What is gamification and what are the advantages?

Play is an indispensable growth ground for human beings. From an early age, through games we learn to manage complexity and risk, we compare, compete and develop mental and physical skills in order to achieve a goal. The game satisfies a number of typically human needs, such as the spirit of competition, success and reward.

What does gamification consist of?

Gamification exploits the levers of the game to stimulate active behavior in users and involve them in certain activities that do not have to do directly with the game. In this way, it is possible to encourage the emergence and consolidation of active interest on the part of the users involved in the message to be communicated.

What are the benefits of gamification?

Among the benefits of gamification can be count:

– better management of customers-users and their loyalty

– incentives for active (and, above all, measurable) behaviors

– sharing of experiences and results

– the improvement of the performance and performance of employees and collaborators

Why is gamification used?

Simple. Because it works. Gamification is based on the theory of nudges; this argues that the influence on the individual’s behavior must be achieved by orienting decisions, while leaving full freedom of choice. Basically, if I have option A and B and A is advantageous, for example, for your health, I will not eliminate option B, but I will make sure to make option A more attractive and fun. The final choice remains in each case individual. Designing and developing a service, a site, an app in a gaming key certainly requires a good dose of creativity and expertise, but the results pay off. Far from being a lightweight tool, all in all irrelevant, gamification is actually a consolidated and reliable tool.

What is gamifiable?

Gamification is mainly used in the mobile universe, making the app an interaction tool towards one or more objectives. However, sites, services, e-learning, content or marketing campaigns can also be gamified, always with the aim of arousing the interest and involvement of users.

An example that perhaps we all know are the point games of the supermarket chain apps, a typical example of the exploitation of rewarding logic through points and discount coupons, to reward and consolidate customer loyalty. Other famous examples of gamification are Duolingo and Fitbit, where the element of play stimulates consistency and improvement of performance, respectively for learning a language and for physical activity.

What are the success factors of gamification?

1. Having a clear basic motivation and interest, especially for the user

2. Having a clear goal

3. Ensuring that the user is pushed towards the app / service by an intrinsic motivation, or that he adheres to it of his own free will

4. Using forms of recognition that ensure the duration of the project in the medium and long term

To conclude

We all like to win something, now and then. Beyond the obvious advantage of creating immediate involvement, gamification has the merit of creating an alternative space, where useful actions and responses are activated, while having fun. Last, but not least, the game immerses people in a lighter dimension, in a story that suggests a different interpretation from the current experience. The storytelling underlying this process is more than enough to make the experience enjoyable and memorable.

Used correctly, the game dynamics can be very powerful levers. Gamification, therefore, is much more than a game, it is an effective resource, to be known well and applied with care and fairness.