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The concept of Gamification is undoubtedly gaining a lot of interest in the marketing world. People are always excited by the idea of earning a reward, especially if it coincides with something they like or a desire they wish to obtain.
The business giant Amazon itself technically isn’t an everyday app. Yet they have their users engaged and checking their application every day. Ever wondered why?
The more time a user spends on an application, the more he or she gets hooked to it. The easiest way to understand Gamification is keeping a user hooked to a platform by taking advantage of the users' psychology and personalizing the experience to the segment of the user. The concept of gamification is not new to the world, it started the day companies made users buy products that were not actually necessary.
If Gamification is that obvious, howcome it works?
Gamification is inconspicuous to a user. It takes advantage of the competitive nature and reward system psychology of a user. It gives the user a sense of competitiveness and achievement, and let’s be honest, who doesn’t want to feel like a winner?
There are many ways different companies adapt to meet their users. Though gamification does not directly work with the product, it keeps their users engaged to the product using other perks.
Let’s take a look at how companies have started giving more than only discounts to keep their users engaged.
What’s new?
The Novelty Effect is when users repeatedly visit your app just to see what’s new. Social media platforms live off this concept. The idea of constantly having to check up on new stories, new posts and content, is what keeps users checking the app throughout the day.
A concept that is largely used in games as well is by rewarding the users for logging in every day. COD Mobile has a monthly calendar that shows you the rewards you could potentially earn by just checking-in every day. As a player, you would love to receive your new favorite weapon without having to buy it, and if logging in every day is all it takes, you will be consistent till you get it.
Any moment now ..
The Sense of Urgency is one of the most used Gamification model by eCommerce sites to sell their products. Daily deals and limited period offers attract consumers and make them purchase the product without giving time to think over it or look for other alternates. Consumers tend to look for products in a short duration of time, making them purchase the product while they are still excited about it.
Such models needn’t specifically restrict the time for the sale, but can also restrict the products, making it available only for the first 50 or 100 customers. This induces a sense of competition amongst users pushing them to make the transaction before someone else does.
You’re the lucky one!
Unlike the other two models that are meant for all users, this model does not apply to all customers but only the ‘lucky’ ones. Windfall Gains are similar to finding easter eggs in a game.
Giving a surprise coupon to a user makes them feel lucky and urges them to complete a transaction on something they were just intending on viewing. This will also increase the frequency of activity of a user, as they will keep using the app to try their luck.
This could be in the form of a Scratch Card, Slot-Machine, Spin-the-Wheel, or simply a voucher.
Skill based Games
'Earning' a reward always feels better than just receiving one. Rewarding users based on their skill via a game gives them a sense of achievement and in turn will drive users to continue the cycle of actions - building loyalty with your application. This could be in the form of Memory Games or Arcade Games.
Simply applying the most successful strategy does not guarantee growth. The most important aspect of gamification is to know your customers and what would attract them. Try to keep the gamification model simple and as an incentive to the experience of the product. If the product is e-commerce, give the user discounts on the products. If the product is a game, give the user game coins, and so on. Always cater to the needs of your user.
It’s important not to overflow the consumer with terms and conditions. In a fast-paced world, Gamification should get your users excited and happy, not tired.
Want to apply Gamification to your store, but don’t know how to get started?
Give your customers a great offer experience with CustomerGlu’s Gamified UIs. CustomerGlu uses AI to optimize the discounts given to each customer against a Profit Margin or a Budget automatically.
Our Reinforcement Learning driven models learn your customers' situations and motivations with every interaction to fine-tune the incentives making your campaigns smarter and more effective with every iteration.
