A gamification revolution is currently taking place. Competition is no longer just reserved for those playing on consoles and PCs. Casual games have infiltrated the public consciousness through the improvements in mobile devices and technology. But what is the term people have come to describe as gamification, and how can it help your business?
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What is Gamification?
People enjoy playing games, ranging from young children to adults. Yet previously, games were thought of as a pastime, something to whittle away leisure time. However, they are now being looked upon as a way to incentivise both customers and staff. As per BI Worldwide, the process involves adding an element of competition to processes in an attempt to improve it, essentially turning it into a competitive game.
Amazon itself employs gamification in its warehouses. In many of their internal stow areas, video screens are installed with a choice of four games. The more people stow into robotic pods and the more efficient they are, the more points they gain. Pitted against others on the shift in a leaderboard, they can then compete with colleagues to see who is doing the most work.
Customers can be gamified as well. Even in a gaming environment like the world of online casinos, adding leaderboards and competitions keeps people competitive and playing. The online slots at Betway have their own leaderboards, so players can see who is doing best over the day, week and month. When people are playing, they are doing the one thing that all gamification should eventually reward your business with which is additional revenue.
Gamification Strategy
Gamification can be employed in many different ways, but one specific method is to take a product or process that already exists and add gaming elements to it. The purpose of this is to increase engagement and reward participation. However, too much gamification can have the opposite effect and you may find people begin to view the product as a game concept in a negative light. Thus, a balance needs to be struck.
Don’t Provide Huge Rewards
Gamification is about the competition and friendly rivalry that spurs people on. According to Indeed, you don’t need to provide big rewards for the winners. You don’t need to provide any winning prizes at all. Firstly, decent prizes cost a lot of money and buying these consistently will cut into the budget. Secondly, if huge prizes are on offer people will try to satisfy the game, essentially feeding the algorithm. This can reduce other important factors such as quality.
Know It Is A Long-Term Strategy
The worst tactic is to try to force all your employees or customers to use gamification elements. It won’t be for everyone and despite the fact you may have spent money on gamifying systems, people will adopt it in different ways. Some may use it right away, some may dip in and out sporadically and some may take more time.
Avoid it becoming a shiny new toy, then petering out. Instead, provide easy-to-understand rules and a few small but creative rewards. Make sure you share gratitude to everyone who participates, not just the winners. You should soon have a steady and consistent uptake.
Gamification for Customers
Gamification for your customers can be a little harder to get right. Employees are in-house and you can adapt as you see fit. But with customers, you have to get it right from the start. Therefore, it helps to introduce gamification slowly and gently. Below are just a few ideas you may employ to spur them on.
- Progress bars
- Leaderboards
- Tiers
- Tasks and Rewards
- Checklists
Finally, the biggest element of gamification which has been around for some time is offering rewards to your customers. These may take the form of bonuses or discounts. For example, they may have to achieve a certain amount of purchases on their loyalty card to unlock a price reduction.
Other methods of doing this can involve adding games to your webpage. Wheel spins are extremely popular, allowing people to turn a wheel that will land on a prize, usually a certain level of discount. When provided to new customers, this can encourage them to make a first purchase.
Done well, gamification can be fantastic for your company. Speak to an expert on the topic and see where it would work best. Before long, you may see positive changes in attitudes and performance.