Customer interaction is everything when it comes to building a brand or growing a business. It holds so much power that it can either take a business to the zenith of success or weaken it down to its core.
This customer interaction is even more pronounced in industries like gaming, which solely revolve on the connection between the player and the virtual world they participate in. One negative outlook can put a strain on this delicate bond, which can lead businesses to lose their player base and get into their competitor’s hands.
That’s why pioneers such as Jonathan Shroyer advocate implementing the right form of customer experience (CX) when it comes to running or sustaining a business. And with Arise Gaming, Jonathan envisions creating an amazing experience for the players, not just on a customer service level but rather at every step of the way. He calls the players ‘superfans’, and through Arise Gaming, wants to elevate their experience as they are an essential component of the gaming industry today and in the future.
CX in the Gaming Industry
One of the earliest gaming memories of Jonathan involves taking charge of Mario, collecting in-game coins, and rescuing the princess from the villain Bowser on his 8-bit Nintendo.
Mario Bros is the classic example of the right implementation of CX that players still remember even after three decades. Taking cues from the same experience, Jonathan calls CX to be the need of the hour in the highly competitive and rapidly growing gaming industry, where the short attention span and a variety of games can quickly change a player’s mind.
According to him, right from the inception of the game, its design, to the market rollout, CX must be the top priority for gaming companies to succeed. Solid customer experience will set the tone for the new players to come and join, while the existing ones will take the involved gaming community to the next level. He shares, “Creating superfans who will evangelize the game is what sets companies apart from the competition. But how do we achieve that? Customer Experience is the answer.”
Jonathan states that a positive CX will lead to increased player retention, monetization, new player acquisition, and a positive brand reputation. However, to take complete advantage, gaming companies must invest in novel technologies that enhance the game, conduct thorough game testing, and place dedicated Quality Control agents who assess and respond to valuable customer feedback.
Furthermore, the perfect fusion of impressive design and storytelling can create an impressive experience that players will love. “In a saturated market, good CX can make or break a game’s success. It is crucial to prioritize CX and create superfans who will keep coming back for more,” explains Jonathan.
Arise’ End-to-End Solutions
Arise Gaming offers a comprehensive set of services for gaming studios at every stage of development. The idea and overall goal is to drive success, create engagement, and elevate their games to new heights. And to accomplish the same, the company brings a multifaceted approach that encompasses player support, game testing, community moderation, VIP services, global gig-PX, and consulting services.
Being tailor-made, all these solutions are flexible and customizable, empowering studios to match their unique goals and budget requirements. As a result, Arise lets the studios focus on their goals, ideas, and things that matter the most while it brings forth personalized support to help them achieve growth and success. “With our suite of services, we aim to be a trusted partner to gaming companies and enable them to unlock their full potential.”
Seamless Collaboration is the Backbone
Jonathan admits that creating a cohesive and effective CX strategy necessitates true collaboration among various teams, including development, design, and marketing. To carry out the same, his team has paved the perfect roadmap by redefining a shared vision for customer experience and setting clear, measurable goals aligned with your organization’s overall objectives.
“Form cross-functional teams comprising representatives from development, design, marketing, and other relevant departments to facilitate communication, collaboration, and idea exchange, we ensure everyone involved understands the significance of delivering consistent, high-quality CX.”
Arise Gaming also maintains regular contact through meetings, updates, and status reports, encouraging team members to share ideas, feedback, and progress updates. “It is also imperative to leverage the unique expertise of each team by encouraging knowledge sharing, experience sharing, and utilizing their strengths to develop a well-rounded CX strategy,” he adds.
Jonathan considers collaboration to be yet another essential element to forming a unified and efficient strategy. For him, it’s important to clearly define each team member’s roles and responsibilities to avoid confusion and ensure everyone knows what is expected.
“We collaborate to create a detailed customer journey map outlining every customer interaction with the brand, identifying pain points, improvement opportunities, and areas requiring team collaboration,” details Jonathan.
He continues, “We also strive to foster a collaborative work environment by promoting open discussions, teamwork, and idea sharing through team-building exercises, workshops, and collaboration tools like project management software and communication platforms.”
And for the performance metrics, Jonathan advises monitoring and measuring the progress of the CX strategy by assessing Key Performance Indicators (KPI) on a consistent basis and sharing the data with all the involved teams. Such hold over the analytics lets Arise evaluate CX strategies continuously and make improvements based on feedback and data analysis, supporting teams to share insights and collaborate on refining the strategy.
And lastly, Jonathan’s team makes sure that the overall team morale always stays on top by promoting a culture of collaboration and continuous improvement, all the while recognizing and celebrating all the major and minor achievements.
Using Community Engagement to Enhance CX
Jonathan is of the opinion that community engagement plays a crucial role in delivering a positive experience in the gaming industry. He believes that a strong gaming community can help build brand loyalty, foster a sense of belonging for players, and drive player retention and acquisition.
However, in order to do so, studios need to build and maintain a strong gaming community wherein they actively engage their players and create opportunities for them to connect with one another.
Here’s how, according to Jonathan, studios can foster a thriving gaming community:
Leverage Social Media Platforms: A powerful tool for engaging with players and building a community, social media platforms can be used to share game updates, increase engagement, and promote community events.
Forums & Chat Rooms: Designed to draw input, forum and chat rooms can create a sense of community among players. Studios can facilitate such rooms to conduct discussions, provide support, and gather feedback regarding the service.
Events & Competitions: As the ultimate engagement tool, events, and competitions can be a great way to connect players and build relationships. As there are various ways to conduct and organize events, a wide number of engagement routes, content creation, and communication channels can be set up based on the requirements.
Content Creators: Partnering with professional games, streamers, and content creators to reach new audiences and establish a community of players. Further collaboration with influencers can also help create content, promote the game, and engage with the followers.
Developing a Welcoming Space
In addition to his contribution to the gaming industry, Jonathan is a huge advocate of video games and their range of benefits. Whether it be physical benefits such as hand-eye coordination to mental benefits like increased focus and problem-solving skills, video games will continue to play an important role in our lives irrespective of its traditional notions.
He even highlights how gamification has found itself at the center of classroom learning, corporate training, and personal development. However, he understands that there are individuals with negative perspectives regarding gaming and its effects.
For the collective growth of the industry, he advises game studios to break away from the stigma by ensuring good gaming communities, moderation for quality control, heartful welcomes, and bullying. They can also stay more transparent about the age ratings and tools to manage and control the gaming environments.
A Technology-led Future
Envisioning a future led by the marvels of technology, Jonathan clearly states that the future of gaming services will be taken forward by AI, variable staffing, and AR/VR as they currently are the new frontiers in the industry. And since every bit of gaming is dependent on customer experiences, companies will need to deliver incredible gaming experiences to be distinctive and achieve success.
Arise is following up on the same path by being one of the leading frontiers of providing ultimate CX with variable staffing with exceptional collaborations with AI & AR/VR products to help deliver a seamless experience across its umbrella services of localization, game testing, community engagement, and plater support.
“People will want more immersive experiences, which means offering more immersive CX Experience. Arise Gaming is all set to deliver the same to its customers today and tomorrow,” concludes Jonathan.
