If a budding business wants to survive, it needs to find effective ways to increase leads. There are various ways to get this done, but one of the most overlooked right now is gamification, which is a shame because it is pretty good. Those who are willing to give this a shot can consider the following guide to implement gamification into your marketing strategy.
What Exactly Is It?
Firstly, if you’ve never heard of gamification, it’s time to learn what it is.
In essence, it uses ideas you’d find in any game and uses those ideas to attract leads and eventually getting people to purchase the product or service being offered. What you’re doing with gamification is making your marketing engaging and irresistible.
Benefits of Using Marketing Gamification
The reality is that most people have seen some of the benefits of using this type of marketing out in the real world.
For example, everyone remembers McDonald’s and their effective Monopoly game. That was an example of gamification, and it did wonders for the company. People continued to frequent the fast-food chain for a chance to continue playing and potentially winning.
The following are some of the perks of using this type of marketing:
- It’ll improve user engagement.
- It can boost conversion rates.
- Brand loyalty gets a boost.
- It can be used across various platforms.
- Can contain tools to help people collect consumer data.
- Gamification is usually affordable.
- AdBlockers won’t try to stop gamification products.
Ways to Implement Gamification Marketing
An online business can’t benefit if gamification isn’t implemented first. Getting these types of concepts implemented is where many business owners hit their first snag even if it sounds simple, like the steps a company needs to take to get more email subscribers.
The good thing is that there are many ways to get this done, such as the following:
Simplicity Works
Never complicate the games used. If a game is complicated, it ceases to be fun, and that’s going to turn customers away instead of engaging them. The games shouldn’t be too hard to figure out, so it’s important to only use the simplest games, or make sure the gamification concepts are tested many times.
Targeting the Audience
The first thing to do is to make sure that gamification concepts take the target audience into account. When a business fails to put its audience in the front and center of every decision made, including this one, the idea is bound to fail. Before deciding which game to adapt it’s important to answer questions, like “what will attract the company’s target audience?” or “what do the company’s customers seem to like?”
Rewards are Vital
No one wants to turn down a reward, which is a reality business owners have to use in their favor. A reward or prize has to be involved to ensure that the gamification gimmick is as effective as it can be. Some budding companies can’t offer big rewards, but small rewards can work too, such as discounts or a free product or service.
It’s important to market whatever a company decides to do, which is where that Share button comes into play as well as smart email campaigns.
Examples of This Type of Marketing
The next thing to go over is a few examples of gamification in marketing. This way business owners can get an idea of where they want to take this type of marketing. The following are some examples:
Spin to Win
One simple and effective gamification marketing option is the spin-to-win wheel. It’s not hard to explain. Customers get a chance to spin the wheel a few times, maybe three, for a chance to win. Maybe customers will only get a chance to spin the wheel after a purchase or something like that.
Loyalty Rewards
A more subtle way to introduce gamification marketing is through loyalty rewards programs. Loyal customers get a chance to accumulate points, and the more points they accumulate, the more they’ll have access to. Maybe you’ll offer a large discount, or maybe you’ll offer a gift. If shipping is expensive on your site, perhaps you’ll offer free shipping once a certain amount of points are reached. The possibilities are endless.
Hopefully, this guide makes it easy to introduce gamification marketing to your company. You can always hire a specialist to help ensure that not only the right game is chosen, but that it’s implemented well.