Patrick Salyer, CEO of gamification platform Gigya, believes there are two keys to success with gamification. “One is making sure that all gamified elements are inherently social,” he says. “That is, don’t restrict engagement to the internal site community. Award points for activities that reach users’ social [networks] to bring in referral traffic.”
The other is to focus on rewarding activities that create value for your businesses. “For example, award points and badges for behaviors like subscribing to your company’s newsletter, checking into your store or sending coupons to friends,” Salyer says. “Gamification is not about haphazardly throwing badges across your site.”
Verizon Wireless wanted to increase the time users spend on its website and the amount of interaction with its content.Now, users can earn points and rewards for participating in contests, posting comments and promoting events.Is Gamification the Right Play for Your Business?While gamification may sound appealing to companies seeking greater customer engagement, they should be sure it’s a winning proposition before investing time and money.
Dustin DiTommaso, the experience design director at design studio suggests that companies think seriously about why they’re interested in gamification and how it could help them meet their business goals.
Before gamifying, he says, a business should be able to answer these six questions with confidence:
• What is the reason for gamifying your product or service?
• How does it benefit users?
• Will they enjoy it?
• What are your business goals?
• How do you get users to fulfill those business goals?
• What actions do you want users to take?
If you can provide solid answers to all the questions, gamification could be an effective component of your online efforts.
Gamification can reward “behaviors consumers will naturally take on the site, such as sharing a blog that’s relevant to their social networks or uploading a photo of themselves and their friends while attending a Verizon-sponsored concert,” says Beth Tourek, Verizon’s social media strategist. Verizon Insider also can be customized to match a user’s interests or location.
Lesson learned: Make it personal.
Any gaming experience should aim to make users feel their experience is special. That’s why Verizon Insider gives users customized badges to personalize their experience.
“The gamification element that excited us most was the opportunity to create customized badges for unique local programs,” Tourek says. “For example, we’re working on a ‘Snow Bunny’ badge for people who enter an upcoming sweepstakes to win a season pass at a Utah ski resort we sponsor.”