Key Messages
How To Use Gamification To Increase Engagement And Loyalty In Your Company
You might think that the only place to experience games is in your living room, but that’s not true!
Games can be used in a wide range of industries and organizations, and they are proving to be extremely valuable.
In The Gamification Revolution, you can learn why it’s so important for companies and organisations to embrace game play as part of their working culture/strategy.
From how the architecture industry uses game play, to how Nike created a game-based platform to recruit new staff, the book explains all kinds of ways that gamification can have an impact.
You’ll also learn about the benefits of implementing games into your own organization or company – from improved customer loyalty and engagement, to creating an atmosphere of excitement in strategy meetings.
All in all, if you’re looking for a way to get ahead in business and stay ahead, this book will show you why games are a MUST for any organization or company.
The Ubiquity Of Games – From Angry Birds To Grand Challenges, We Are A Species Of Gamer
Games have come a long way from traditional board games and have become increasingly more important in our modern world.
A study by TNS Global found that over 60 percent of people in the Western world regularly play computer or video games, with this being even more true for young people: about 70 percent of toddlers and young kids play them!
But what’s even more amazing is that games can be useful beyond just entertainment purposes.
Take gamification, for example.
Gamification is when you use games to get people together or solve problems, and it can provide great opportunities for businesses and organizations.
With the right game design, you can invigorate your brand, engage customers, raise profits all while inspiring innovation and creativity within your team to drive success.
McDonald’s Monopoly is also a great example of how effective gamification can be with prizes offered as incentives to purchase certain items/meals meaning they are able to broaden their customer base significantly.
Even grand challenges – large scale games which aim to solve specific problems – have often led to great discoveries or inventions such as the establishment of our system for longitude in 1714.
So really, if you want to succeed in today’s society, incorporating some form of game seems essential for connecting with people.
And if done correctly, you could find yourself reaping the rewards just like McDonald’s did!
Gamification: How Games Help Companies Engage Customers For Mutual Benefit
Gamification is transforming the way companies interact with their customers.
It allows companies to respond directly to customer needs and desires in ways that traditional marketing tactics can’t.
For example, Ford and Nissan are addressing the problem of young people preference for public transportation over driving by gamifying their cars.
Ford created a virtual plant on the dashboard display and when drivers conserve gas, it turns green.
Nissan offers drivers the ability to connect to Facebook, so they can compete with each other on fuel efficiency and safety measures.
The rapper Chamillionaire leveraged gamification when he created his loyalty program called the “Chamillitary” where fans could compete to be his number one fan while earning points which could be redeemed for merchandise or special events like a personalized voicemail from Chamillionaire himself!
Gamification provides an engaging and interactive way for companies to reach out to their customers and build stronger relationships with them.
It lets you give customers what they want, so you get something back in return!
How Gamification Can Help Companies Reach Their Goals
Games can be used to help people strategize for real life situations.
For example, Alternative Reality Games (ARGs) can help give people a sense of what future problems or situations might look like.
In fact, one ARG simulated a world with no Oil supply for 32 weeks and 18,000 people participated to explore the various outcomes!
Scenario planning is also incredibly useful in helping anticipate and prepare for future situations–so much so that it’s mandatory training for every US Army officer.
Scenario planning can even predict major events as PIMCO once predicted the failure of Lehman Brothers!
Gamestorming is also a powerful tool; it encourages more creativity, enthusiasm and engagement when brainstorming solutions to an issue.
One gamestorming technique is the 3-12-2 game: players have 3 minutes to write down aspects of the problem on cards, then two minutes in pairs to brainstorm solutions before finally getting two minutes each to pitch their idea.
With all these approaches, games effectively help people develop strategies in real life situations within organizations—allowing them to work together with creative minds and within clear time constraints.
Gamifying The Workplace: How Games Improve Employee Performance And Motivation
If you truly want to motivate your staff and increase their performance, the best way to do it is by using games.
With gamification, even mundane tasks can become exciting and engaging experiences.
For example, Nike tech reps were sent on an extended immersion experience called “Ekin” – backwards for “Nike” – that involved running on the original tracks the founders used and holding up a pair of the company’s original shoe sole waffles.
This helps them stay connected to their roots, form camaraderie with other staff members, and interact with their own products in meaningful ways while passing that excitement and passion on to customers through sharing.
Similarly, Target created a checkout game for its cashiers to motivate them in their day-to-day tasks.
Through this simple system, they are able to keep track of how fast they’re swiping items and aim for a score of 82%.
As a result, cashiers feel more in control of their destiny since they have something simple to strive for; giving them the agency which has been reported as one of the most common stressors at work by The World Health Organization.
Gamification is a powerful tool employers can use to help boost staff morale and improve job performance without being intrusive or unpleasant.
It is much more effective than using flashy graphics or rewards too!
How Games In The Workplace Stimulate Corporate Innovation
Games are a powerful tool when it comes to unlocking innovation.
With the right game, you can generate productive feedback or design ideas in a way that would be otherwise impossible.
This is why games have become an essential part of corporate innovation today.
Take the example of the United Kingdom’s Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Their innovation platform “Idea Street” allows employees to submit ideas using virtual currency, like stocks.
This mechanism allows management to quickly identify which suggestions garner the most support among their team, saving them millions without any additional investment.
Another great way to use games for innovation is through competitions and simulations.
Many global landmarks were designed as the result of architecture competitions, while IT consultants at NTT Data used simulations such as “Go Leadership” and “Go Platform” in order to solve difficult problems and practice working with clients.
Finally, companies in Silicon Valley such as Google recognize that taking time out from work to relax with play can open inspiration channels and lower stress levels – ultimately leading to greater creativity & improved productivity!
It’s no surprise then that offices these days come fully equipped with gaming systems like Xboxes, pool tables and other diversions for staff to take a break while they think up new ideas!
How Games Can Save Companies Money And Time In Recruitment And Training
Games can be a powerful tool for improving recruitment and training, as evidenced by the success of Google’s gamified recruitment process.
They put up a billboard in Silicon Valley with a math puzzle, and once it was solved, applicants could proceed to another website where they had to solve another math problem in order to apply for the job.
This saved Google time and money when it came to sourcing ideal candidates.
Furthermore, games can even speed up the training process, improve performance among trainees, and make boring topics much more engaging.
For example, Daiichi Sankyo created a “critter-killer game” to teach its young sales force about their new diabetes treatment.
Instead of giving them stacks of boring documents and expecting them to memorize them all, they used an avatar system that rewarded employees with points or ammunition whenever they remembered facts pertaining to the drug.
The bottom line is: games are incredibly effective when it comes to improving recruitment and training!
Not only do they save money and time; they also engage students in ways that traditional methods just cannot replicate.
How Games Help Businesses Leverage The Power Of Social Media
In the age of social media, gamification offers a unique bridge between companies and customers.
Take Foursquare for example – this app allows users to check in at places, but it also encourages them to stay engaged by getting cheered on and collecting badges when they check in more often than others.
This way, people don’t get bored and will keep using the service which promotes their brand as well.
Not only do games encourage people to share their experience with your product, but they also tell your brand’s story as evidenced by Nike’s “Nike+” game.
This game has a chip you can insert into your shoes so you can measure your running stats like time, distance and route – you can even challenge your friends through these stats!
By having an element of fun and competitiveness integrated into their social media outlets, companies like Nike are reaping the rewards of increased customer engagement.
The power of gamification lies in its ability to engage customers in a meaningful way that motivates them to keep coming back for more – after all, who doesn’t want to win? With this bridge connecting brands and customers through social media outlets, businesses can separate themselves from competitors and create loyalty with their users.
Wrap Up
The Gamification Revolution has provided some incredibly valuable insight into how companies can use games to their advantage.
The key message of this book is that people are motivated by games, and there are various ways that companies can benefit from implementing gamification within their organisations.
One actionable advice from the book is to let your employees play.
Games aren’t just for customers, but should also be used internally so that employees can take a break from work and boost creativity and productivity.
Ultimately, this book demonstrates how powerful gamification can be in different organisations, and shows how companies should implement it in order to keep ahead of the competition in today’s modern world.
