Tips to Successfully Implement Gamification Elements

What is gamification, and how can it add value to your loyalty program? Let us count the ways.

Gamification is the practice of using elements of game systems to encourage certain behaviors in non-game systems. Trust us—it’s a lot more fun than it sounds!

Three of the most commonly employed elements of gamification are points, badges, and leaderboards. Their popularity lies in their simplicity: they’re easy to implement, users instantly recognize them, and everyone intuitively knows how to interact with them.

Let’s be clear—gamification elements aren’t a shortcut to overnight success. They require some thought in order to implement successfully. We’ll explore some of the ways that you can use gamification to up the fun factor and draw users in.

Point Systems Inspire Action

Point systems are a flexible game element that influences behavior by giving users a goal they can work towards, and the ability to track their progress in an aesthetically pleasing way. Points can be used as currency, like airline frequent flyer miles, or to gain status and prestige. Earning points is rewarding, and UI/UX plays as much a part in this reward system as game mechanics do. Providing users with an aesthetically pleasing tracking system as points accrue provides a sense of satisfaction.

These visual cues encourage users, letting them know they are on the right track and reinforcing the feeling that they want to take this action again and again. There are several ways to implement point systems in order to achieve and enhance this feeling.

Currency:

Users love goals and choices. Choices allow users to get the most out of the system and gives them a goal to work towards.

Status:

When users can share and compare points it creates more motivation to act in order to gain more points. This tactic could alienate users who aren’t as naturally competitive, but grouping individuals into teams and displaying their collective score is one way around it. Points can also be reset at regular intervals, giving users another chance to succeed, perhaps thinking “I didn’t do well in the summer league, but I’ll try harder in the fall league.”

Prestige:

Another angle is to tie some sort of leveling mechanism to the points earned. Airlines and hotel reward programs employ this strategy as well as games like Dungeons and Dragons. Earning points grants access into a higher level of the club or a higher rate of discount, or some other kind of perk—perhaps your avatar in the app turns gold once a certain threshold is met. In some....Read Entire Article