How You Can Engage Your Customers Through Gamification

Anyone who has ever worked in a retail, customer service, hospitality, legal, or marketing environment knows that one thing is true – an engaged customer is a repeat customer. When a customer feels like they have a stake in your brand, they will go to the ends of the earth to make you a success.

Studies show that the techniques used in gaming and casino apps can help you to engage your customers and employees, decreasing attrition and keeping them loyal and happy. If you are looking for ways that you can start engaging your customers and keeping your employees happy, engagement is key.

Need further proof that gamification and engagement can work together hand in hand? Take it from industry expert Alex Gault, the Vice President of sales and marketing for DeepMarkit.

“Engaged consumers have a significant impact on your bottom line. According to Gallup, brands that successfully engage their customers realize 63% lower customer attrition and 55% higher share of wallet,” says Gault.

Engaging your clients is a huge boon to your business. So, how can gamification help you along the path to a more robust sense of engagement? Read ahead to find out more.

How do Gamification and Engagement Work Together?

As the most successful casino apps know, almost any situation can be ‘gamified.’ Think about it – games are fun and addictive because they activate the reward centers in our brains. When you offer rewards and bonuses to players (or in this case, customers), you can build engagement with your brand or product.

A healthy sense of competition is another powerful engagement driver. Leader boards and contests can generate interest, excitement, and make people come back to you again and again.

Some Ways That You Can Take Cues from Gamification Apps

• It’s all fun… and games!

Free online games are a great way to build awareness about your brand, and then get people interested in finding out more. If you truly want to engage people and build a sense of loyalty and trust, nest branded information and advice into your game. This will allow players to learn more about you while they play your game.

However, it is important that you ensure that your games are not too difficult to win. There is a fine line between challenging and ludicrous! If you want to really up the ‘wow’ factor, offer a tangible prize that benefits your business – a 50% off coupon, or a freebie of some sort when visiting your store.

• Attract new customers with giveaways, contests and rewards

If you want to attract new customers to your brand, it is a good idea to offer a reward or incentive to first time clients. You could consider a 10 – 30% off voucher for signing up to your listserv, or making their first purchase.

Sweepstakes and contests are also a good way to gain customer loyalty and information – ask them to provide their details for a chance to win a prize.

Award points whenever your customers spend money with you

One of the best ways to retain your existing customers and get them excited to spend money is to reward them with loyalty points when they spend money with you. This encourages people to pull out their wallets and turn to your brand when they have money to spend.

Remember, you can always take things to the next level by combining this strategy with a game. Create an additional game within your app or website that allows customers to double their points, or even win a jackpot worth of points.

• Social media is an immensely powerful tool

Every aspect of your gamification strategy should be shareable on social media. This is a hugely powerful tool at your disposal, and is largely free advertising for your brand or business. Encourage your clients and customers to share their progress with your games and rewards schemes on their social media channels by offering them extra entries to contests, additional lives or levels in games, or bonus points in your rewards schemes every time they share your link online.

Now is the time to get started

With these tips and tricks from industry leaders, you are well on your way to ‘gamifying’ your business and making your existing customers your loyal brand ambassadors. Have you tried any of the tips listed above? Let us know how they worked in the comment section, or share this article on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter.