Users data collection is becoming more common in this digital era. Collecting data will help brands have valuable insights that can be personalized for customers based on each person’s behavior and preferences. In loyalty programs, brands can interact with customers through gamification as well as collect their data. This process is known as gamified profiling. So what is gamified profiling and why should you apply it in your loyalty program? Let’s find out in this article.
What is gamification?
To understand what gamified profiling is, we need to understand its most basic concept, which is gamification.
Gamification uses game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage and motivate people to achieve their goals. (Gartner). To be specific, gamification is the application of game design elements and principles in non-game contexts to make them more engaging, motivating, and enjoyable. It involves using game mechanics, such as points, badges, leaderboards, challenges, and rewards, to incentivize and motivate people to perform certain behaviors, complete tasks, or achieve goals. Gamification has been widely used in various fields, including education, health, marketing, and employee engagement, to increase user engagement, retention, and loyalty.
The importance of gamification
Gamification prioritizes human inspiration. In essence, gamification is a product design that focuses on people instead of focusing on features to make the most of the excitement of users, and people’s participation.
Most of the systems from software, applications to education, healthcare, etc today are designed to focus on features, just to solve some tasks or a certain problem, but not too much attention to the excitement factor of users and participants. Meanwhile, people-centered design with a deep sense of emotions, and motivations assumes that products and programs should be designed to hit these motivations and emotions directly to fascinate users to the highest level. A recent Forrester’s study found that emotional connection drives customer loyalty far more than factors like ease or effectiveness. The data indicates that when a company has a strong emotional connection with customers, 76% say they will keep their business with the brand, 80% say they will spend more with the brand, and 87% will recommend the brand to friends and family members.
That is why game elements and techniques are being used in loyalty programs. The simple reason is that games have traditionally been created with the purpose of entertainment and making players happy to participate. Over decades of development, games have become masters at engaging and inspiring participants.
What is gamified profiling?
Gamified profiling refers to the use of game-like features in the profiling process of individuals. This could involve using quizzes, surveys, or other interactive tools to collect data on a person’s preferences, behaviors, and other characteristics. Gamified profiling is often used in marketing and advertising to help companies better understand their target audience and transfer messaging and products to their needs and desires. However, there are concerns around the potential misuse of gamified profiling, such as the collection and use of personal data without consent, and the potential for reinforcing stereotypes and biases.
Gamification and gamified profiling drawbacks
While gamification and gamified profiling are popular in recent years, they still have some drawbacks that should be considered seriously.
The first one is ethical concerns. When it comes to collecting and using private data, you need to make sure that the participants are fully informed and agree to give permission. Once the users join the gamified profiling process, the daily tasks and activities can lead to addiction where the participants become stuck in an endless cycle. This can be particularly problematic if the gamified task is related to work or education, resulting in a decrease in productivity.
Why should you use gamified profiling in your loyalty program?
Gamified profiling can be a powerful tool in a loyalty program because it can help to increase engagement, improve the customer experience, and drive more sales. By using gamification techniques such as point systems, badges, and challenges, you can encourage customers to interact more frequently with your brand and earn rewards. Gamified profiling can also help you to collect valuable data about your customers’ preferences and behaviors, which can be used to personalize their experience and create targeted marketing campaigns. Overall, gamified profiling can help you to build stronger relationships with your customers and create a more loyal customer base.
Which gamified profiling feature should you use?
The choices of gamified profiling features to use depends on your specific loyalty program goals and target audience. If your customers are teenagers, they might be competitive and would take part in any challenges. Here are some examples of gamified profiling features and the benefits they can offer:
Quizzes and surveys: Quizzes and surveys can be a fun way to engage customers and gather important information about their preferences, interests, and behaviors. For example, you can create a survey to let customers share their experience. This data can be then used to personalize the loyalty program experience and offer rewards that are tailored to each customer.
Challenges and contests: Challenges and contests can create a sense of competition and excitement among customers, encouraging them to participate more actively in the loyalty program. This can lead to increased engagement and loyalty.
Virtual badges and achievements: Virtual badges and achievements can recognize and reward customers for their loyalty and participation in the program. These can be displayed on their profile and shared on social media, increasing brand visibility and encouraging others to join the program.
Personalized recommendations: By using data gathered through gamified profiling, loyalty programs can offer personalized product recommendations and discounts to customers based on their preferences and past behaviors. This can lead to increased sales and customer satisfaction.
Ultimately, the choice of gamified profiling feature will depend on your specific program goals and the preferences of your target audience. It is important to test and iterate on different features to find the ones that work best for your program.
A number of complicated problems may have an easy answer in the form of gamified profiling. If you truly want to know what your consumers are thinking and how you may improve your relationship with them? Consider using one of the gamified profiling techniques discussed above and observe the results.
