Gamification. It sounds like we’re about to school you in Fortnite, but luckily for you (and us because, to be honest, why is Fortnite a thing?), we’re not talking about video games. When it comes to gamification and your business, we’re talking about ways to get your customers involved in your marketing.
It’s more than words on an ad or watching a video - gamification is a way to make your marketing memorable for your customer. It’s a way to keep them engaged without “selling”. This is nothing new. Gamification marketing has been around for some time, but it’s continuing to grow in popularity and there are reasons why.
Instant gratification
It’s something that customers are coming to expect in today’s market. Gamifying portions of your marketing message is a great way to implement that gratifying excitement consumers need.
Competition
We’re humans and we’re competitive by nature: with ourselves, our peers, our environment. We’re constantly competing and, knowingly or not, we all thrive off of it. Now your business can use that competitive streak to your advantage.
Emotion
Like the innate thrill of competition, our emotions play a huge part in our daily decision making. Appealing to the emotional high of winning and having fun is a simple way to stimulate your customer’s creative and playful spirit while increasing engagement and building brand loyalty.
Now, incorporating gamification doesn’t mean you need to create a downloadable app with memory games. It can be as simple as developing a customer loyalty program that allows customers to unlock incentives as they reach new tiers. Think of how Starbucks encourages their customers to collect gold stars with each purchase they make. The more stars you collect (the game), the higher tier-level you can rise to (competition) and the more incentives you can unlock (gratification).
The number one rule to walk away with is this: don’t over complicate it! Gamification is another marketing tactic for your overall strategy. And, just like any other tactic, it should be used in conjunction with others to build a stronger marketing strategy to achieve your marketing plan goals. Know your audience, do your research, establish your incentives and set your goals.
