Gamification in business is a key strategy to improve your connection to your customers by rewarding them for performing actions desired by the business.
Customer engagement is a key element of both brand awareness and repeat business. Industry leaders have been aware of the fact that price alone will not necessarily achieve customer satisfaction for quite some time.
People tend to spend money when and where they feel good, which is where the use of gamification comes into play. Although the concept of gamification is not a new one, it has seen significant growth in recent years and the form it takes has evolved as well.
I asked the team at Telesight, to share some of their thoughts on gamification in business today and how it can be used to improve customer engagement and lead to a better overall customer experinece. Telesight is a leading provider of professional customer satisfaction measurement and solutions, offering cutting edge interactive voice response, web, and live agent solutions to provide invaluable insight and knowledge to businesses of all sizes.
Some studies have shown that gamification can lead to a 100% to 150% increase in engagement metrics including unique views, page views, community activities, and time on site (M2 Research).
What is Gamification?
The term gamification can be confused with the exclusive use of games, but the concept behind gamification for business is the incorporation of a game mechanic in customer interaction to reach a specific outcome. Although the process can mirror a game by providing feedback, and rewarding action, the end goal is associated with a business result.
Gamification is becoming a strategy for an increasing number of companies and applies game elements in the customer interaction process. Newer trends in gamification are using techniques involved in digital game design and applying them to social media or other web-based applications. This use of gaming software is used strategically to measure, drive and reward behaviors by customers.
Real life examples of gamification in business
- Frequent Flyer Programs
This program, pioneered by United Airlines, is an earlier example of using gamification to connect with and motivate customers.
- Ø Nike+
This service allows users to keep track of their physical activity by using a various Nike gear or a mobile app. Users are rewarded with points categorized under Nike Fuel. They also have the ability to share their accomplishments with their friends and other Nike+ members. The more Nike Fuel points they earn amounts to the amount of awards, surprises and trophies that they unlock.
- Foursquare
This mobile app gives users the opportunity to “check in” at different locations to share their experiences with others. Once they do this users are rewarded with points and badges. They also have the chance to get deals such as discounts and freebies at the locations they are checking in from.
- Badgeville-Samsung
Samsung.com subscribes to a loyalty program through Badgeville. This program features elements of gamification like missions and leader boards, which guide users through several activities to gain a specific collection.
What are the Goals of Gamification?
The idea behind gamification is to drive brand awareness and business goals through customer engagement. Another popular use is Gamification for learning and onboarding of new customers and introducing them to new platforms, services, or to replace traditonal tutorials.
63% of American adults agree that making everyday activities more like a game would make them more fun and rewarding (JW Intelligence).
Gamification vendors often provide gamification applications as a complete solutions to make it easy to implement within your customer base.
This can include things such as:
- Brand Promotion and Loyalty
- Increasing Sales
- Fostering a Customer Relationships
- Gaining Insight into Customer Motivation
The driving factor of gamification is providing incentive for players to achieve objectives. This is why the identification of player goals is so important. Ultimately, a company will be able to mesh their business objectives with the player objectives.
4 Gamifiaction Factors that Drive Customer Engagement
- Structured Rules and Goals: Like any good game, there needs to be a set of clear rules and goals to guide the players to achieve and engage.
- Regular Feedback: Engagement is maintained through consistent feedback.
- An Achievable Challenge: Tasks that are a challenge keep the process interesting but they also need to be achievable so that they maintain user activity.
- A Strong Plot: In order to get players to participate there needs to be a compelling idea behind the goals.
Gamification in business is not a new concept, but it has been changing and growing in many business industries. If it is done creatively it has the potential to align your business goals with your customers and give your brand an edge.
These games are not only fun, it’s also helpful to the customer and inspiring! I think this gamification strategies makes customer values and brand values meet.