In last year’s demographic survey, nearly 68% of respondents indicated that they are in either the “refining/enhancing” or “saturation/completion” stage of the tabletop game hobby. This number was 63% the previous year, and I expect it will continue to increase in the future. How do you maintain a sustainable business model when most of your customers feel like they already have everything?
There’s a local business here in St. Louis–a relatively new disc golf store called Mellow–that comes to mind when I think about this problem. If you’ve played disc golf for at least a few years, you probably have more than enough discs. I have a full bag, plus a few boxes of discs we rarely use. So how does a disc golf store thrive when many of their customers’ bags are already bursting with discs?
Here are some of the ways Mellow does this:
- They have a netted area where you can test any disc and use special technology to improve your form. This is particularly important, as it’s something that can’t be emulated by an online store and gives customers a major reason to return to the store many times.
- They offer private lessons (within the netted area). The tabletop game equivalent of this is making game teachers available to customers.
- They sell alternate art versions and special editions of discs. There are some really beautiful discs at Mellow that entice customers to buy the same exact disc they already own but with a different aesthetic.
- They are incredibly welcoming to newcomers. People discover new hobbies every day. Being warm and welcoming to newcomers is good for the newcomers themselves, the hobby as a whole, and for those of us already entrenched in the hobby–Mellow makes it easier to introduce a friend to disc golf. Just the other day a friend went to Mellow to get a starter set of discs, and he talked about how helpful and friendly Roger (the store owner) was to him.
- They provide ways to level up. If any experienced disc golfer already has 99% of the discs they’ll ever need, they might be looking to enhance their experience by getting a better bag, a way to clean their discs, a way to gauge the distance to the pin, etc.
- They offer the option to trade in old discs for store credit. I find that I only throw around 6 of my discs, but I love to experiment with other discs. It’s nice to have the option to trade in a bunch of discs I’m not using so I can buy something new and shiny.
- They offer a lost and found repository. There are more than a dozen disc golf courses in the greater St. Louis area, and it’s very common to lose or find a lost disc. There are ways to contact the owner (i.e., if they’ve written their number on the disc or if you post in a specific Facebook group), but actually connecting with that person for the exchange can be difficult. It’s nice for Mellow to provide a hub for people to drop off and pick up discs they’ve found, as everyone who comes in the store is a potential customer.
- They sponsor events and local golfers. I’ve played in two casual tournaments this year, and both times Mellow was there to provide support and a fresh rack of discs to check out. The local golfers they support (top amateurs and some pros) serve the same role as influencers we see in other hobbies.
- They are genuinely nice people. I don’t think this can ever be underestimated. I’ll find reasons to support people I like. When we visited Mellow for a session in the “batting cage” (see photo below), Roger and his wife were incredibly kind, supportive, and fun. I don’t know them personally at all, but they made me root for them. This by itself isn’t enough–there are plenty of nice entrepreneurs–but their friendliness combined with the other products and services they offer makes for a successful business model.
As you can probably tell, almost everything I’ve mentioned about Mellow can apply to other hobbies, including tabletop games. Mellow has provided a lot of food for thought for me as a publisher. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments about how businesses can thrive by serving customers who may already feel like their collection is complete.
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13 Comments on “How to Serve Customers Whose Collections Are Complete”
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This is clever! Now we need a version of Viticulture populated entirely by drunk cats.
This is why everyone who loves board games needs to think of themselves as ambassadors for the hobby! The more people we welcome and share great experiences with, the bigger the community grows and therefore everyone gets to enjoy more games and more gaming sessions. Your collection might be complete but someone new to the hobby still has that exciting journey of curating their own collection, and everyone can play each others’ games.
To use corporate-speak, the Total Addressable Market (TAM) of any product category is a huge indicator of how well that market will grow over the long-term. One way to increase it is to innovate your product to reach into other categories, and another way is to increase your audience size. That last one is something we can all help with as gamers.
On the subject of innovation, I’m still convinced there is design space left in, well, designing space. Recently, some clever BGG user noticed the way some of the Spirit Island boxes fit together, allowing one to have a built in expanded box when buying one of the larger expansions. Watch the first minute of: https://youtu.be/hWA_uwqrA8A?si=Ca5CS9YybS7huXr-
I don’t know if GTG intended it, but it is so perfect that it should have been what they intended!
Wow! That’s incredible!
I’m one of the people who responded that my collection was complete (despite having many crowd funded games on the way).
I only have so much space to store board games and only so much time to play them. Now I’m all grown up I can afford to buy more but have less time to play them.
When buying a game I have to sell another game to make space. You need to convince me that the game is worth the money and it can replace another game in my collection.
I’m happy to buy deluxe editions and 2nd editions.
Anything that saves space (boxes that hold core + expansions or inserts) are welcome, so are things that save time (player aids, inserts for faster setup or “prelude” type expansions).
Having a reputation for high quality products with clear rulebooks is what keeps bringing me back to this company.
When I can’t make the space for a new board game then digital versions are very welcome. I’m really looking forward to when VR/MR board gaming takes off.
Thanks for sharing, Ian!
I do not think you can keep selling to the same customers forever. Between 2005 and 2015 I purchased about 700 games in Steam. I’ve purchased less than 15 since. Yet, Steam grows every year.
I believe that the only way to grow reliably is to get new customers. Some people will be evergreen customers ready to purchase especial editions or customized gear, but I think that most of us, if we really feel we have completed our collection, will only make new purchases for very outstanding items or very outstanding discounts.
I think that’s why as a publisher you have to keep striving to innovate. There are only so many dry euros or colorful abstracts or fantasy dungeon crawlers that a reasonable person can have in their collection, so if you offer people “just” another one, all but the most die-hard fans will be like, “eh I’ll pass, I’ve got enough unplayed versions of that on my shelf.” And they’ll be thankful for the excuse NOT to buy another game. They’re in “refining” mode anyway!
But if they see something that really stands out, something that they had never thought of before, thematically or mechanically, even the most saturated collection will find some room for it. My game Roll Camera is now three years old, practically ancient in this day and age, but to my surprise and delight it continues to sell well. At conventions I still routinely have people come up and go “woah, a game about making movies?! I’ve never seen that before, I gotta have it.” It still stands out, for now anyway. A strong hook is a strong hook.
I’m sure I don’t need to tell YOU that! You’ve got a good eye for innovation and hooks that make even your critics sit up and say, “huh, okay, I haven’t seen that before.” Vantage being only the latest example.
Publishers need to keep innovating and taking risks, or there won’t be any space on shelves for their games, simple as that.
I agree 100% with the drive to offer something fresh and innovative. I’m glad to hear that Roll Camera is still selling well!
My FLGS has two used game auctions a year. It’s a silent auction, and if my games sell for $50 total then I get $50 in store credit. If I buy a game at auction, I pay Midgard Hobbies (the store).
It lets me feel good about selling my games because they’re going to other gamers, it makes room on my shelf, and everyone avoids $15+ shipping fees (and the risk of charge backs).
And because I know I can auction them again in 6 months, I buy games I wouldn’t have otherwise tried, both new and used.
I wish more stores did this. I drive 40 minutes to this store in Derry NH for this.
That’s awesome! I like the silent auction concept–it seems like a win-win for stores and customers.
>They provide ways to level up.
Ooh does this mean we might see a Stonemaier-branded board game travel bag in the future? Thats what immediately came to my mind anyway!
We don’t have anything like the works, but I appreciate your enthusiasm! :)