Does ConquerClub lack effective marketing?

[zimmah]

I think because CC is not professional enough. It is a volunteers-based business. No business can prosper fast without real dedication.

like 500.000 signed up... only 20.000-25.000 active members.. this means the first impression sucks. people sign up to play. not to get stuck in 4 games with other new recruits who usually join for the same reason, then find themselves stuck and decide to abandon the site and deadbeat. so actually, one signs up and get stuck for weeks before getting an empty slot again. No welcoming info is another reason.

very valid point.

[No Risk No Fun]

I think part of the problem is that the community is very exclusive and not "noob" friendly.

[BoganGod]

I think part of the problem is that the community is very exclusive and not "noob" friendly.

There are members of the community that are very noob friendly, sadly they are generally know as freestyle farmers. Or farmers for short. A tighter definition of farming/and or more of a restriction on games for new players, or even the rank restriction option that has been suggested multiple times, would all go towards cutting down on farming. We are likely to see pretty pink dice with vomit yellow butterflies before we see any more action on the farming issue.

[chapcrap]

Actually, this is something that we should be addressing soon. It looks promising to me, but it is still in the woodwork.

-rd

I hope something good happens soon. I like the community feel here, but I would love a larger population to dominate.

[Woodruff]

So how many paying customers are there?

And how much has that figure grown by year?

How many "active" players are there?

It doesn't lack effective marketing, it lacks effective customer service. And the primary problem for that rests with the absolute and complete lack of lackattack activity, in my opinion.

[PLAYER57832]

Either the growth of this business is very slow, or it's smoothing out, or it's on the decline.

Which is odd because this is most likely the best site on the internet for playing Risk online, so I'm surprised that so few people are signed up/paying to play here...

So, the question becomes: "Does ConquerClub lack effective marketing?"

You cannot look at a site like this the same way as other types of products or even internet sites. Sure, its a great site. But, its not for everyone. And, you can expect turnover to be high. I have been here for some time. When I stop to think that this means I have been logging on basically every day to play games and chat... its a lot.

[PLAYER57832]

I think part of the problem is that the community is very exclusive and not "noob" friendly.

There are members of the community that are very noob friendly, sadly they are generally know as freestyle farmers. Or farmers for short. A tighter definition of farming/and or more of a restriction on games for new players, or even the rank restriction option that has been suggested multiple times, would all go towards cutting down on farming. .

Restricted games for now players is NOT a good idea. However, changing the definition of farming, having better explanations, and rewarding players who take the time to help noobs would work. Per the definition. Who cares if someone plays and wins noobs.. as long as they are polite, friendly, perhaps even helpful. Its being a jerk that should be condemned.

[Swimmerdude99]

I think its the same as many gaming sites though in that people join and then don't stay interested, nothing new there...

[BIGMEANIE]

I think part of the problem is that the community is very exclusive and not "noob" friendly.

There are members of the community that are very noob friendly, sadly they are generally know as freestyle farmers.

this made me laugh

[BIGMEANIE]

I think its the same as many gaming sites though in that people join and then don't stay interested, nothing new there...

i think it might have something to do with waiting 24 hours between turns once you start. i know in my case i never thought of using chat to coordinate freebie-RT games. maybe if new members could have a brief taste of speed games they would enjoy their first games more. that, or it could be suggested that they use live chat to coordinate rt-games with other freebies.

of course this might also make some freebies feel less inclined to buy premium, seeing as they can play fast for free.

[MrBenn]

Some interesting information on here:

http://www.alexa.com/siteinfo/conquerclub.com

[KernowWarrior]

I agree. I think the reason so many people sign up, to never return again, is that its slow, it can take over 24hrs before you get to take you first go, if you even bother to come back and check.

Maybe to encourage new members to stay, or at least comeback the next day, for the first month after signing up, one of the 4 games could be a speed game so they actually get to play a game the same day they sign up, just to give people the taste, once their hooked they probably would be happy to pay for premium.

[chapcrap]

I think its the same as many gaming sites though in that people join and then don't stay interested, nothing new there...

i think it might have something to do with waiting 24 hours between turns once you start. i know in my case i never thought of using chat to coordinate freebie-RT games. maybe if new members could have a brief taste of speed games they would enjoy their first games more. that, or it could be suggested that they use live chat to coordinate rt-games with other freebies.

of course this might also make some freebies feel less inclined to buy premium, seeing as they can play fast for free.

Giving a coouple of free speed games to new members would be a great idea I think. They might wet their pants if they accidentally get in a speed game on Hive or Das Schloss, but I think that would be a great way to hold interest and show what the site can offer.

Have to police new accounts harder if implemented though.

[Pirlo]

I once signed up to a risk site. it offers the freemiums 1 speed game per day beside 3 casual games at a time. I didn't stay because it lacks the good variety of maps (only 50 maps). there's no life chat, not sure if there's a forum. the ranking system sucks because you lose no points if you lost a game. though it has a lot of players there, maybe because the freemiums do not have to wait long. a lot of people would log in once a day for playing the one speed game, and in summer, they may upgrade to premium for more games.

[No Risk No Fun]

I think its the same as many gaming sites though in that people join and then don't stay interested, nothing new there...

i think it might have something to do with waiting 24 hours between turns once you start. i know in my case i never thought of using chat to coordinate freebie-RT games. maybe if new members could have a brief taste of speed games they would enjoy their first games more. that, or it could be suggested that they use live chat to coordinate rt-games with other freebies.

I introduced a friend to CC and he tried to do that. Sadly, the only response he got was accusations of being a multi. This goes back to my point of CC being an exclusive community. Hell I was accused of being a multi for going into Live Chat a few months ago. That is until the accuser saw that my account was created before his.

[ljex]

I think CC's biggest concerns are these

1) Lack of customer service and accessibility of the head man lackattack. Any good businessmen knows when you let people complain and make them feel heard they are way more likely to continue using that business. This is because they feel that their suggestions are being heard and the business will eventually improve. Furthermore it is generally more costly to acquire new customers as opposed to keeping current customers. Lack could help a lot with this by being accessible and by making customers feel as if their ideas are being heard. One way i can think of this is through implementing suggestions.

2) Lack of a good interface for newer players. Lets be honest the current site implement clickable maps suck, they honestly are worse than drop downs in my opinion and are completely dysfunctional. I can't say I'm surprised though lack seems to have a tendency to make partial updates. The GM clickies are very user friendly and functional i just wish lack could have made the site ones more like them.

3) Poor introduction to newer players. I remember when i first signed up for this site, was looking to play a game of risk online but didnt want to pay $25 for those few risk games. It took me a few more months to finally start playing when i saw my college friend playing and decide to try it. If say i had been able to play speed games with other newer players i could very well have signed up earlier without the recommendation of a friend. If cc were to either implement a policy where new players could play speed games for a certain amount of time or could buy a short membership for say $1 i think cc would hook a lot more players into the game. We could also reduce the impact on the site by making these games only for new players and only on classic map with a few different types of games. Doubles, 1 vs 1, 3-6 player standard.

[BIGMEANIE]

on a side note, i do think it is interesting that members are suggesting improved marketing techniques when they wont see a dime if they are implemented successfully. one would assume the issue already-paying customers would be most interested in is improving their experience (getting more bang for their buck)

it is still an interesting topic.

[thegreekdog]

One of the things I've noticed is that when newer or lower ranked player who does not regularly post in a forum creates a thread, he or she is regularly ridiculed by the regular forum goers. I don't know if this results in that player leaving the website, but I suspect that he or she will not post in the forums as much or at all.

There are a number of general discussion threads that follow the following pattern:

(1) New or low ranked irregular forum goer creates a post complaining about something or asking a question.
(2) Older players and forum regulars ridicule some aspect of the new or low ranked irregular forum goer (rank, noobishness, grammar, spelling, potential age, etc.)
(3) New or low ranked irregular forum goer stops posting in that thread or in any other thread.

I don't think this is the biggest problem with Conquer Club (mostly because I don't think there are many problems with Conquer Club), but it's a problem.

[natty dread]

Lackattack should listen to the mapmakers more. Mapmakers are the creative force driving this site forward, and when their ideas, complaints & suggestions seem to fall on deaf ears, it will frustrate them and eventually drive them away.

Same of course applies to other community content on the site: tournaments, clans, etc. I just used mapmakers as an example since it's a part of CC I'm most familiar with.

Think how CC would look without map foundry, tournaments, or clans. All of them are community-created content, and without them the site would probably not even be here anymore.

[luv2tri2]

Lackattack should listen to the mapmakers more. Mapmakers are the creative force driving this site forward, and when their ideas, complaints & suggestions seem to fall on deaf ears, it will frustrate them and eventually drive them away.

Same of course applies to other community content on the site: tournaments, clans, etc. I just used mapmakers as an example since it's a part of CC I'm most familiar with.

Think how CC would look without map foundry, tournaments, or clans. All of them are community-created content, and without them the site would probably not even be here anymore.

Well said. I have been on the site for 5 years and there are two things that bring me back. New maps to play with friends and tournaments.

Also, traditional online gaming will die just like coin-operated games. Show me a decent way to play this site on my phone............

[natty dread]

Also, traditional online gaming will die just like coin-operated games. Show me a decent way to play this site on my phone............

I doubt it. There are plenty of people who don't see the need to access all web pages from their phone. I don't believe that personal computers will be going anywhere in the near future - cloud computing is nice and all, but I wouldn't trust all my files to some remote server, seeing as how my ISP takes over a month to fix a bandwidth issue...

[chapcrap]

One of the things I've noticed is that when newer or lower ranked player who does not regularly post in a forum creates a thread, he or she is regularly ridiculed by the regular forum goers. I don't know if this results in that player leaving the website, but I suspect that he or she will not post in the forums as much or at all.

There are a number of general discussion threads that follow the following pattern:

(1) New or low ranked irregular forum goer creates a post complaining about something or asking a question.
(2) Older players and forum regulars ridicule some aspect of the new or low ranked irregular forum goer (rank, noobishness, grammar, spelling, potential age, etc.)
(3) New or low ranked irregular forum goer stops posting in that thread or in any other thread.

I don't think this is the biggest problem with Conquer Club (mostly because I don't think there are many problems with Conquer Club), but it's a problem.

Agreed. I for one wouldn't mind setting up some kind of buddy system where people volunteer to show noobs around a little bit and can answer any questions they have 1 on 1, as well as point them toward tournaments, forums, and other site activity.

[Army of GOD]

The biggest problem is a lack of customers. This game is RISK. There are only so many people who enjoy playing RISK.

[BigBallinStalin]

So how many paying customers are there?

And how much has that figure grown by year?

How many "active" players are there?

It doesn't lack effective marketing, it lacks effective customer service. And the primary problem for that rests with the absolute and complete lack of lackattack activity, in my opinion.

We'll agree that it lacks effective customer service, but I still contend that effective marketing is still lacking. This site is awesome, and although I don't have any market research on the target market for Risk online games, I'm still unconvinced that ConquerClub is garnering the largest, active customers it potentially can.

There's something wrong with the satisfaction of first-time customers. When I first joined this site, I had no idea what I was doing, and it took me a bit to go through the fora, but I ignored the fora for awhile, since there was so much clutter. It was overwhelming, and that might dishearten new customers.

Lackattack himself doesn't need to be active, unless we consider him to be the equivalent of the CEO, who links the company with the external environment... but does CC really need a CEO, or similar position? And does Lackattack really need to be the one guy for this job?

[BigBallinStalin]

Either the growth of this business is very slow, or it's smoothing out, or it's on the decline.

Which is odd because this is most likely the best site on the internet for playing Risk online, so I'm surprised that so few people are signed up/paying to play here...

So, the question becomes: "Does ConquerClub lack effective marketing?"

You cannot look at a site like this the same way as other types of products or even internet sites. Sure, its a great site. But, its not for everyone. And, you can expect turnover to be high. I have been here for some time. When I stop to think that this means I have been logging on basically every day to play games and chat... its a lot.

Then why is turnover high?

Is CC targeting the wrong markets? Effective marketing would decrease the number of first comers who wouldn't like CC enough in the first place.

What is the difference between the customers' perceived expectations and their actual experience? (Where does their satisfaction stand?)