BetRegal

BetRegal diary: Realigning the product to match long-term vision

Aly Lalani, Head of Marketing at BetRegal, discusses executing a strategic roadmap for 2018 that had to be ‘realigned considerably’, undertaking a periodic review of performance, and why this practice allows a business to properly facilitate large-scale change.

The holiday season. A time of family and friends, fun and celebration and general merriment. Inevitably, the holiday season invokes a sense of reflection of the past year.  

Things that went right, things that went wrong, successes and failures, and most importantly lessons learned. You know the drill. Although, it’s particularly those lessons learned that form the basis for future strategic planning, both in the short term and the long term.

After all, what good is reflection if it doesn’t create some sort of action? And what good is learning from past triumphs and defeats, if those learnings aren’t applied to the future?

Last year around this time, we published a diary entitled “A Christmas List of Lessons to Drive 2018 Success”. As I read through it again, it’s interesting how one small point I made reference to turned out to be the defining characteristic of the entire year for BetRegal.com.

At the time it was just a passing thought, a small hurdle that we needed to jump over. I can honestly say that I had no idea at the time how much of an impact it would have.

The statement in question was this: “We were forced to reign in expectations over early marketing spend because of some fundamental UX issues.”

Unfortunately, we never really got to the point where we felt like we were offering the type of experience that we felt the brand deserved. That was the primary reason that we even began the discussions around the possibility of having to look elsewhere in terms of service providers to allow us to deliver the product we envisioned.

Those discussions turned into an evaluation period, a vendor selection process, a contract negotiation period, and ultimately a migration. You guessed it, none of those things were on the agenda set out in January 2018.

So, yes the strategic roadmap had to be ‘realigned considerably’ by the time we got to Q2. However, I don’t consider that a bad thing. In fact, I think re-visiting strategic priorities quarterly is probably really good practice.

If change needs to be made, and the appropriate discussions and analysis have taken place, having those periodic reviews of strategic priorities allow a (new) business to properly facilitate large-scale change. As I touched on last time, one of the benefits of being a fairly new and lean brand is the ability to facilitate change efficiently.

The downside of a major change in strategic priorities mid-year? The expectations that were set out at the beginning of the year become almost impossible. In fact, taking a new direction almost always ushers in a new set of strategic goals for a business.

For BetRegal.com, the end result of all this directional change turned out to be extremely positive. Towards the end of the year, we were able to complete our migration and are now in a position where our product is much more aligned with our vision.

With the positive feedback received from affiliates and partners, along with the initial data that has come in post-migration, we feel much more comfortable executing on the marketing strategies that were defined to help us achieve our initial growth expectations.

We expect 2019 to be a year of significant progress for BetRegal.com as we grow into emerging markets and look to offer new and exciting products. I wanted to take this time to wish everyone a very safe and happy holiday season.

Check Also

SBC News The Unit enhances BetRegal’s marketing services after ‘successful opening year’

The Unit enhances BetRegal’s marketing services after ‘successful opening year’

The Unit has extended its partnership with online sportsbook and casino operator BetRegal as a …

SBC News TAG Media recruits Elaine Gardiner to lead client services unit

TAG Media recruits Elaine Gardiner to lead client services unit

TAG Media has confirmed the appointment of Elaine Gardiner to the newly created role of …

SBC News League of Ireland - betting sponsorships an ‘internal matter’

League of Ireland – betting sponsorships an ‘internal matter’

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has introduced a ban on betting sponsorships, although this …