A popular buzzword you're probably hearing a lot lately is gamification. You may be surprised at how few people really understand what gamification is, where it exists, what it does, and how it's changing the way we use technology. We're clearing up the confusion. Check it out!
So, what is it?
Gamification is a term used by businesses to motivate their employees, foster healthy competition between teams, encourage customer engagement and interaction... all done through game-like situations and scenarios. Gamification is primarily used to get better results in every facet of business, from employees to current customers to nurtured leads! The key is making the process an interesting one (like playing a game), and the rest takes care of itself.
Who Uses It?
Businesses in industries spanning from education to enterprise, even health and wellness. The way it's used can differ, depending on the industry, who their audience is, and their end goal. But every strategy is consistent, regardless of industry: get the user to participate in game-like activities, where they can achieve something, compete against others, and evaluate how it positively changes/ affects their interest in your product.
Use Examples
- Health: FitBit - Users track their steps by wearing a bracelet around their wrist. It monitors their heart rate, pulse, food intake, and other health statistics. When a user reaches 10,000 steps for the day, the FitBit app rewards them with a gold ribbon. This award-based incentive encourages them to continue using the device every day.
- Education: Classroom reward system - Teachers and professors can implement a rewards system in their classroom to motivate their students to participate in class, complete homework assignments, and perform well on tests. Students with the most points get a reward of some sort at the end of the year.
- Enterprise: Employee feedback - Gamification systems provide an easy way for employees to provide the feedback and criticism their employers want, but have trouble attaining. Software that tracks who has submitted feedback and providing them with bonuses or rewards for doing so. This strategy motivates more employees to participate so they can receive incentives, too.
The Long Haul
Experts insist that gamification isn't going anywhere; not with technology always at our fingertips and its' proven track record of taking action and getting things done efficiently in nearly every industry. For more on gamification and how your business can implement it, check out this article.
