Have you ever heard of the term ‘gamification’ before? Chances are, if you haven’t yet you will be hearing a lot about it very soon.

Gamification, as defined by the Oxford Dictionary, is:

“The application of typical elements of game playing (e.g. point scoring, competition with others, rules of play) to other areas of activity, typically as an online marketing technique to encourage engagement with a product or service.”

Combining marketing with gamification tactics is becoming a popular and effective way to increase brand awareness. It also builds stronger connections with customers. By allowing people to indulge in a little bit of fun, marketers are providing a richer, deeper consumer experience than the average business.

The gamification marketing technique is just starting to gain traction. In a survey from Gartner, Inc. more than 70% of Forbes Global 2000 companies said they planned to use gamification in their marketing by the end of this year (2014).

In this article we will discuss why and how gamification works so well for marketing purposes. We will also demonstrate how combining gamification with Email Lead Generation software can increase your ROI. This strategy blends the capability of Email Lead Generation software to reach a larger pool of contacts, with the effectiveness of gamification to develop stronger connections with those contacts. This way new contacts are being brought in, and they are being compelled to stay.

Gamification: How To Turn Play Into Profits

Who doesn’t like to play?

Video games, sports, board games, a good round of hide-and-seek? Sign us up!

Up until now work and play have been kept extremely separate. It was like there was a big brick wall between the two that was impossible to break down. That was until gamification showed up. It’s all about combining work and play for a more productive and enjoyable experience on both sides. The best of both worlds.

It’s successful because it caters to people’s appetite for games and competition. The “game” doesn’t need to be big and complicated; it can simply be rewarding people for participating. Today’s companies are running contests, establishing loyalty programs, developing online games, and developing new apps.

Because it’s a popular technique, there are many successful examples. McDonald’s uses its Monopoly contest annually to increase customers and revenue. Customers are drawn in, and continually return, for the chance to win prizes. The Starbucks Rewards loyalty program rewards customers for visiting with points, or “stars.” Multiple stars translate into certain rewards, which encourages brand loyalty and repeat customers.

Gamification has also gone digital with the creation of online games and mobile apps. These allow companies to reach potential customers who spend a lot of time online or on their mobile devices; which is a large percentage of the population today. Mobile app sales also mean a potential revenue increase.

Overall, the goal of gamification is to engage with customers in a fresh, new, exciting way. More and more companies are using these approaches to garner brand awareness. If you want to compete you’ll need a well-planned and creative approach in order to stand out.

Twice as Strong: Email Lead Generation and Gamification

Gamification is an excellent way to keep customers coming back; but first you have to generate customers to market to. Don’t worry – Email Lead Generation software is made specifically to help with that problem.

In order to generate new leads (aka, potential customers) the software allows for the importing of purchased lists, so your emails can reach an even larger group of prospects. In the same way gamification can also generate new leads by making email signup a participation requirement.

Creating and sending email campaigns about your gamification tactics with Email Lead Generation couldn’t be simpler. The software’s drip campaign capabilities can then send reminders to customers to encourage them to keep coming back.

The risks of sending email campaigns are reduced when using Email Lead Generation software. You never have to worry about having your IPs and domains blocked because Clickback uses its own to send off of. Clickback also ensures a reduction in spam bounces by only sending off clean IPs and domains.

Finally, Email Lead Generation software is useful in tracking the success of your gamification tactics. Because the software is able to track email opens and clickthroughs, you can see how many customers are hearing about your efforts and getting involved through your email campaigns.

Combining gamification and Email Lead Generation is the best way to give customers a fresh take on your brand. Using the software can generate potential leads, and then gamification can turn them into loyal customers. When you tie Email Lead Generation software together with gamification it becomes a marketing strategy that’s twice as strong.

If you’re interested in how you can incorporate Email Lead Generation software into your gamification marketing tactics, sign up for a short, one-on-one demo today.