GameStop Corp. (multichannel) and Valve Corp. (dot com), both based in the USA, are competitors in the videogame industry, in particular in the videogame retailing market.
Videogames are becoming more and more popular and the target audience is changing, just like the business environment. Phenomenons such as the move to mobile and digital downloads, lower transaction costs for users to change services, changing revenue streams for videogame developers, the increase of security needs and DRM, all have a transformative effect on how these companies craft their strategies. The major competitors of both companies are other specialised online retailers that either sell videogame CD key codes, generalist online retailers such as Amazon or eBay, and traditional retailer multichannel competitors like large supermarket chains.
Attracting customers now stems from capturing users at different stages of the customer purchase journey. Organic searches play a major role, be if creating awareness, boosting desire or sealing the deal. Surprisingly, paid media channels are sparsely used by either company, possibly to be replaced by a larger focus on owned media channels such as existing user base or physical stores. Earned media such as word of mouth is gaining traction as social marketing is becoming ever more important, with every effort being expended in an attempt to “go viral”.
Customer retention seems to be the area where most of the effort is made, especially in Valve’s case. Important considerations are taken for several of the following factors: contact interactivity (making sure information is easily accessible in the right place and time), customisation (tracking customer preferences to show only the most relevant product results, engaging in loyalty programmes, and making users feel they are part of the service and not just customers), community (forums, reviews, general user interaction, collaborative projects, trading, socialising, creating a social network of users with similar interests and desires), choice (product range, consumption methods, pricing) and finally innovation (direction of expansion, related industries or product range expansion).
Access the full report here.
