Gamification in marketing: 12 things you need to know before joining the action

Even though marketing is thought to have emerged with its first printed ads all the way back in 1450, it is much more ancient than that. And while Gamification in marketing is quite a new concept, it has gone through many stages and transformations since its inception.

Until the glorious arrival of the internet age, marketing, for most of human history, was all about going directly to a person and doing the best you can to present your product and convince the customer what makes it worthy of their hard-earned cash. Thankfully, however, thanks to modern tech, that is no longer the case, and various strategies and methods have been developed to engage customers without the need for a face-to-face exchange.

In its current form, Marketing is a monstrous vehicle with several extremely powerful weapons at its disposal, including Email and Social Media Marketing, PPC, SEM, and SEO. These and other strategies have been invented to generate more revenue, increase brand awareness, and more. But has it reached its limits yet? Surely not. And that’s where Gamification comes into play.

In this piece, we’ll explore what makes Gamification - the newest kid on the block - one of the best tools to increase sales and grow your business

In order to make the most out of Marketing, being aware of the newest trends and techniques that are constantly emerging and evolving is a must. Acquiring and retaining users is not an easy task, and if your retention rate is below average, you should be thinking about new ways to improve your strategy.

With Gamification, you can re-engage an existing audience through a website, a mobile app, an ad campaign etc., and pull in new customers while ensuring product loyalty. But how can you go about achieving that?

A business intending to implement Gamification into its marketing strategy needs to be aware of the main principles and practices that should ideally be applied in the process. Here are the most important points to keep in mind:

1. Understand Your Audience

Awareness of your target audience’s needs and behavioral patterns is the first thing you need to focus on when developing a Gamified marketing plan. What kinds of games do they prefer? What else do they like? When you know what makes them tick, you can create appealing games that they would genuinely enjoy and be interested in.

2. Invite Your Audience To Play

Encouraging playful behavior in your target audience should be a top priority for your business. A simple way to do this is by giving them a scratch card to reveal a special code or to complete a quiz to start a treasure hunt and win exciting prizes.

If your industry is based on a lot of transactions, a free trial or a discount might be the way to go. If the product you're offering is meant to engage with people seeking an adrenaline rush, then organizing an event with this in mind might be ideal.

3. Test And Measure

As with everything else in marketing, Gamification should be tested and measured. A specific campaign should be rinsed and repeated only if it has proven its effectiveness. When it comes to Gamification, you should always make sure that what you’ve created is strong enough to build a lasting connection with the customer. Incorporating playful elements around crowd-drawing seasonal celebrations and events, for example, can do wonders for your brand.

4. Encourage Competition

Gamification is a masterful tool when it comes to building brand loyalty through customer interaction. By offering valuable points, badges, trophies, and exciting prizes, you can create a competitive environment and inspire people to improve and want to come back for more. Add leaderboards into the mix and you’ve got yourself a surefire recipe for success!

5. Make It Fun And Simple

Make the process easy and enjoyable. If you’re trying to implement a loyalty program for a big coffee brand, for example, with free coffee voucher incentives, make sure the program is easy to understand and also a fun and engaging experience for the customer. Your goal is to reward your loyal customers and make them feel appreciated, and not give them a headache in the process. Gamification elements should always turn what might otherwise be seen as mundane activities into fun experiences.

6. Utilize Nostalgia

Generations that grew up in the 80s and 90s are today’s key buyer demographic and decision-makers, and many of them still yearn for the good old days. Products that use Gamification can tap into their nostalgia for the games, music, fashion, and TV shows of the past to grab their attention, and with the right amount of research, achieve incredible results.

7. Keep Regional Differences In Mind

Gamification is a powerful and inviting tool for your audience to become part of your user base. However, there are regional and cultural differences between users, and these differences also spill over when it comes to the way people play and how much time and resources they’re willing to dedicate. So if you’re about to launch a Gamification program worldwide, you might want to consider tailoring your offers and reward systems by region.

8. Use The Power Of Storytelling

A gripping story will keep your customers engaged and wanting to come back for more. Human beings need stories to feel alive and make sense of the world, and naturally, injecting a good story into a Gamified experience can have a hooking effect on the user. Make the stories you tell connect to the players, and inform them how completing a specific action will benefit the story. Keep it interactive to boost player engagement.

9. Make Sure All Players Feel Celebrated, Not Just The Best

Of course, this doesn’t mean that every child in the class should get an A, no matter their level of performance. However, you should be showing gratitude to every single person in your user base.

If you have 400 out of 500 people fully engaged with your product, that’s a great win for you. Keep in mind that Gamification is a business success tool.

10. Incorporate Business

Business owners understand that training programs and activities play an integral role in the common good of the company, but they’re also crucially important when it comes to Gamification.

The needs of your business need to be addressed accordingly, and Gamification should not just be used for its own sake. Careful implementation must be thought through to benefit your company to the highest degree.

11. Make Sure All Players Feel Celebrated, Not Just The Best

Of course, this doesn’t mean that every child in the class should get an A, no matter their level of performance. However, you should be showing gratitude to every single person in your user base.

If you have 400 out of 500 people fully engaged with your product, that’s a great win for you. Keep in mind that Gamification is a business success tool.

12. Encourage Customers To Challenge Their Friends

When it comes to Gamification it’s important to come up with ways for audiences to challenge their friends and family. Your campaign can become much more engaging this way, as it offers a sense of fun and healthy competition. By adding this feature paired with an option to share progress and achievements on social media, you will naturally motivate your target audience to join the action, which will bring you much more value in the long run.

When it comes to the world of Gamification, Smartico is one of the fastest-growing platforms and a leader in its own right. Armed with a massive set of extremely powerful Gamification tools boosted by CRM automation and AI modules, Smartico has taken the world by storm. As a 1# ranked Gamification software, it is an all-in-one solution for all business aspects (both online and offline) that could benefit from Gamification and loyalty expertise.

What Smartico Can Offer You

Smartico has a wide arsenal of unique features that set it apart from the competition and can do wonders when it comes to keeping users engaged while maintaining a constant flow of traffic.

At each stage of their Gamified journey, users are offered highly-alluring incentives that keep them motivated to become better players and climb the leaderboard ladder, and as a bonus, this nudges them to spread the word and bring in new potential customers.

In Smartico’s virtual marketplace, users can spend their points in exchange for real cash bonuses, free spins, vouchers, Amazon gift cards, electronic devices, and much more.

As a leader in the Gamification industry, Smartico also offers:

• Various intuitive challenges and gaming techniques
• High-value incentives that encourage long-term loyalty and retention, elevate player value, strengthen engagement, and boost user acquisition
• Multi-Currency/Language/Deep Brand Support

• Missions – Engage players with fun real-time solo or multiplayer tasks
• Points – Encourage players to keep coming back through point-based incentives and unlockables
• Badges – Stand out from the rest with sleek badges and earn free spins for each earned badge
• Levels – Players gain experience and special perks after each successful level or tournament completion
• Incentives – Motivate players to come back for more with unique rewards and bonuses
• Marketplace – Players can actualize their points by cashing them in for free game spins or other awards such as online shopping vouchers
• Mini Games – Players can reset their senses through short, award-earning games
• Tournaments – Set your own qualification rules and offer your customers a powerful endorphin rush with Smartico’s special tournament system
• Leaderboards – Set daily, weekly, and monthly prizes and watch your user engagement skyrocket
• Bonus Engine Integration - Cash bonuses, free spin bonuses, and more

And that’s just a taste of what Smartico can do for you to set you apart from the rest.

Let us help you take your business to the next level by booking a free demo today!

By Gamifying your Marketing campaigns you can do magic when it comes to growing your business, boosting sales, and increasing brand awareness.

The key points covered in this article have already been successfully tried and tested by giants of various industries with astonishing results.

And if Gamification benefited them and they were able to make massive profits with it, why shouldn’t it also work for your business.?

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