With the penetration of digital technologies and mobile phones, gamification has emerged as a powerful solution to drive consumer engagement, retention, and monetization. At the present time, irrespective of the space, brands are increasingly adopting gamification to transform their challenges into enticing experiences for their consumers.
Gamification as a marketing strategy, allows brands to engage with users from different demographics and deliver messages in the most creative ways. It helps jumpstart engagement seamlessly, tapping potential customers and eventually increasing social media users. The ‘fun’ and ‘engagement’ associated with games help create a positive perspective about the brand, giving users an outlet to feel accomplished and earn rewards. This process of marketing can influence buyer behavior; propelling them to purchase from the marketed brand due to brand recall.
Gamification, if applied correctly, not only makes the entire marketing strategy more efficient but also positively impacts the ROI of the company. Today, businesses are increasingly investing in gamified solutions to retain customers, activate online communities, and build brands.
Why Gamification Marketing is becoming so important
Improves User Engagement: Gamification helps marketers build an engaging and interactive campaign that is likely to improve the engagement rate. This is always appealing to users across all age groups and tempts them to explore the content. This has proven to be a good method for building the foundation of a long-term relationship with the customers.
Increased Conversion Rate: As users interact with the gamified content on the brand’s website, they become an ideal candidate to positively respond to the CTA than a traditional banner ad to win the reward associated with the game. This is because, gamification makes the user feel that they are more in control of the situation, hence leading to an increase in conversion rate for the brands.
Increased Brand Loyalty: Interactive gamified content, propels users to visit the company website and engage with the content repeatedly, to either maintain their position on the leaderboard, or win more rewards. Once brand loyalty increases and the user develops an effigy for it, they are more likely to make a purchase and advocate it amongst their peers.
First-Party Data Collection: For all brands, user data is crucial as it enables them to strategize their marketing programs and target potential new customers. Gamification helps brands to generate first-party user data that marketers can use to target customers with personalized offerings.
Affordable: Gamification is a cost-effective feature to implement in all marketing strategies. At the same time, it is also time effective as compared to running traditional marketing campaigns.
Moreover, Millennials represent one of the largest consumer bases and are an important target audience for most organizations. While Millennials present huge business opportunities they require an alternate approach. Most millennials are digital-savvy users and prefer contemporary methods over traditional forms of marketing. Thus, adding the ‘fun’ and ‘engaging’ elements of gamification to the marketing mix is one of the most effective ways to reach and engage with this set of audience.
New age technologies are propelling the growth of gamification marketing
The global gamification market is expected to register a CAGR of 26.5% over the forecast period (2022-2027) The application and implementation of new age technologies like artificial intelligence (AI) for processing and displaying individualized results as well as the increased digitization of organizations are the main reasons propelling the growth of the gamification market. More and more businesses are employing cutting-edge technology and Al-based solutions to acquire deep insights from their workforce. Al-based gamification models have been providing accurate solutions by eliminating uncertainty in employee motivations and helping employees achieve goals more successfully
Challenges that exist in the gamification market
Like any other marketing tool, gamification too exists with its share of disadvantages. However, this technique applied correctly, can deliver the best possible results for marketing campaigns. An important aspect that brands need to be mindful of while designing their gamification strategy is that it should be engaging and interactive, and the consumers should enjoy experiencing it.
Designing the right gamification for marketing strategies can be a bit challenging. The goal is to create a game that not only people want to play but also helps the company achieve its marketing goals. Marketers cannot apply the ‘one size fits all’ approach when it comes to gamification. A game that works well for one company might not work for the others. It is important to know the target audience thoroughly.
Gamification can sometimes get complex and creating a game tailored to the organization’s audience that hits every objective of the brand can be challenging. These games need to be beyond the rewards and prizes offered and one that creates a personal and emotional connection with the customers.
Is gamification the future of marketing?
Gamification as a marketing strategy has the potential to engage with the user’s mind while indirectly creating a strong brand impression. It triggers real user emotions, like excitement and rivalry that leads to higher engagement, which creates loyal customers. It allows one to connect with the user on a more emotional level than just an image or information post. Promoting a brand or product with gamified solutions can go a long way in driving maximum user engagement, creating brand awareness and most importantly, converting potential customers to loyal consumers.
Making everything a delightful experience and getting closer to customers to engage them in the process is something that winning companies are increasingly adopting. Gamification indeed is the future of marketing as it solves the purpose and adds value to businesses.
Views expressed are personal.
