As aresult, the penalties for these infractions can often be heavyand create a number of additional legal issues. Also during

this phase, be sure to create a functional checklist with yourdesign team, especially if you plan on updating sections likea “winners” page. Do you have or want forms on your sitein which guests can submit information? Do you need a data-base to warehouse this information? Do you have someoneon staff who can handle these updates? Make sure if your siteis collecting information, you are keeping it in a safe, secureplace. Your customers’ privacy is one of the Internet user'schief concerns today.

The Publishing and Marketing PhaseDuring this final phase it's crucial to work with web

professionals who can assist in the testing and search engineregistration phase. Test your site in every web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, AOL, etc.). Mostmarketers are surprised to hear this suggestion. Every oper-ating system i.e. Windows, Mac, operate differently with auser’s browser depending upon version, release, etc. It isimperative your web team test the new site in all possible scenarios. This process will assist in preventing web compo-nents being “below the fold” or inoperable. The absolute most

February 2008 Indian Gaming 51

MARKETING

important process in this phase is to be sure your site is SEO(Search Engine Optimization) ready. Work closely with yourweb team to ensure all of your content is tagged correctly, and ready to be picked up in searches via theGoogle and Yahoos of the world. SEO is a very tricky scienceand requires attention to detail and constant upkeep. Manymarketers choose to outsource this effort to companies whospecialize only in SEO. SEO is crucial because that is howa guest will find your site in major search engines. If SEO is not a priority, which it should be, then launching paidsearch campaigns in major engines is an ineffective andcostly alternative.

Over the past year many outdated and inoperable websites have appeared within our industry. Although theoverall web design process sounds easy and painless, it'snot. Even the most seasoned of web designers, developers andmarketers alike can find themselves stumbling in the

ever-evolving world of the Internet. Successful web designis the result of two components. First, there must be adevoted marketing department, and a well versed, nimble webdesign and development team. Second, ongoing supportcan assist your property in achieving the maximum ROIthrough the site whether it be in updates, search marketing, analytics or e-mail marketing. Your property's website shouldbe one of the most important investments in 2008. Thenew year promises to bring a plethora of new technologiesto both web designers and end users alike. Be sure your property is ready to welcome these advancements and drivemore qualified traffic to your site. ¨

Peter Yesawich, Jr. is the Director of Integrated Marketing for G. A. Wright Marketing, Inc., a direct marketing agency for gaming and hospitality. He can be reached by calling (303) 393-4530 or email petery@gawright.com

“Even the most seasoned of web designers, developers and marketers alike canfind themselves stumbling in the ever-evolving world of the Internet.”