Gamification has been a growing trend over the past few years. One of those buzz words moving through the business and marketing world. However, while gamification may seem innovative, it isn’t a new concept. In fact, it’s been around for quite awhile now.
Gamification has gone somewhat unnoticed for years, picked up here and there by this company or that. Some use it to build their brands, keep their online community engaged and retain customers. Others ignore it completely.
-But recent research has shown that many participants feel gamification has inspired them to work harder. It’s made employees work harder to reach a goal, whether it’s streamlining business processes, recruiting better talent or finish a certain number of tasks in a specific amount of time.
It’s made it easier for marketers to engage with customers from varied demographics. If leveraged, gamified marketing can even make your overall operations more efficient.
Here are five ways a proper gamification strategy can impact your bottom line:
1. Engage and Entertain Your Target Audience
2. Maximize Your Lead Generation Efforts
Email marketing is still a reliable marketing technique. After all, customized and personalized messages work wonders across a range of industries.
But generating qualified leads can be trickier than it seems, given that web users have become more protective of their contact details than ever. A prospect won’t just share their personal information because you’ve asked them. Instead, you’ll need to be creative by offering them incentives and gamification.
Launching a mini-game for all people who will interact with your brand can work magic in generating qualified leads. For example, you can make it a rule that they must be willing to leave their contact details for a chance to win.
Incentives have been found to motivate web visitors to participate in online games and promotions. A gamified marketing strategy will enable a brand to convert its web visitors into potential clients. Embedding a gamified promotion or adding a promotional banner on an eCommerce website can help turn your website traffic into qualified leads.
Gamified promotions have often proven successful in strengthening online visibility and brand awareness. Alternatively, you can convert your social media followers into sales leads using online prize wheels.
3. Boost Your Sales Revenue
Your for-profit business needs profit to succeed. Lead generation is always a reliable strategy to boost sales revenue. Offering prizes is one engaging way a brand can trigger its sales funnel. It’s a creative way to honor loyal customers and encourage repeat purchases. But how can a brand use gamification to boost its sales?
Research has found that customers are always looking for discount coupons, special offers, and bargains. Coupon distribution is a great way to trigger engagement and reward your customers. But don’t just hand out a discount. Instead, offer a unique discount code to web visitors willing to share their information with you. Coupons will help draw more traffic towards your site and generate genuinely interested leads.
4. Reinforce Your Brand Awareness
Attention to detail is extremely important due to the volumes of information out there. Sometimes customers have to scroll through piles of messages and posts to get information about a brand. How can a successful marketer get their brand noticed with so much content out there? If you want web visitors to spend a little more time on your website, ensure you offer engaging content.
Gamification can help a brand trigger real emotions that lead to higher engagement. Gamified marketing campaigns connect a brand to its target audience more emotionally than social media posts and images. Gamified promotional strategies help push your prospects through the sales funnel and make them loyal to your brand. As a result, your customers will likely become more loyal and willing to recommend your brand.
5. Retain Customers
Are you struggling to develop strategies to retain your customers? Every brand out there craves repeat purchases, but how can a brand keep its loyal customers hooked on it? Launching a gamified challenge and rewarding top scorers can work magic. Marketing campaigns with challenges, puzzles, and games will encourage repeat purchases, which rarely happens with traditional marketing techniques. Gamified marketing is a great way to create positive experiences and prove your brand is reliable and trustworthy. It’s a strategy that can help a brand differentiate itself from its rivals.
Moving forward, gamification has the possibility of becoming an essential tool in growing brands. Not only can it help you reach a wider audience, but it also allows for higher customer loyalty ratings and increased customer retention.
Are you looking for a creative way to let your target audience experience another side of your business? Take the time to research gamified marketing in your niche. Consider how you might incorporate it into you marketing campaigns, and grab a bigger part of the marketing pie.
