When it comes to gamification, simply applying the most popular strategy will never guarantee success specifically to your product. The technique of gamification places human motivation as the central driving force. It is defined as the craft of deriving all the fun and engaging elements found in games and applying them to real-world or productive activities.
Thereby one must know of the correct Gamification Ideas in order to implement a successful and relatable game-like experience that will keep the users coming back regularly to the product.
In this blog, we discuss five popular gamification ideas that you can use for your product:
1. Narratives -
How do you ensure that the users on your app stay on for longer? This question has been a nightmare for every new business since always. But with the recent strides in gamification, we have finally realized that games and game-like experiences are the most engaging.
Games create a sense of purpose and drive you towards a predetermined objective creating the feeling of achievement in the end-user. He or She no longer feels like just a passive character but one that actively takes part in the adventure and hence at the end EARNS the rewards.
Games do this by building up worlds, worlds that your character then inhabits, and worlds where your decisions have a real impact. Saving a princess, stopping a global destruction event, or even helping a random old woman cross the road are all examples of the narrative. Whenever we use stories as the medium of communication, maximum retention is possible.
(The entire campaign of Mario falls apart without saving the princess narrative at the end. The hero’s journey only makes sense with a tangible ending. The player has the feeling of contributing to the bigger picture just by the inclusion of this simple story beat)
2. Humanity Hero -
Even though the name sounds pretty vague, Humanity Hero is the idea of linking actions that your users take inside your app with something that will make the world a better place. Charity is as pure a motivator as they come. Therefore adding a real-world motivator in your app will help your numbers skyrocket.
A fantastic real-world proof of this idea is what mamaearth is doing with its “plant goodness” initiative. Under this initiative, Mamaearth has promised to plant a tree for every order placed, and they don’t just stop there. Mamaearth also sends a geo-tracking of the tree they planted for you, to help the customer monitor it and maybe even pay it a visit someday. All this, and they also have a live counter on their website and a clearly defined goal of planting a million trees.
(live counter on mamaearth’s website showing the number of trees planted)
If you tie your product to a cause that the masses will care about, you can build an entire business on the goodwill of others.
3. Elitism -
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The very idea of isolating the popular opinion might feel wrong but in fact, you might be killing fan activity if you are aiming to make your product appeal to everyone. It is very difficult, borderline impossible, and quite frankly stupid to appeal to everybody.
As a product developer, you first need to identify your target audience. Your target audience is those people who identify with your brand vision and thus have the potential to be customers and users. Then you allow your users to be part of an exclusive group and they feel the part of something bigger than all of them. There is a sense of purpose and their shared beliefs create a level of loyalty never possible with mass appeal.
We see the idea of elitism in almost every ivy league college. They have clubs, each with their long histories, engaged in constant mockery and rivalry with similar clubs from other colleges. Both sides believe that this rivalry is bigger than themselves, and with this newly instilled sense of Elitism, they go about doing many irrational activities because they “should” as a proud representative of that school.
Apple is another famous example of this concept of elitism. From the very inception of Apple Computers, there has always been an air of exclusivity when it came to apple products. Apple embraced this side completely and the result is a fanbase that is so hardcore that they don’t mind waiting for days in a queue just to get the latest iPhone or Mac.
(Smart, Simple, and yet Extremely Effective. Drawing on the concepts of Elitism)
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(The super-exclusive street fashion brand, SUPREME, also follows a similar concept. The ultra rarity of their products, paired with crazy aftermarket prices and an almost fanatical level of demand, makes the brand of SUPREME one of the most elite clubs you could be in. And with the level of hype that the brand has managed, you instantly feel that comradery with another person wearing SUPREME, without even knowing the person)
4. Beginner’s Luck -
This is the “calling” part when someone mentions Epic Meaning and Calling. Calling makes people think they are uniquely destined to do something. It makes people believe in themselves. Beginner’s Luck has often been exploited in games to reward a new player with a rare item, in order to keep them invested in the game from the start. If on the very first day of playing, you get a super high-level super rare sword, you will frantically continue playing the game until the next hook shows up.
This exact concept when used in the user experience process, does something pretty amazing. The people in your product who receive these insane rewards get totally hooked to your app. They spend more time in the hope of getting another crazy reward and also tell everyone they know about the incredible thing that just happened!
(Shock and Awe your customers into getting addicted to your app. Redesign your rewards with gamification)
5. Free Lunch -
On similar lines of the “calling” theme, Free Lunch ties the idea of in-app rewards and coupons with much bigger real-world themes. When you tie the actions of your users with real-life problem solving, your users will find an internal source of motivation to use your products.
For example, Spoleto, a central American restaurant chain, gave one absolutely free lunch to every woman who said she was beautiful, in celebration of International Women’s Day.
The initiative made every woman visiting the chain feel special, but not just for one day. They now knew this place to be one that can always make them feel uniquely special.
With gamification, the possibilities to create interactive and engaging experiences are limitless, and the best way to learn it is by getting your hands dirty.
Still, confused? Don’t know the right place to start gamification?
With CustomerGlu, your business can book a free demo of our low code gamification app, to see for themselves. CustomerGlu uses AI to optimize the discounts given to each customer against a Profit Margin or a Budget automatically. With CustomerGlu, we learn your customers’ motivations and preferences with each interaction, fine-tuning your campaign and making it smarter with every iteration.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs):
Q. How can we create epic meaning with gamification?
A. With gamification you can build epic quests that can turn your boring customer journeys into adventures of the epic scale. Adding epic narratives will make your users believe that they are part of a bigger picture, giving them a sense of purpose and driving motivation.
Q. Why should I encourage elitism for my communities?
A. Allowing your users or customers to form a prideful group based on ethnicity, beliefs, or common interests also makes them feel like they are part of a larger cause. Elitism instills group pride, which means each member tries to secure the pride of the group by taking specific actions.
Q. Why should I invest in creating narratives for my gamified system?
A. For most people gamification is simply about adding Points, Badges, and Leaderboards to their app or web platforms. But in reality, gamification is all about driving user motivation with empathy and care. Gamification allows us to connect with our users on a more human level. And there is nothing more human-like than stories. Whenever we use stories as the medium of communication, we create organic engagement, and maximum retention is possible.
