{"id":36429,"date":"2020-08-04T13:12:08","date_gmt":"2020-08-04T18:12:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/?p=36429"},"modified":"2023-06-21T19:08:48","modified_gmt":"2023-06-22T00:08:48","slug":"gamification-marketing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crowdspring.com\/blog\/gamification-marketing\/","title":{"rendered":"Gamification in Marketing: Engage Your Customers to Grow Revenue"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Your best future customers are your current customers.<\/p>\n

They’ve already leaped the biggest hurdle – they’ve proven that they’re willing to buy from you.<\/p>\n

And that’s a powerful predictor for whether or not they’ll be willing to buy from you in the future<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The probability of selling to an existing customer is 60-70%, while the probability of selling to a new prospect is 5-20%.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

That’s a huge<\/strong> difference.<\/p>\n

But it’s not enough to sit back and expect existing customers to return for more. You’ve got to provide motivation. And one of the most effective ways to do that is to “gamify” your customer experience.<\/p>\n

What is gamification?<\/h3>\n

As a team of researchers at the University of Waterloo explains<\/a>:<\/p>\n

Gamification is the use of game elements in applications that are not games. For example, a user experience designer can borrow elements from games, such as quests, stories, and badges, to motivate users to interact with a product, system, or service.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Gamification changes the way customers experience and interacts with your business. Game elements trigger a multitude of psychological responses<\/a> – motivating people to continue spending or to spend more happily.<\/p>\n

If you’re just starting your business<\/a> and writing your business plan<\/a>, consider ways to incorporate gamification into your marketing and sales plan<\/a>.<\/p>\n

And, if you’re running an existing business and are ready to increase your revenue (while providing your customers with a better user experience), consider ways to tweak your marketing and sales to include the principles of gamification we discuss below.<\/p>\n

How are businesses using gamification?<\/h3>\n

It’s possible to add gaming elements to nearly any business process or system, making gamification an incredibly flexible technique.<\/p>\n

Some businesses gamify their internal processes to build engagement and adherence to policies. For instance, a business may gamify the travel expense reimbursement process to encourage employees to keep better track of their travel expenses and submit them in a timely fashion.<\/p>\n

Other businesses gamify their customer-facing processes to create a better user experience, build brand loyalty, and encourage customers to continue making purchases. This could take the form of tiered loyalty rewards programs<\/a>, point systems that can be cashed in for more products, or even earn rewards in exchange for engaging with the business in various non-purchase ways.<\/p>\n

As you can see, your imagination is the only limit to the possible applications. But now, let’s look at why gamification is so effective.<\/p>\n

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Answer 5 quick questions & gain 15 valuable insights to drive customer loyalty and business growth.<\/div>Start the free quiz now!<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n

Gamification and social proof\/conformity<\/h2>\n

Gamification taps into several powerful human drives. One of the most powerful is the desire to belong.<\/p>\n

Humans have an innate desire to conform to those around them (at least to some degree).<\/p>\n

Historically, this willingness to subvert individuality in exchange for social acceptance ensured that when a person needed help, they could count on others for aid or protection.<\/p>\n

That instinct is still strong. As we shared previously<\/a>:<\/p>\n

In 1951 Solomon Asch, a social psychologist, designed a study testing whether a lone subject would, when questioned, give the obviously correct answer if they were surrounded by subjects giving an obviously wrong answer. The study revealed that 37 of 50 subjects conformed to the larger group and gave the obviously incorrect answer. Asch later reflected,<\/p>\n

\u201cThe tendency to conformity in our society is so strong that reasonably intelligent and well-meaning young people are willing to call white black.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The instinct to belong to a social group is undeniable. Displaying social proof (showing that other people are doing it and feel good about their choice) can motivate people to subscribe, click, or purchase.<\/p>\n

Many games incorporate social elements in their gameplay. This may manifest as direct competition against other players, collaborative play where all participants work together toward a goal or community elements where participants share personal status updates or indirectly compete against other players’ results.<\/p>\n

Creating a sense of community within a gamified structure activates people’s desire to belong.<\/p>\n

Action items<\/h3>\n