Game On: How Gamification Can Drive Engagement and Loyalty

After the Omnichannel strategy, I decided to choose another popular concept which is Gamification. What is it, how does it work, and is it worth or not to implement it in your product? In addition, the article will find some interesting examples from the market and tips on starting the adventure with this topic. I invite you to read it!

Experiences of the first steps

Using the work From Game Design Elements to Gamefulness: Defining “Gamification”, Gamification is a term that refers to the use of game elements and mechanics in non-game contexts. Companies are implementing gamification elements into their products, but also into their processes both internally and externally. The application of gamification in building customer experience is of particular interest, which translates into such indicators as increased loyalty and engagement and improved brand image.

One popular application of gamification in business is encouraging certain behaviours or actions desired by the company. For example, a company may offer rewards or points to customers who perform particular tasks or interact with the brand in specific ways. These rewards can be exchanged for discounts, special offers or other benefits, encouraging customers to further engage with the brand.

Another way gamification can be used is to create a sense of customer competition. This can be especially effective in industries with much competition, and customers have many choices. Companies can encourage customers to compete to earn rewards and other benefits by creating a leaderboard or a different competitive structure.

In Customer Success, gamification will work well to enhance the customer experience with more engaging and entertaining elements. This will work particularly well for products or services that customers may need to be more excited about using, and such an extra dose of gamification can significantly enhance the experience of using the product. A great example that worked at one time was a plug-in for the Visual Studio development environment that allowed achievements to be unlocked as tasks were completed. Users completed their daily studies according to the company’s schedule, but the gamification element positively impacted the atmosphere and team relations.

In addition to these benefits, gamification can provide valuable data and insight into customer behaviour. By tracking and analysing customer interactions with a brand, companies can better understand what customers are looking for and how they interact with the brand. This can help inform future marketing strategies and engagement and identify areas for improvement in the customer experience.

I have selected two examples of gamification that perfectly illustrate the benefits of implementing it.

Duolingo

One of the critical gamification features in Duolingo is the use of the “streak” system(in the Polish version, this functionality is called learning days in a row), in which users are rewarded for completing language lessons each day. If a user completes a lesson every day for a certain amount of time, they can build a “streak” of consecutive days, which is displayed prominently on their profile. This system helps motivate users to log on to the platform daily and complete their lessons, as they want to keep their streak.

Nike+

The Beaverton-based footwear manufacturer has used gamification in its app to create a sense of competition and engagement among its customers. The Nike+ app allows customers to track their fitness goals and connect with other users, creating a sense of community and competition. This has helped promote brand awareness and loyalty and provided valuable data and insights into customer behaviour.

How to introduce gamification

In fact, this journey will be different for every team, but there are a few steps you can pay attention to.

Define your goals.

You can clearly define what you want to achieve so you can design a gamification strategy that aligns with those goals.

Get to know your users.

What motivates your customers, and what rewards or incentives would be most attractive to them?

Understand what the key behaviours you want to promote are

What do you care most about? Do you want your users to solve requests more often by checking the knowledge base, or do you want them to respond more often to surveys such as NPS that you send them?

Test, measure and change

Gamification is about continuous improvement. Clearly define the metrics you want to measure and what level you want to aim for. Use OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) and KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) to monitor the success of your solution in the long term. Don’t be afraid of change! Change your gamification program to fit your long-term goals if something isn’t working.

The Final Word

Gamification can be a powerful tool to enhance customer experience and engagement. By encouraging desired behaviours, creating a sense of competition and making the customer experience more enjoyable, companies can increase customer loyalty, promote brand awareness and gain valuable insights into customer behaviour. Here are some book suggestions and additional articles for those who want to dive deeper into the topic:

“The CX Benefits of Gamification” Genesys. An article by Genesys explores how gamification can improve customer experience (CX) and increase customer engagement.
“The Impact of Gamification on Customer Experience” Ashesh Shah. The article explores the benefits of gamification in enhancing customer experience.
“How to design gamification? A method for engineering gamified software” Morschheuser, B., Werder, K. P., & Hamari, J.The research paper reviews the current state of research on the use of gamification in customer experience management.

And are you guys using gamification in your CS and CX activities? Do you think it’s worth investing in, or are there better areas? Let us know in the comments!