There is no doubt in this that businesses can spice up their marketing with the use of gamification. It’s a sure-shot win strategy for businesses striving hard to market their products and services.
Businesses can turn basic campaigns into something extraordinary which retains the customers for a longer period when they incorporate game elements into marketing such as brand awareness, reward programs, and product promotions.
The businesses are pretty familiar with gamification making their marketing game strong but what they truly lack is the know-how to make it work for them. That’s why market research is the key.
Consequently, let’s discuss gamification, and unfold some of its benefits for marketing and the popular strategies used in marketing.
About Gamification
Gamification refers to the process of incorporating the game elements such as scoring points, earning virtual currency or leveling up marketing campaigns to enhance user engagement and drive conversions.
In simple words, it is the process of turning nearly everything into a game. The marketing teams can achieve specific outcomes by turning their inbound marketing into a game. It is because the audience finds games much more enjoyable as they get a chance to win something which boosts the marketing.
It is gamification that ignites the competitive spirit in people and gives them exposure to content.
Perks of Gamification in Marketing
No business would ever implement something that would be of zero benefits to them. Businesses are solely interested in profits and gamification is the way to grab those profits.
Here are some of the benefits of gamification in marketing.
Boost User Engagement
The basis of marketing are users. Fortunately, businesses can increase and improve their user engagement by implementing gamification in their marketing strategy. The gamification enables the users to take actions which in turn leads to higher engagement rates. Consequently, this is what can be the foundation of the long-term relationship between customer and business.
Customer interaction
Attracting and capturing customers is the main goal of businesses and luckily, Gamification assists them to achieve that. But before marketers work their way out to attract customers, they need to engage the customer with their brand or service.
Gone are the days when banners and pop-up ads gathered the user’s attention as, at present, it is the games that are winning the hearts of the users.
Interesting promotional offers
Another major advantage of gamification for the marketing industry is coming up with exciting and interesting promotional offers. As compared to the banner that gives them the 10% discount, the users seem to be more interested in availing of the discounts in the game as they have earned it by themselves. The discount earned by them will value more than the discount which was given without any effort.
Enhances conversions
No matter what the secondary goals of the business are, the primary goal of every business is getting the maximum conversions they can. As compared to the traditional banner ad or other marketing methods, the users engage more with the gamified elements and respond to the CTAs.
Improves brand awareness and customer loyalty
Retaining customers is also crucial for businesses and gamification assists them in doing so. The gamification provides a fun experience to the employees which retains the employees.
It is because consumers get emotionally attached to your brand which in turn makes them more likely to become loyal customers.
Useful customer data
The next significant benefit of employing gamification in marketing is that it helps to gather useful data on the customers. Not many businesses are familiar with this but data is a valuable asset for them.
No doubt that gathering data is not at all easy but thankfully, gamification is there to help. The customers are likely to give more data to the businesses by having a fun time and getting a chance to win the reward. The more the data, the more you’ll understand your target audience.
Gamification Strategies Used in Marketing
Now that you have got to learn about the vast benefits of gamification for businesses doing effective marketing, it’s time to employ these strategies too. Consequently, here we are with the popular gamification strategies used in marketing to increase conversions and sales.
Website games
The foremost gamification strategy used is website games. There are numerous forms of website games. Some games can be simple such as spin the wheel while others include virtual scratch cards to let the buyers earn discounts on their favorite goods.
While working your way out of the website games, ensure to keep it simple irrespective of the website game it is. In addition to this, the website games should be easy for the users to play, allowing them to win and also close out the games if they are not interested.
Virtual badges
Businesses need to think out of the box and some extraordinary ways to keep the customers coming back. One of the great ways to make your customers come back again is using virtual badges.
Virtual badges are rewards that encourage the customers to win the next reward when it is tied to discounts or other sorts of benefits.
Loyalty programs
The next widely used gamification strategy used in marketing is loyalty programs. Loyalty programs are an excellent way to gamify the customer experience. By way of loyalty programs, the businesses can offer points, stars, or other currency to the customers once they complete their purchase. Doing so will make their target audience come back to them.
Completion meters
Completion meters are another way to engage the customer’s interest. Brands dealing in mobile applications should take the utmost advantage of this so that their customers always remain interested in their applications.
The companies can easily drive engagement by giving users a goal to reach another level and earn a host of advantages.
Examples of Gamification
Knowing the gamification basics is not enough as the whole thing relies on its implementation. It is the implementation of gamification which tends to benefit your business. Here are some of the examples you need to look at:
Starbucks
Besides offering vouchers and coupons, a game was developed for the greatest multichain i.e Starbucks. The “Flip the cup” game allowed the users to attempt the tricky but mastered task of flipping the Starbucks cup onto a platform. As a result, it engaged the customers and increased their fan base.
Ferrero
Everyone is familiar with Ferrero’s top brands as they enjoy high popularity. Ferrero wanted to make kinder products popular and came up with two games: the first one is a kinder chocolate bar and the other game is in which the player moves at the bottom of the screen to collect Bueno chocolate bars.
Final Words
Employing gamification in marketing can engage users and drive increased sales. Not only this, it can assist you in marketing campaigns. Businesses can also see how users react and make changes to improve the customer experience. Level up your marketing with gamification.