How to Advertise your Online Sports and Virtuals Betting Shop

Recently, I have been getting a lot of queries on how best to advertise one sports betting and virtuals shop. People interested in starting their own online sports betting shops have read my pieces on how to get this done – here, and here for the concluding part.

I think the real question should be, “How do I drive and retain quality traffic at my shop?”, as advertisement is just one of those ways to get it done.

Now, you need to ask yourself what exactly you are selling, and the type of customers you expect to patronize you; professional marketers would call this profiling or segmentation.

In case you do not know, your business meets your customers needs by providing:

1. Recreation
2. (Sports) Education
3. A platform to Punt
4. Reward on items 1 to 3.

Generally, your customers are males, ages 18 to 45, economically engaged, who like sports and who understand the reward system of your offering.

Remember, the primary reason why you need more foot traffic in your shop is to stimulate an increase in your sales figures, since the more people show up, the more likely they are to engage themselves in online sports betting.

I have categorized the approaches into 2 broad methods:

1. Direct : Direct involves the more traditional approach. I have listed some below
   • Print and distribute hand-bills and flyers. The area of coverage will depend on how you assess the environment. For handbills to be most effective, the marketer handing them out needs to be able to enlighten curious and interested persons immediately. Handbills should not just be handed out without proper enlightenment, especially in areas with low awareness of the product. Also ensure your shop address in indicated on the material. A key point of call are viewing centres in that area.
   • Make a BIG banner: In addition to the relatively small banner you may get from the company, you will have to make one that is quite big and bold. Ensure the design is not too clumsy, easy to ready under both day and night conditions. To make it obvious at night, you can frame the banner and have light bulbs illuminate it so passers-by can see it.
   • Advertise on Radio or in the Papers: With a few thousand Naira, you can advertise your shop on the community or local radio and/or newspaper. This is cost effective if you have multiple (3 or more) shops within the same geographical area.
2. Indirect: Direct methods actually help create awareness, but indirect methods requires you to focus on the added values you can offer your customers. It is the indirect approach to marketing your business that turn your additive growth to multiplicative and exponential growth. Some indirect means of improving traffic to your shop are:
   • Ensure your shop is clean and comfortable.
   • Ensure your sales attendants are pleasant and professional.
   • Ensure you pay winnings without unnecessary delay
   • Always encourage your losing customers and “be happy for them” when they win.
   • You can toss in the freebies e.g.
     • Free live match viewing.
     • Free internet hotspot to allow customers browse livescores etc on their phones
     • Free suya or drinks for loyal customers.
   • Let your imagination run wild on this one…

There you have it!

I hope this piece helps you improve your sales by driving customers to your online sports betting shop.

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