Personalized journeys and gamification are vital ingredients for long-term success.
Disclaimer: The opinions represented here are those of the individual and do not necessarily represent those of their current or former employer.
Marketing leaders are under more pressure than ever to deliver sustainable growth, not just in user acquisition, but real, long-term engagement and monetization. That’s especially true in industries like real-money gaming, where attention is fleeting, competition is fierce, and loyalty is hard-won.
We sat down with Brian Becker, VP of Marketing at High 5 Games, to discuss the strategies that are driving long-term growth in the RMG space today. From launching scalable loyalty programs to designing personalized CRM strategies and building trust in complex onboarding flows, Brian broke down what works and what doesn’t when it comes to building a more loyal, higher-value player base.
Watch the full interview below, or read on for a selection of key takeaways.
Key Takeaways
- Gamify loyalty programs to drive deeper user engagement. Tactics like streaks, missions, and surprise rewards keep users coming back and make rewards feel earned rather than handed out.
- Personalize CRM journeys based on life stage and value tier. Segmenting users into casual, core, and VIP buckets unlocks higher retention and monetization through targeted, relevant messaging.
- Experiment constantly to unlock incremental retention gains. Even small A/B tests can drive meaningful improvements and uncover what truly moves the needle.
- Simplify onboarding flows and educate users early. Removing jargon and adding tooltips or visual cues helps new users reach value faster and stick around longer.
- Spend smarter by aligning offers with actual user behavior. Avoid blanket discounts and instead tailor monetization strategies to user intent, play history, and long-term potential.
Gamify Loyalty Programs
Building a loyalty program that truly engages users means going beyond generic point systems. Brian emphasizes the importance of segmenting users and making rewards feel earned through gamification. In practice, this means tailoring perks to different user behaviors or value tiers, introducing fun mechanics like streaks or missions, and constantly refreshing the experience with new challenges. The goal is to create a loyalty system that feels like part of the game, not an add-on, and one that rewards desired actions, surprises users occasionally, and is easy to understand. When done right, a loyalty program can significantly boost engagement and repeat usage.
“Loyalty programs can work when you segment users by their behavior, by their long-term value, and visibly reward them – they respond well. When you build a product and a customer experience that is easy to understand, that shows progress and makes the loyalty feel earned, not just bought, it’s very beneficial. And we’ve continually mixed the frequency, the pacing, the experiential value. Consumers like surprises. They like to feel like they’re in a system that’s constantly changing – that the carrot they’re shooting for is often in front of them but sometimes moving. You’re continually trying to make them feel and appreciate a gamified experience. And above all, provide clarity, transparency, by building a system that’s intuitive and integrated well into the product experience.”
You don’t have to look far to find an example of gamified loyalty programs working. Starbucks has achieved remarkable results with its gamified “stars” rewards program, which lets customers earn rewards every time they make a purchase, as well as personalized offers and discounts for events like birthdays. The program boasts a 44% retention rate – nearly double the industry average of 25% – and members are 5.6× more likely to visit daily than non-members. Even more telling, Starbucks Rewards members spend 2.5× more on average than other customers.
Personalize CRM Journeys to User Life Stages
One-size-fits-all campaigns belong in the past. Becker advocates for CRM strategies that mirror a customer’s life stage and value. The key is to use data to segment your audience into tiers like casual, core, and VIPs players, and orchestrate communications across channels in a way that feels timely and relevant to specific users. And for high-value segments, which drive a disproportionate share of revenue, don’t hesitate to invest in special perks and personalization.
“Make it clear to [at-risk users] through a bonus or a free spin or an acknowledgment of their play that you appreciate them to keep them playing with you. The reality is there are multiple options for players to choose from, so you have to be very sensitive about keeping them on board and making sure they don’t churn. In terms of signals for value, in the gaming world it’s all about high-value customers, VIPs, providing white-glove journeys to them, giving them exclusive bonuses, someone to talk to, personalized outreach. I can’t stress enough the 20-80 rule… at most 20% of your customers will drive 80% of your profits.”
Orange Games, creator of Governor of Poker 3, executed a tightly targeted retention campaign focused on high-value lapsed players and non-payers. By segmenting audiences based on behavior and precisely timing re-engagement, Orange Games, with help from Adikteev, boosted in-app activity and purchases, delivering a 15% revenue increase from re-engagement alone. Using personalized rich-media ads and tailored messaging for each group allowed the team to re-engage users effectively, generating meaningful uplift in retention and monetization, proving that strategic reactivation outreach to high-potential users can significantly lift performance
Looking to improve your own retention and CRM metrics? Adikteev’s platform offers tailored segmentation, predictive scoring, and personalized communication workflows designed to re-engage and retain your most valuable users. Reach out today to see how we can help transform your engagement strategy.
Embrace Continuous Experimentation in Retention Strategies
Especially in competitive arenas like mobile apps and gaming, you should always be running experiments to find what moves the needle on retention and monetization. Becker says that as he’s become more experienced, his desire to experiment has grown. Whether it’s A/B testing an in-app feature, trying different cadence of push notifications, or piloting a new loyalty perk with a subset of users, he believes a test-and-learn mindset allows you to discover incremental improvements continuously. Equally important is having the right tools and analytics in place. You need to measure lift or incrementality from any given initiative.
“I assumed as I got more senior we would test less, but I found the opposite. You’re always testing, especially in the gaming world where it’s so competitive and the ecosystem is changing so much. We do a significant number of experiments, ideally structured, fast, and measurable… One retention test I’m most proud of is the cashback program we launched at Tipico… We integrated the cashback rewards directly into the bet slip, with real-time animations when they earned it, so it felt better even when you lost a bet. It made the product more trustworthy and rewarded players without adding a lot of complexity…after releasing that system, we saw betting volume increase by 50%.”
Testing even the minutia can lead to big time payoffs. Google ran an experiment to determine the optimal shade of blue for their ad links, testing 41 shades of blue across users. They discovered a hue that users clicked on more often, which translated into an extra $200 million in annual ad revenue. But the change wasn’t simply Google calling its shot, but rather one of many experiments driven by a culture of iteration. Even if 9 out of 10 tests fail or show no significant change, that one win can more than pay off the effort. And beyond revenue, constant testing keeps you responsive to changes in user behavior and market trends, ensuring you’re always optimizing the product and campaigns for what works today.
Simplify the User Experience and Educate to Build Trust
Becker points out that new real-money gamers face a steep learning curve, one that’s full of jargon and non-intuitive mechanics. Often, that inside baseball talk can be a barrier to retention. He advocates for marketers to use plain language instead of industry buzzwords, and to provide tool-tips or tutorials for core features. It can even pay to redesign the onboarding flow to get users to a “win” or tangible value faster. Something as simple as a unique feature introduction, a friendly tutorial video, or a smoother first-use experience can set you apart.
“[Real-money gaming] is confusing by default. The terminology – sweeps coins, boost, parlays, playthrough – those aren’t everyday terms and not intuitive to a new player. There’s a lot of credit to operators that train users on these or even eliminate them to make things more intuitive. In fact, one major sportsbook recently removed some of those terms to make the initial offer easier to understand. The other big challenge is most of the apps look and feel the same… Just a sea of sameness, which means when you do stand out, it makes a huge difference in differentiation… My rule is don’t assume users know what they’re doing or what you’re talking about. Show them. Short-form video demos work really well. Give them the feature and reinforce the value of it visually. If your app doesn’t feel differentiated by the third session, they’re already on to the next one.”
The fintech app Robinhood attracted millions of first-time investors largely due to its simplified, jargon-free interface. By removing the typical complexity of stock trading, Robinhood dramatically lowered the barrier to entry for young investors, helping it grow to over 13 million users by 2020. The takeaway for marketers is to continually put themselves in a new user’s shoes: streamline the sign-up flow, clarify any confusing concepts, and communicate value quickly. Not only will this improve initial retention, but it also builds trust/ Users feel the company is transparent and user-centric, which fosters loyalty.
Don’t Overspend on the Wrong Users
Driving monetization is a goal for every marketing leader, but how you do it makes all the difference between sustainable growth and alienating your audience. Brian cautions against the “offer everything to everyone” trap. Over-relying on blanket discounts, freebies, or one-size-fits-all incentives can train users to expect a handout and attract deal-seekers who never become loyal customers. Instead, calibrate your offers and bonuses based on user behavior and value. For example, it’s often wise to require a new user to make a first purchase or deposit with their own money to validate that they have intent to spend, rather than giving everything free upfront.
“There’s a balance between giving someone something for free versus, say, a sale or deposit match that still gets them to play with their own money... What works is cohort-based monetization tracks as we talked about, especially for VIPs, and post-loss type re-engagements… at High 5 we’ve tested really empathetic messaging after people lost a good bit in a short time, because we want them to have a good experience and stick around at a comfortable pace. It’s not always about urgency or throwing another coupon at them. The healthy trend in this industry is a focus on fairness and timing, making the user feel like they’re still in control.”
The small fraction of players who make up the bulk of mobile game revenue, dubbed “whales,” are well known among mobile marketers. Top-grossing games leverage these players by offering them VIP clubs, exclusive content, and premium support rather than giving every user the same generic sale. And this concept is applied elsewhere. Even in retail, brands use tiered loyalty to balance monetization. Casual shoppers get basic perks, while the big spenders receive deluxe rewards (like free shipping) and personal attention, which in turn motivates them to spend even more. So focus your monetary incentives where they’ll matter most, and don’t train all your users to expect discounts for nothing. By respecting the value exchange, you’ll build a healthier, more loyal revenue base.
Build a More Loyal Playerbase
Retention and monetization are two sides of the same coin. Both require understanding your customer deeply and delivering ongoing value. From gamifying loyalty to fostering a culture of experimentation, these five strategies from Becker’s playbook can help any senior marketer improve their numbers in a sustainable way. If you want to hear more from Brian, follow him on LinkedIn or check out High 5 Games.
Ready to elevate your app’s retention, loyalty, and revenue? It might be time to explore how Adikteev’s platform can support your growth. Our solutions empower marketing leaders to execute data-driven re-engagement campaigns, personalize user experiences, and maximize LTV. Check out our plateform to see how we can help transform your user retention and monetization today