Loyalty programs need video games. I’m not recommending that we create an online World of Redeemable-Points-Craft. I’m talking about why people play games. It’s called “fun,” and loyalty programs need a major dose of it.
Customer loyalty programs haven’t changed much since Betty Crocker pioneered the concept. Consumers are well aware of the loyalty cycle: spend money, earn points, redeem points, rinse and repeat. In a world where everyone fights for customers’ attention and everything is interactive, loyalty programs are predictable. Well-designed programs have a positive impact on retaining and growing best customers, but is true brand engagement driven by meaningful loyalty program experiences? Typically, no. Very few programs give consumers compelling reasons to increase participation beyond the grind of earn and burn.
We can apply concepts that game designers figured out years ago to engage people (and if you look, you probably already have a few of them in your program without even knowing it). Game designer Amy Jo Kim defines a game as “a structured experience with rules and goals that is fun.” Apply that frame to your program and you’ll be doing more than driving deeper customer engagement through the power of play. You’ll also make loyalty fun again.
Gamer Nation
To talk about games, you need to leave any gaming preconceptions at the door. Gamers are more than young males who shun sunlight and live on Mountain Dew. In 2008, the Pew Research Center found more than half of all U.S. adults, from Baby Boomers to Generation Y, identify themselves as active gamers. They use gaming as a social activity, including game play on the Web, on mobile phones, and on platform systems like Xbox.
A growing number of consumers are engaging with games as a regular part of their lives, but why? It’s no coincidence the industry’s popularity took off when games became more elaborate, immersive and most of all, social. Buried beneath the cool graphics is something much more fundamental, and game designers are extremely effective at tapping into primal psychological needs.
Humans like competition. We want to raise our status amongst peers. We enjoy playing and learning by playing. Rewards motivate and intrigue us. We desire to master skills, and we set goals to achieve that mastery. When we find these elements in an experience, we “play” harder, longer and with more enthusiasm. We’re more involved and more engaged. In short, to be attracted to games is, fundamentally, to be human.
Loyalty programs can meet these needs, too, by creating meta-games: essentially, games layered on top of our current loyalty strategies. Three steps can help reframe your program and see it in this completely new way:
- See yourself as a game designer. Remember, a game is just a fun experience with rules and goals. Don’t overthink the “game designer” part of this step. Just focus on what you can do to make your program worth “playing.”
- Focus on the player; they are more than just target audiences. See your customers as players and you’ll immediately change how you think about the experience you are creating for them. What in your program makes people want to play, learn, achieve?
- Master the rules and features used to produce fun, compelling and addictive game play. Designers call these rules and features “game mechanics.” The mechanics let players know how to play the game and keep them coming back. What mechanics can you add to your program to make people feel engaged and fulfilled?
Game Mechanics
There are hundreds of game mechanics, but here are a few you can use now:
- Points: Give virtual currency earned in exchange for actions and achievement. Many loyalty programs already use (and potentially overuse) some type of points-earning system. It’s time to think of points as “scores.” Create experience points (rewards for completing actions) and social points (given for contributing to the brand community) to go with the redeemable points.
- Leader boards: Provide the platform for players to measure their status. When players can see other players’ progression, the drive for competition and status increase. Players who earn a high ranking will feel more inclined to try to keep it.
- Collecting: By grouping behaviors into sets, and rewarding for completing the entire set, you tap into the human attraction for collecting. Add a challenging behavior to a set of easier behaviors, and you dramatically increase the likelihood of it being completed.
When you know the mechanics that help make something fun, it’s easy to see how games have a positive impact in many of your current customer interactions. As loyalty marketers, it’s time we stop letting everyone else have all the fun. We can make loyalty programs more successful by making them social, interactive and engaging. As an industry, it’s time to level up.
*http://www.npd.com/press/releases/press_100114.html
SIDEBAR:
Playing Foursquare
Foursquare is the latest phenomenon to bring game mechanics to the masses. The premise is straightforward: tell your friends where you are, then collect and share advice about the location. Think of it as a real-time city guide, authored by your social network.
Unveiled about a year ago, Foursquare is now starting to emerge as a marketing tool. Say I visit a pub and “check-in.” I see who’s visited, and how recently. My buddy tweets to recommend a special. I order. Brilliant marketing!
Foursquare makes arriving a “gamified” experience. For checking-in, users earn points, badges for visit patterns (an Explore badge is for travelers), and leaderboard rankings for favorite attractions, shops and neighborhoods. Visit often, and they’ll name you Mayor of that location, tapping into our natural affinity for social status. The brain processes social status cues in the same area as monetary ones. Social status doesn’t just make us feel good, it’s experienced as a reward. It’s why apps like Foursquare work.
I just heard from Foursquare that I was ousted as mayor of my hangout, with a message: “Don’t worry, you can get it back!” I had an immediate visceral reaction. I’ve gotta go get it. Now I’m hungry, in more ways than one, to renew the relationship with my place. Call me Mayor Barry.