STEP 1 Gamification

Gamification involves the creation of scenarios that encourage customers to act and interact with the brand based on game mechanics - including the implementation of levels, rewards, badges, time limits and encouraging competition between loyalty program participants.

How does gamification work?

Gamification programs often use purchase history and transactional events. This is because the primary goal of loyalty programs based on game mechanics is to encourage purchases. Gamification also motivates increased activity, building habits such as using a mobile app. In the longer term, this influences customers’ purchasing behavior.

The figure above illustrates the operational scheme with examples of loyalty programs based on game mechanics:

1. Customer activity - gamification scenarios can be created based on various user actions, with the most popular events including:

   • Transactions,
   • Enabling marketing consent,
   • Newsletter subscriptions,
   • Registrations,
   • Website activity such as page scrolling, video engagement, pop-up displays,
   • Product ratings or written reviews.

2. Behavioral analysis within a specific scenario involves checking that the customer’s activity meets defined criteria. For example, if we expect a customer to make three purchases in a month, subscribe to a newsletter and register for the program, all of these conditions must be met. Failing to meet any of these conditions will stop the customer from advancing to the next level or receiving the intended reward.

3. The reward is the moment of satisfaction. In gamification-based programs, the receipt of a reward does not usually complete the process. The game mechanics motivate ongoing competition. Thus, securing a reward is a stepping stone to completing another challenge and participating in another competition. The concept of “reward” may include moving up to a higher level, accessing special content, participating in exclusive offers or receiving a promotion discount or bonus loyalty points.

Applying gamification scenarios in a loyalty program is a proven method to stimulate greater customer activity. It not only entertains customers, but also provides them with a variety of rewards. You benefit from increased engagement, enhanced brand awareness and a stronger user-brand connection.

Next step

You have learnt about the main concepts of gamification in loyalty programs, in the next article we describe in detail the stages of gamification deployment.