By Jenny McBean, Director at Bryter
Welcome to the final instalment of our Power of Player Insights series. Thanks for sticking with us! We’ve travelled through the ideation phase, development, launch, and now the game is live, we have the players, but how do we make sure we retain those players and keep growing the community? This is where player understanding research and segmentations come in…
Even when looking within one specific game, the player audience is often so diverse, in terms of who they are, how they play and what drives engagement. This makes it difficult when designing new content or marketing strategies and knowing how to connect with these different audiences.
This is where player segmentations come in. Creating distinct player segments based on different behaviours and motivations helps build a clear picture of your audience. Getting to know your segments can then enable more personalised game updates, better-targeted marketing, and more meaningful community engagement.
Common Business Questions Segmentations can Address
- Connection: What does our audience look like? How do they differ in behaviours and motivations? How can we connect with them?
- User acquisition: What leads them to purchase / play a game in the first place? What keeps them coming back for more? Can this be leveraged in future marketing campaigns for different groups?
- Longevity: Which groups are at risk of churning? How do we prevent this for different player types?
- Development: How do segments engage with content? Are there specific types of content that appeal to certain player segments?
- Monetisation: Which types of players are more likely to purchase DLC or IAPs? What are the motivations and triggers that drive spend?
- Marketing: What do players look like outside of our game? Are there other ways we can connect with them?
Bryter's 5-Step Approach
- Survey design phase: At this phase, you might have an idea of which questions might eventually help create your segmentation but you won’t know for sure until you see the data. Try to include a large variety of behavioural, motivational and attitudinal questions so you have plenty of options. As for sample, aim to survey as broad a player base as possible, ideally at least 2,000 players.
- Create your segments: The analysis stage is an iterative process, testing different analysis methods, or question combinations until you start to see distinct patterns. You might even go through 30 to 50 different models before you find the one that creates the most distinct and meaningful segments. Tip: try to stick to 3-5 golden questions that form your segmentation, this way they can be easily added to future surveys or studies.
- Test segment viability: Once segments are defined, it’s a good idea to organise a workshop with key team members to evaluate their potential. Do the segments make sense? Are they differentiated enough? Can they be used to help tailor messaging, marketing experiences etc? You may even want to look at 2 or 3 models to compare.
- Build segment personas: Now you’ve decided on your segments, it’s time to build detailed personas, looking at who they are as people and as gamers, what drives their engagement and how to connect with them. Making them as memorable as possible will help with the integration in the business – using clear names, visuals and taglines.
- Bring segments to life: Qualitative research can really help bring your segments to life and explore further hypotheses uncovered in the quantitative segmentation stage. Talking directly to your players, seeing their lifestyle, their gaming habits and needs in real life helps to visualise them as people.
Outcomes
A segmentation is a long-term investment, helping to guide various business strategies over a longer period…
- Directing focus: Player segments are useful for deciding which player types need more focus and priority, whether that is based on size, engagement or spend. Perhaps you identify a group at high risk of churn – what types of content or messaging will boost engagement.
- Tailored content: Zero in on specific subsets within your audience, and deliver changes or additional content that will speak to them in particular. Have a group of players who are motivated by deep customisation? Consider including cosmetics or new items/skills/abilities in future content drops.
- Targeted marketing and outreach: Understanding your current players and what motivates them can help inform strategies for new player acquisition. What features are going to resonate most with them? Where should you connect with them?
- Meaningful community engagement – For live service games, it is fundamental to keep the community satisfied and engaged with your game. If you understand exactly what types of players make up your audience and what motivates them you can tailor your community updates, responses and interactions.
Check out one of our Bryter Case Studies Here
Coming Soon - Bryter's own Gamer Segmentation
With the gamer audience more diverse than ever, it’s vital to build a deeper understanding of your audience - to help design more tailored experiences and maximise engagement.
Bryter’s segmentation focusses on why players engage, rather than just how they play. Based on player motivations, engagement and multiplayer preferences, we go beyond surface-level characteristics to understand why players play and what drives them.
Our gamer segmentation can help understand current player audiences and inform ongoing engagement, or support new product development, by profiling key audiences and what motivates them.
You can read more about how to leverage market research & player insights throughout the game lifecycle on our website.
Get in touch
Ready to move beyond guesswork? Get in touch with one of the insights team if you want to learn more about different approaches to market research and to understand which methodology may be most appropriate for your insight needs.
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