Why Should Companies Use Gamification Strategy - Essay Example

Abstract Gamification is the use of game mechanics and game thinking techniques to engage customers and users in solving their problems or increasing their awareness. The problem of marketing has been widening due to limited strategies. This paper seeks to explain the findings from secondary literature. This paper will explain the advantages and disadvantages of using the technique, the marketing applications, the reason for using the technique and why the technique should be used for building customer relationship. Contents Abstract 1 Contents 2 Introductions 3 Marketing Application 3 Why Should Companies use Gamification Strategy 5 Gamification adds real value to customer relationships 6 Advantages of gamification in marketing 7 Pitfalls of using gamification technique 8 Conclusion 9 References 9 Appendix : examples of gamification 11 Introductions Gamification is the use of game mechanics and game thinking techniques to engage customers and users in solving their problems or increasing their awareness. The technique is used in processes and applications to perk up user engagement, learning and information quality. Gamification techniques endeavor to leverage people desires for achievement, altruism, self expression, and closure. The technique strategy works in-terms of awarding rewards to players who accomplish desired tasks. The types of rewards include levels, points, gifts, and offering users virtual currency. Competition is one of the elements of a game that is also being used in gamification. This technique is a marketing strategy embedded in the minds of clients assisting them to understand as well as offer better communication protocols to them. Marketing Application This technique has been highly applied in marketing. Over 80% of the companies listed in Forbes Global 2000, are using a gamification technique for the purposes of customer retention and marketing. For example, in 2011 Yahoo media and Australian broadcasting started their Fango mobile app, which TV users could be able to interact with all the TV programs and shows over badges and check-ins techniques. The results of the app were outstanding since more than 500000 downloads have so far been downloaded (Chorney 2013). In order to increase consumer awareness the techniques are also used in customer loyalty programs. In 2010, Starbucks offered foursquare badges to people who were able to check on the site on several occasions as well as offered discounts to individuals who used the browser. The technique was used to market Google ads over Starbuck a browser which was gamified. There are proposals to use the technique in competitive intelligence by encouraging marketing researchers do research and fill out surveys on branding. This is all but increasing the visual eye of customers so that they could have the chance to willingly purchase a product or a service. Several companies have also integrated gamification into Help Desk software. In 2012 for example, freshdesk a cloud computing customer support product integrated gamification features allowing customers to engage in online forums increasing the company communications strategy. This communication marketing strategy has been used as a tool for encouraging customer engagement as well as improving company and customer communications. It has been embedded in social networking sites so that it could increase user usage as well as meet the target market obligations. As a means of communicating to the target market the strategy has found relevancy and competition from other marketing strategies. Thanks for such kind of communication strategy that is user friendly and more effective method of engaging clients. In most cases the technique has been used with clients under the age of 16; who have time to play the games on the system. Several bookselling companies have been using the strategy to persuade children and young adults to purchase them. The system has vast applicable forms that could be used in marketing, but its increased user friendly usage among young adults makes it the best technique of engaging clients by beefing up their communications strategies. Why Should Companies use Gamification Strategy Continuous changes of technology and programs in the contemporary society is increasing contributing to a cynical audience that has the potentials of causing exhaustion at the smallest hint when a company is entering a new market or when a company has featured in finding the target market. The following are the reasons why organizations should welcome gamified tools to help them learn and share all that is involved with the company strategy; i. Marketing is based on the information and data that the company’s marketing team has. Since technology has revolutionized the access of information than their marketing teams should use the gamification strategy to engage and participate other members of staff and the community within which the business environment is located to help in branding of products to increase the facial appearance of the product. This will increase consumer to company communications, hence beefs up marketing relationship that turns to benefit both the consumer and the advertising company. ii. When changing a company’s technology platform, it should not render the users or consumers restless rather, it should main the customers my engaging them with an activity that will make them acquit themselves more with the company goals and objectives. This is a customer retention strategy (Chorney 2013). For example, this strategy was used by First century Bank in 2012 (US based) to retain their customers when they were upgrading and maintaining their online banking accounts for two weeks. iii. Gamifications programs have proven to be successful in motivating customers towards their business growth. For example, it has provided clients with platforms to improve their sense of personality progress as well as improving their connectedness to others in the business industry. The incorporation of such this technique to business has significant importance in marketing has it changed the mode of adverts from celebrity endorsement to software advertising. Gamification adds real value to customer relationships This technique is growing fast across a wider spectrum of companies and industries despite the fact that it is not a new idea in the market. Game mechanics have been used for technical and trading for the past 2 decades. The most known aspects of gamification are social platform and loyalty programs. According to a research conducted by M2 research, the global awareness of gamification has increased in its usability from $300 million in 2012 to $3.2 billion in 2013. The biggest driver of this growth is the potential use of the technique improve the audience communications and understanding in marketing especially- customer motivation, customer loyalty, and customer relationship (Huotari & Hamari 2011). The greatest intention of using this marketing approach doesn't give the marketing team to engage the audience in the most affordable and best way to help customers overwhelmed with content to get help. This helps the organizations such as company to improve their relationship with the clients so that they could be able to gain clear understanding of their preference and needs. With this marketing strategy in mind many business firms or companies will be able to integrate with their clients with ease. A virtual marketing relationship is an ideal business idea that is employed with the use of gamification technique. Thanks to the development of this kind of applications. Since gamification technique is a direct marketing idea with the customer it is an advantage since it is less costly and does not involve other stakeholders in marketing. Gamification technique is standalone software that only needs the user when using the technique. This helps in building the relationship between the user, the brand, product being advertised and the organizations endorsing the advertisement. Advantages of gamification in marketing After proper implementation of gamification in organizations, there are several merits that come with it. The following are the benefits that come with it: Educates customers faster that other advertising strategies; since the program is user oriented, clients are able to use the software are their own ease hence builds confidence with them, hence improving their communications with the software host company. Since the customers are ready to undertake all the playing and using the software it will develop a motivational approach to them. Motivating is one of the most significant steps in the marketing process as it brings both the company and the customer together. Creation of loyalty through proper communications channels is an important aspect of using the gamification technique in marketing. Good communications between an organization and its customers is vital and gamification technique plays this role properly increasing the company’s or firms PR business turnover as well engages customers to the business thereby increasing their confidence and trust with the organization products and brands. On the other hand, this bridges the gap between consumer satisfactions and the volumes of sales that a company makes with the best marketing approach. Pitfalls of using gamification technique It is a reasonable approach using this technique when marketing products especially when being in a new market or when targeting a certain market, but these come with several downfalls. For example, since this is just software generated from a human understanding, it is prone to collapse at any time. If this is not handled faster than it destroys the reputation of the company marketing out using the strategy (Muntean 2011). In addition, though communications are efficient when using the games when advertising, the experience the customer or client gets is not the same as the one a customer gets when he has face to face communication with a company or business representative. The technique is also not the ideal one for all people around the globe due to other natural factors such as illiteracy levels, lack of technological equipments that permit usage of gamification such as computers. Conclusion With the use of this technique organizations are able to change the communication levels between them and their clients, thus increasing their sales. Communications between users and companies will be improved thus, to their brand value. References Chorney, A.s I. 2013. Taking the game out of gamification. Huotari, K., & Hamari, J. 2011. Gamification” from the perspective of service marketing. In Proc. CHI 2011 Workshop Gamification. Muntean, C. I. 2011. Raising engagement in e-learning through gamification. In Proc. 6th International Conference on Virtual Learning ICVL (pp. 323-329). Appendix : examples of gamification Example 2: Read More