Player support can simply be defined as providing assistance to players in need for a particular game or catalog of games. This can range from troubleshooting reported bugs or glitches, to explaining how a certain feature of the game works, to acknowledging feedback and complaints. There is no beating around the bush when it comes to player support – gamers either love the results or hate them.
As Zendesk reports in 2022 CX Trends, 61% of customers who reach support would now defect to a competitor after a single bad experience. Make it two negative experiences, and 76% of customers are out the door.
Despite this pressure, there is a massive growth opportunity for gaming firms that focus on providing exceptional player support. When an improvement strategy around this service is implemented, retaining and expanding the player base is significantly enhanced.
The best way to deliver exceptional player support is by adopting a data-driven approach. As the old maxim states: if you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it. So, without further ado, here are five key metrics to measure in order to deliver an exceptional player support service:
1. Player Satisfaction (PSAT): The granddaddy of player support metrics, PSAT, measures player satisfaction. It can be obtained via a short survey by asking one simple question: ‘On a scale of 1 – 10, how satisfied were you with your experience?’
The resulting score is easy to calculate. It’s the sum of all positive responses, divided by the total responses collected, then multiplied by 100. The outcome gives the overall percentage of satisfied players. When compared to the American Customer Satisfaction Index, a good indicator is to keep satisfaction above 80%.
Since it’s a quick survey, businesses can ask it across multiple experiences during a player’s journey and get a big-picture view of how the user feels at various touch points during the process.
2. Average Response Time (ART): Speed matters. This indicator measures the average time between when a player sends a message to the support team and when a response is sent back. Forrester data shows that 77% of US adults say that valuing their time is the most important thing a company can do to provide them with good online customer service.
For high-priority cases such as when a player “can’t pay/can’t play”, it’s important to solve the issue ASAP. We therefore recommend an ART of max one hour. For other lower-priority tickets, a good rule of thumb is to reply within 24 hours.
3. First Contact Resolution (FCR): This metric refers to the proportion of inquiries that are solved in one single interaction. Surveys by the SQM group found a 1:1 correlation between FCR and customer satisfaction (CSAT) scores. That means for every 1% absolute increase in FCR, companies can anticipate a 1% increase in player satisfaction.
Generally, a good benchmark is for 70% of cases to be resolved during the first touchpoint with the customer.
4. Contacts Per Case (CPC): This metric gauges how many interactions (on average) your support team needs to resolve an issue. It is vital as it shows the effectiveness of your team. If your team is empowered with the right tools and content, you can optimize this metric to improve PSAT while also reducing costs. First Contact Resolution (FCR) and CPC are related. High FCR should mean low CPC because if an issue is resolved during the first interaction, the ticket will be closed and there is no need for further contact. On average, a good target to hit is 1.3 to 1.4 contacts per case.
5. Player Churn & Player Spending: For the last item on this list, we want to mention two important metrics that are not necessarily directly related to Player Experience, but that Player Experience indirectly impacts them.
It is very important to measure the relationship between them. If a problem is successfully resolved, does this prevent players from churning? Does it impact their spending behavior? If analyzed properly, it can help you greatly to show the ROI of your activities.
It’s complicated to mention a benchmark, as player churn and player spending are very subjective depending on the type of game and delivery platform (mobile, PC, console). However, make sure to keep track of these metrics and if changes occur, understand why they happen so you can act upon it.
Long story short, make sure to have your ducks in a row when it comes to metrics. Analyzing data enables you to measure the effectiveness of your player support and continue making the necessary adjustments to adapt to changing demands.
Gaming companies must adopt a constant metric-driven mindset to monitor the speed, quality, and number of interactions with their players throughout their journey. This allows them to derive tangible results and drive action toward providing the best possible experience for players.
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