And what are game dynamics?These are the aspects of a game that make it fun. And examples of this are everywhere:The UK visa process has a points system that I’m dealing with nowLoyalty programs all leverage a number of these mechanicsHypermiling in the toyotapriusGetting my kids to empty the dishwasher by giving them specific tasksIn all cases, the goal is to get someone to become a better customer or employee by making some process more compelling, easier and fulfilling
And what are game dynamics?These are the aspects of a game that make it fun. And examples of this are everywhere:The UK visa process has a points system that I’m dealing with nowLoyalty programs all leverage a number of these mechanicsHypermiling in the toyotapriusGetting my kids to empty the dishwasher by giving them specific tasksIn all cases, the goal is to get someone to become a better customer or employee by making some process more compelling, easier and fulfilling
A fairly common misconception I deal with when educating potential customers is that gamification is about adding games and avatars to an experience.This couldn’t be further from the truth Think of it this way:By putting a game on your site, unless you’re a gaming site, you’ve given your customers or your employees something to do other than what you want them to do.In fact, you’ve done the opposite of what you wanted.
Let’s think about it a different way.In this scenario, what you’ve done is you’ve created a potential distraction for your employees. And the perception is bad. You’re suggesting people do one thing, but wanting them to do another.Not good.
So in more practical terms, what is gamification?The intent is probably no big secret.Gamification is an element that you add to a site or process that will make it:More sticky – Increase the amount of time that people spend engaged in the experienceEncourages sharing amongst your social graph and the sharing of content in your organizationEncourages more content creation – whether that is wiki / blog posts internally or submitting more UGC externally, we want to drive those eventsMany of our customers use it to drive registrations to capture more user informationCommerce and transactions are huge drivers for our customers Really, the goal is to drive an increase in the behaviors that you value the most
At Badgeville, we measure success based on a single criteria:LiftAre we getting lift in the areas that you care about the most:Engagement – are your users interacting more frequently with your content?Commerce – are your customers buying more things?Loyalty – do they have a sense of loyalty that you’d expect from your best customers?Retention – do they continue to come back day / week or month in and out?
I’ve got to say, it is great to be in a country where I have a normal last name and people know how to pronounce it.
And the best part about this is that the more social your site becomes, the less expensive, monetarily, your rewards need to be. Gamification is only the lower left side of this graph and it is easy to see why monetary rewards would be more valuable than virtual rewards.As people on your site take part in the community, the value of recognition and privleges is significantly higher than rewarding with tangible goods that have a significant impact on your P&L.
I’ve got to say, it is great to be in a country where I have a normal last name and people know how to pronounce it.