Bad Times Are Gone - Sulake Strengthens
The Finnish online gaming company behind Habbo Hotel, Sulake, has reported it's 2009 earnings along with H1 2010 figures. In 2009, Sulake accumulated a loss of 4.4 million euros. However, it also reported that for 2010 revenue reached 29.1 million euros which is 20% higher than in 2009 in the same period. Furthermore, EBITDA in the same period increased 63% to 3.5 million euros with a solidly positive cash flow, according to the company blog post.
Last year, Sulake managed to grind a turnover of 49.1 million euros. 40 of those came from consumer sales, 9 from media and a 0.1 from miscellaneous sources of income. 2009 saw a slight decline in revenue compared to 2008, when revenue was 50.1 million euros.
Sulake has to be one of the most well known and respected Finnish online consumer companies out there. However, as Kauppalehti rightly puts it, over 20 million euros of accumulated losses will have to be covered before Sulake will grow to cumulative profit. It won't be easy, but the first steps to get there have certainly been taken.
What are your thoughts on Sulake? Where have they excelled and where is there room for improvement?
Over the summer we had a number of encounters with Sulake and what struct me most is the potential of their platforms to cater for the growing demand for what is being called "conversation marketing". This is a grey area that crosses the lines between marketing, communications and customer service . But the basic idea is that good customer service leads to positive conversations about your brand (particularly inside social media).
So Habbo Hotel, for example, has the potential to run initial campaigns to "get the conversation going" and then allows a presence to be maintained (eg. a themed room) in which they can directly discuss with customers and collect mini surveys. The surveys are promoted whey someone enters the room, however, I was suggesting it would be better if they were triggered in a more active way, e.g. when a Habbo goes over to a booth in the corner. Details, details …
But for sure we are going to be looking for some innovative ways to bring more Sulake value to our clients – but we are left with a problem: Which department do we talk to: marketing, communications or customer service ; )
Harvard Business Review (Jan-Feb 2010) suggested there should now just be a "customer department".
First: Congrats Habbo!
"Conversation marketing" is what I believe in. Blyk (mobile media for young people) is built on this idea -- and it resonates very well with brands, especially the youth ones. Also, I totally agree that Habbo stands for a chance to build a position on this currently new field.