Public Gaming International May/June 2020

31 PUBLIC GAMING INTERNATIONAL • MAY/JUNE 2020 Mike Purcell, Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Kentucky Lottery What has really changed as a result of coronavirus is how people behave. Players are making fewer trips to store but when they go they are making larger, bulk, purchases. After waiting in line to pay for a shopping cart full of groceries they are much less likely to stand in line at the customer service desk. Instead of going inside many people choose to use curbside pickup. Even if we are included in the retailer’s app for curbside pickup, the game options will limited, there will be very little impulse play, and none of our in-store messaging will be seen. is includes our c-stores and not just grocery stores. Bars and restaurants have been especially hard hit during the pandemic. Our products, especially Keno, are a good source of much needed revenue when they open back up. Unfortunately, social distancing guidelines will still be hampering sales. e industry needs to be looking for additional ways to sell our products. For example, touch vending machines are great at moving customers away from the counter. Unfortunately, you have to touch them and a lot of people are afraid to do that. Can these machines be converted to voice activation? e pandemic has forced most people to accept and use technology. ose that were hesitant have been converted. ose that didn’t think they could use it have been shown how by others who are excited to help and share. Our sense of “community” has rapidly grown. We rst need to accept that we may never truly be “post-coronavirus”. Our planning needs to include working around the new obstacles that have been created. Making our products more available, whether through digital, BOPIS (Buy Online Pickup In Store), home delivery, or in-store apps is very important but it is not enough. We cannot keep trying to get more sales from our existing player base. Broadening our player base with new games, new ways to play those games, and new locations play is going to be key. Because state budgets have been hugely impacted they will be looking at more options than ever before to raise revenue. Now is the time to make your case for new product implementation. Lottery is not exempt from the impact of recessions, viruses, etc. When discretionary dollars diminish, so do our sales. Only time will tell just how severe the impact will be but we need to ensure we are doing everything possible to minimize the impact. When are players have fewer discretionary dollars to play with, we need to make sure that we have good products at lower price points available. Are we o ering a low-cost form of entertainment that people want to purchase with their discretionary dollars? In the post-coronavirus world, some people will go back to doing everything the same way they have always done them as soon as they can. Some people never stopped. Others will have changed to the new social distancing norms and will probably never go back. For those that are not traveling and shopping at brick and mortar we have opportunities to introduce players, existing and new, to products such as cashless, mobile apps, debt and credit, and mobile pay. It is also a good time to revisit basic product displays such as menu boards, on-counter dispensers, and play center placement. All these things will help the customer make their buying decision long before they reach the checkout and will minimize contact with store employees. How might we reinforce and build upon the symbiotic relationship that Lottery has always had with its retail partners? Hopefully, you have been doing that throughout the pandemic. Our sales representatives and key account representatives have been calling each of their accounts every week. ey start with three questions: How are you? How is your business? What can the Kentucky Lottery do for you? We address other business concerns after that, but we needed let our retail partners know that we are here for them. We learned that many retailers were concerned with the size of ticket orders and billing terms. As a result, we make temporary adjustments to both in order to become better partners and help them with their business concerns. Now is the time to ask what their business plans for the future and see how we need to act in order to a part of that. Crises can accelerate the rate of innovation and the rate of mass-market adoption of new ideas, new products, new ways of doing things. Do you think that will happen in our industry and if so, how will it happen? e lottery industry is great at sharing information. is has been especially true during the pandemic. e information has ranged from advertising strategies, claims o ce procedures, and plans regarding sales representatives in the eld. e information and discussions have been extremely helpful in developing, gauging, and reassessing our plans. Unfortunately, the technology implementation side of the industry is painfully slow. e good news is that an issue like the pandemic alerts everyone of our shortcomings and help reduce the time that will be taken to implement the improve technologies. e most important priority will be ensuring our people are safe. e o ce protocols are easy enough to gure out and observe but it is much more of a challenge for the people working in the eld because of all the variables they experience daily. eir job is critical to maximizing revenue and they need to perform their duties in the retail environment, all while keeping safe. Continued at publicgaming.com VISION OF THE POST-CORONAVIRUS WORLD