At the heart of any good gamification platform, there lies a single truth … reward and incent the most important behaviors if you want to properly engage with your customer base. Unfortunately, with the wild success of platforms such as Badgeville and Bunchball, many brands are beginning to look at the practice of badging members as a gimmick and not a best practice for sustained engagement. The fact of the matter is that gamification systems can supply you with a wealth of insights that your current business intelligence tools can’t even come close to delivering on. Here are a couple of things to consider the next time you’re faced with a decision.
Data, data and more data
Without a doubt you currently have access to several different pieces of customer data, from a multitude of sources, each telling its own story. The beauty of a well-designed gamification platform, however, is that all of a customer’s actions are tracked and stored in a single place, allowing you to gain deep insight into the patterns and behaviors of each customer. Matching this data with other purchase history allows brands to issue more targeted marketing outreaches, promotions and offerings.
Extend Engagement
Extending tracking of customer behaviors, through mobile devices, allows your customers to continue engaging with your brand beyond branded online assets. For example, Trainer.active.com uses gamification to reward users for logging their workouts, which are suggested by Active Trainer. This simple mechanism has helped Active Trainer work its way towards a successful startup by engaging customers where it matters most; the gym.
One size does not fit all
Be cautious and evaluate all of your options before selecting a gamification platform. They are not all created equal and most likely none of them will work for you out of the box. Chose the one that not only fits your needs, but also allows you to easily make customizations and tailor the experience for your brand.
Principal
Engaging your customers is at the heart of successful marketing programs. For more than 20 years, Cheryl has been building and executing content and thought leadership strategies designed to do just that. She is excited to be applying that well-honed skill to a help companies like Microsoft, Cisco, 3M, Intel, Capital One and Barclaycard tap into their stakeholder communities and build sophisticated content strategies.
Her experience base spans a range of industries – from technology and financial services to retail, travel, consumer products and healthcare. Cheryl has served as an integral member of her clients’ marketing teams, providing counsel on marketing and brand strategy, thought leadership, media relations, product introductions, and event management.
Prior to joining ComBlu, Cheryl spent 10 years leading corporate marketing for large, complex organizations.