How Gamification Improves Customer Engagement and Retention
Many different components of a business, such as customers, users, workers, and technology, one of the most difficult challenges for organizations today is customer engagement. It is critical to employ effective consumer interaction strategies. Customer engagement methods have a direct impact on the company’s overall profitability and ability to generate money because they affect apps and other digital products.
If a company’s users are highly engaged, it can increase brand awareness and loyalty while lowering customer acquisition costs and improving customer satisfaction and retention. As a result, employing the best customer engagement techniques will reduce a company’s churn rate, increase the number of active users and time spent using your app, and promote user growth via recommendations and word-of-mouth.
A Successful Strategy for Marketing
Gamification can be used in marketing by providing interactive and satisfying solutions that can be integrated into your website, app, or email campaigns. Gamification instils a sense of competitiveness in customers, motivating them to strive for goals and rewards.
Relational Interaction
To increase client acquisition and retention, gamification can be used. Gamification should give users the chance to share their rewards, accomplishments, and “plots” with friends or other users. A company will have more opportunity to attract new consumers and incur reduced customer acquisition costs if it has social connections with its customers.
Use games to teach your audience
For instance, John Findlay, cofounder of Launch fire, says, “Imagine you’re a bank that’s wanting to gain new customers.” “Develop a [free] online game that pushes users to build a financial empire by making wise investment decisions, rather than providing commercials that boast about how your bank [or financial service business] is different.”
“Nest branded messaging and pertinent advice within the game so players learn more about your offerings as they play” is a strategy to increase engagement. Offer some sort of “prize,” such as free checking for a year or a $100 savings bond for “winning” the game, to further boost interest and persuade players to register an account.
Using an entertaining, educational game, advertise a new good or service
Cite the example of a sports retailer using a racing-style game to advertise new running shoes. “In the game, they might give suggestions on the best footwear for long distance running. Then, players might use the instruction to “run faster,” score more points, and win the game.
Comprehensive business planning
If you only take into account one component of your organization, it is quite difficult to build a meaningful engagement through gamification. Using data on consumer traffic patterns and purchasing patterns to integrate behavioral economics into website or mobile app testing would enable businesses to take a comprehensive approach to company planning and will benefit businesses in the long term.
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Gamification of your loyalty program – Is it possible?
What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear the word ‘Gamification’? Though it is seen as a game-changing tool for brand promotions, there is more to it. Yes. Gamification, as we know is an emerging trend and some of the brands have already been using consumer loyalty programs as a part of their marketing strategies. In the context of brand promotion, gamification has become an integral part of the marketing structure with an increasing number of reward programs.
Gamification is not complex as it may sound. It only intensifies the value to an existing marketing program by using data-oriented engagement techniques to capture a customer’s attention.
Before we look at the possibilities of gamification in loyalty programs, let us go through the types of Gamification.
1. Progress tracking
This is undertaken to make people stay loyal to the brand by helping them keep a track of their performance in loyalty programs.
For example, an online program which has users to sign up for a course includes a system to track their progress until their final objective is completed. This encourages their potential leads and customers to use more content.
2. Reward level
This is an advanced version of a basic reward program. For instance, users can earn stars to win rewards at different levels of the program. Once a customer gets a specific number of stars, they become part of a special membership program where they are entitled to receive benefits throughout the year.
Now, this brings us to the possibilities of using gamification in loyalty programs and its subsequent benefits.
This is an advanced version of a basic reward program. For instance, users can earn stars to win rewards at different levels of the program. Once a customer gets a specific number of stars, they become part of a special membership program where they are entitled to receive benefits throughout the year.
Now, this brings us to the possibilities of using gamification in loyalty programs and its subsequent benefits.
- Firstly, it increases sign-ups for a program
- It increases product sales and revenue with continuous participation
- It encourages a customer’s willingness to be a part of loyalty rewards
- It brings more brand advocates who eventually become influential marketers
There is more possibility of bringing gamification to the loyalty programs as general human behaviour is tied to motivational factors. In other words, the user gains extensively through repeated efforts. If you want to retain your customers, gamification can help al it adds excitement to improve your brand’s marketing strategy.
Gamification in loyalty programs acts as catalysts to make users spend more time and effort to reach higher levels. This is probably one of the reasons why repeated discounted sales are often considered as the primary objective of a loyalty program. It makes it easier for users to express their appreciation, aiding the brand’s marketing goal. The extended reach will amplify your brand’s social worthiness along with the online ad spends.
Hence, yes gamification is possible. In fact, it brings a brand closer to its sales goals.
Whether a brand’s consumer wins a prize or gains maximum out of it, the game design inputs put in a marketing strategy brings positive feedback looping new customers. When a brand offers more than just amazing products and services with a sense of gamification in their loyalty programs, customers are sure to love the experience and be willing to come back.