Gamification seems to be all the rage … but how do you go about adding Game Mechanics to your business?
Here, in 10 easy steps, is what I’d do to add game mechanics to a business, with examples given for a multi-channel retailer:
1. Write down a short list of the key tasks you’d like your users to do.
For our retailer this might include:
- Visit the website
- Visit a store
- Sign-up to the newsletter
- Sign-up for the catalog
- Buy a product
- Review a product
- Recommend to a friend
2. List the main ‘variants’ for each of these tasks.
Let’s take “Visit a store” as an example. We might list:
- Store location
- Time of visit
- Day of visit
- Length of visit
- Number of visits
3. Pick a few combinations of tasks and variants to create ‘achievements’:
Let’s take store visits/ store locations as an example. Possible achievements could be:
- Visiting the first store
- Visiting five different stores
- Visiting the most northerly store
- Visiting every store
4. Pick the achievements you like the most, and make them into a ‘badge’ - give it a name and icon.
Visited every store? You win a ‘Store Explorer’ badge.
5. Groups sets of other achievements and create ‘levels’
For our retailer, a user might level up to level two once they’ve:
- Visited one store
- Visited the website on three different days
- Signed up to the newsletter
Group the achievements into levels so that users gradually deepen their engagement. Thinking about this process is perhaps the single most-valuable step in considering how game mechanics could apply to your business.
Make it easy for users to quickly progress through the first few levels.
6. Pick two or three achievements to use in ‘leaderboards’
Our retailer might consider two of the following:
- Number of reviews written
- Number of times visited a store
- Number of different products bought
7. Pick one or two achievements around which to build ‘boss’ (or ‘mayor’) status
The retailer might want to award ‘boss’ status to the user who:
- Bought the most items within a category over the past three months
- Contributes the most reviews within a product category over the past year
- Visits a given store the most in the past month
8. Consider adding an overall ‘points system’ and set points for tasks and bonus points for badges and leveling up
For the retailer we might say:
- Visit a store (task): +10 points
- Buy a product (task): +20 points
- Earn ‘Store Explorer’ badge: +200 points
9. Keep it fresh by adding temporary ‘challenges’ made up of different achievements
Challenges that the retailer might pose could include:
- Visiting five different stores in a week
- Inviting 20 friends to join in a month.
10. Celebrate and reward your best users
Our retailer’s best users might be:
- Offered a free personal shopping session at their nearest store
- Sent some branded merchandise
- Sent some gift vouchers
- Invited to an in-store event
Further reading:
HOW TO: Use Game Mechanics to Power Your Business, on Mashable
SCVNGR’s Secret Game Mechanics Playdeck, on TechCrunch
