Getting “Real” With Gamification

Gamification isn’t, well, a game. Applying popular schools of thought (a la Gabe Zichermann) to real-life situations isn’t easy. Rather, breaking down the concept of gamification is like the story of the four blind men and an elephant. Each came up with their own version of what the animal looked like. And, each, obviously, drew radically different conclusions too!

And therein lays the crux of this blog. But why not, merely examining the potential of gamification (as in my earlier piece) isn’t enough to join the dots. A realistic picture emerges only when all possible angles are considered, irrespective of the outcome. So, to conclude whether gamification can be an ace for one’s business, a good place to start would be to explore the likely challenges one can encounter whilst deploying such initiatives.

Not Knowing Thy Customer

While force-fitting a “one-size-fits-all” approach to any business challenge is a bad idea, applying it to gamification is, by far, even worse. Most flyers wouldn’t, for instance, opt for a frequent flyer programme that offers rewards at thresholds non-business travellers cannot reach, would we? At the end of the day, it is a pointless exercise, no matter how fun or engaging the interface or vivid the gaming mechanics.

The same holds true for anything one would want to gamify, not every aspect of business warrants gamification. But, to do it successfully, DO NOT attempt to piece together radically different ideas, all for the sake of perfecting one’s customer engagement techniques. Or, for that matter, stubbornly cling to tried-and-tested methods, like push notifications. Instead, try keeping your ear to the ground, just “know.” Stay a step ahead of the customer, just one step. Anticipate their needs. Be “always-on”.

There is no room for dumb pipes, particularly when the era of hyper-connectivity demands entities to be innovative. Agile. Conversational. Witty, even. All the while being relevant and contextual and not merely bombarding unsuspecting customers with what they may want. Or not. Know thy customer. They know more than you.

Underestimating the “Human at Heart” Approach

Business lessons 101: The customer ought to be at the centre of everything a brand does, or aspires to do. A human-centric design, if you will, with the added elements of inspiration, motivation, competition and, most importantly, engagement, brings the trophy home.

“Gamifying” one’s value proposition is fine, ensuring the customers’ most fundamental principles are tapped is even better. Consider it a win if one’s gamification initiative addresses what makes a human, human. Identify what motivates them, What would make them keep revisiting a brand? What triggers them to compete? Is it the possibility of rewards? Do frills such as badges, points, rewards, even leaderboards serve to heighten the sense of “having a goal to achieve?” Or should it be a purely emotional approach? should you bring forward one’s fear and desires, particularly those linked to relationships, accomplishment, empowerment, unpredictability or constraint? The choices are multiple, but redundant, if, ultimately, one doesn’t know what’s on the customer’s mind.

Overstuffing the Gamification Goody Bag

Getting carried away with gaming mechanics is easy; knowing when to stop is the challenge. Less is more has never held truer, albeit with a catch. Rewards and points are merely surface level incentives; the real trick is pushing/nudging the customer enough to do more consistently. This is, of course, a two-way street, which begins with offering the customer an intrinsic value, even in real-life, to ensure the action is repeated and sustained over a period of time. It isn’t complicated; imagine an exercise buff receiving a badge for completing a 30-day exercise streak, as opposed to someone looking for incentive to begin a healthy routine! No prizes for guessing which of the two is more likely to adhere to the programme!

But, there’s more. No amount of fancy user interfaces and frills can fix fragile business processes. Gamification isn’t a placebo for inefficient or tunnel-vision. Have a mission (or aim) in mind before jumping onto the gamification bandwagon and pick your successful business processes to gamify, not the ones that need rectification. Identify outcomes sensibly without wishing for the world. Remember, unrealistic goals are the first step to an utterly chaotic gamification experience. Step back, pause, and examine current trends and likely future ones. Then jump.

Let’s make it more succinct - Assume an organization aims to enhance the performance of their customer service agents. The mission. Gamifying the process would perhaps entail turning an ordinary working day into a quest-complete with rewards, of course! So, for every transaction completed successfully (thoughtfully set performance goals), these agents would receive badges. Perhaps a point system could also be incorporated to award for tasks completed within a time-frame or tasks with higher levels of complexity. Introduce a leaderboard which offers the agents as well as those in power a bird’s eye view of every employee’s performance. In short, elements of achievement, goals, motivation and rewards all add up to a very successfully executed gamification programme! Need I say more?

As it turns out, yes, a natural extension of this is know how long to gamify. Set stringent deadlines, much like the ones at work, to ensure the customer stays atop their game! In prepaid promotions, for example, where customers are rewarded with a specific amount of points per credit recharged, those about to purchase a recharge card at the beginning of the month can be incentivized with reward points and a prize, if they opt to recharge with a specific denomination! It will pay to be time sensitive in this case!

At the end of the day, what’s critical is that there is no one playbook for gamification. It is not a quick-fix solution. Draw the line between “too much” and “too little, too late.” And, perhaps most importantly, make it meaningful, worthwhile, even from the customer’s point of view.

So, are you jumping onto the bandwagon or still on the sidelines? Gamification works, but it isn’t child’s play. Serious players only, please!

Kiran Punjabi & Jyotika Oberoi