Rewards are one of the main features of gamification. There is no gamification without proper rewards! A reward is something that users receive and feel positive about, something that boosts users’ motivation, curiosity and behaviour. Consumers should be rewarded with virtual goods such as points, levels, badges and leaderboards for having specific behavior (e.g. purchasing, filling out a form etc.), and those virtual items should allow to access exclusive privileges and rewards, such as discounts or prizes. You have to keep your customers rewarded as far as you’ve promised in order for them to continue playing and trusting your brand. Here’s an example to better understand the importance and influence of rewards on people’ behaviour: In 2012, a test was run. The setup was the same. Children were split into two different groups where they were both offered certain rewards (crayons, marshmallows, cookies etc). The difference was that one group were given the things they were promised, the other was not. When they then ran the marshmallow test, a child was offered a choice between one small reward provided immediately or two small rewards if they waited for a short period of approximately 15 minutes, during which the tester left the room and then returned. The group that had been getting the things they were promised showed a much greater ability to delay gratification and wait for the second marshmallow. Rewards as a key to motivate your users 2015
1. Rewards are one of the main features of gamification. There
is no gamification without proper rewards! A reward is something
that users receive and feel positive about, something that boosts
users motivation, curiosity and behaviour. Consumers should be
rewarded with virtual goods such as points, levels, badges and
leaderboards for having specific behavior (e.g. purchasing, filling
out a form etc.), and those virtual items should allow to access
exclusive privileges and rewards, such as discounts or prizes. You
have to keep your customers rewarded as far as youve promised in
order for them to continue playing and trusting your brand. Heres
an example to better understand the importance and influence of
rewards on people behaviour: In 2012, a test was run. The setup was
the same. Children were split into two different groups where they
were both offered certain rewards (crayons, marshmallows, cookies
etc). The difference was that one group were given the things they
were promised, the other was not. When they then ran the
marshmallow test, a child was offered a choice between one small
reward provided immediately or two small rewards if they waited for
a short period of approximately 15 minutes, during which the tester
left the room and then returned. The group that had been getting
the things they were promised showed a much greater ability to
delay gratification and wait for the second marshmallow. Rewards as
a key to motivate your users 2015
2. 2015 Their expectations and trust were such, that they felt
confident that the researcher would return. The other group had no
reason to trust the researcher, so ate the marshmallow straight
away! This example makes us understand that people expect rewards
if they feel they are worth it; people will wait for rewards if
they are sure it will come and anticipation could make the
gratification that comes from the reward, even greater. With
gamification, you can convert your existing activity and data into
points and rewards and use those to provide incentives for your
staff or customers. They will feel satisfied and will live a fun
experience which will make them more engaged. Employees will be
motivated and will give better performances, instead, customers
will buy more, perform cross selling actions, boost visits to the
point of sale and generate a positive word of mouth. How can you
reward your users? Points Brand interaction will give users some
points as a reward of their loyalty. Coupons The points users win
can be exchanged for many prizes on a virtual catalogue. This
marketplace will contain a series of offers, discounts, promotions
etc. of the establishments products ready for the users to choose
from. Once the user has selected his desired prize, a coupon will
appear. The coupon could be redeemed directly from the app, without
having the need to print it. Direct rewards We could reward users
directly with the aim of encouraging them to use our services (geo-
location, shopping patterns, users activity inside the loyalty
program). They could be directly redeemed through the mobile phone
to make the process even quicker. Badges Monetary value is not the
only way to attract consumers. You can also reward users by an
emotional approach such as badges. This personalized treatment will
create a bond with your establishment by providing them a social
recognition. Furthermore, it could create a competition willingness
in order to win the best badge.
3. Game mechanics Users could be rewarded with even more games
in order tohave a fun experience and a bigger chance to win special
prizes. They will be immersed on a ludic environment, giving the
purchase process a light-hearted appeal Other Gamification elements
Users can also feel motivated to interact and come back by
providing them challenges which recognize their activity. They can
all supply a continuous flow of revenue if they are well
implemented. Rewards are just one of the things you have to
consider to make gamification work. 2015