Gamification in lead generation

Gamification and lead generation are topics that have piqued my curiosity for some time and which I would like to explore further.

What is Gamification?

Gamification uses playful elements, processes and principles in a non-game context. Elements of games are integrated into various activities, processes or systems to make them more interactive, user-friendly and exciting.

Gamification has long been used in the business world, for example as a learning tool, in process design, etc. But gamification has also been used in lead generation for some time, e.g. with wheels of fortune on social media, quizzes or digital scratch cards. The focus here is strongly on a "one-off" or temporary interaction, which is completed with the lead generation.

However, I am particularly interested in areas where engagement or loyalty tools are used in a playful way to generate leads. Where gamification as a value-creating interaction can be maintained or even intensified after lead generation. Unfortunately, I’m having some difficulties to find good examples here.

Why „play“?

„You can find out more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation“ Platon ( 428–348 v. Chr. )

The Greek philosopher already understood back then that play stimulates the human instinct. Play helps us to interact with other people, to learn and to develop. We seek fun, recognition or reward and a sense of belonging.

Gamification brings various advantages and benefits, such as higher engagement of the potential customer, easier collection of data and simple measurability of results. Playing puts us in an active and focused mode. The aim is to get potential customers to take action and leave their data as a minimum.

Examples?

As already mentioned, I have hardly found any good examples so far and am therefore grateful for every example.

But where could gamification be used for lead generation and then for customer loyalty? Here are 3 examples that come to mind:

• Investment / Asset Management: How do I compare to „peers“ with similar investment volumes? What are the top 5% of them doing and what can I do to rise in the ranking? Simply creating "competition" among clients can activate the "play instinct". Complemented by playful elements, a high level of engagement can be created, which can be valuable for all parties. Potential customers can be given temporary access to the "competition". If they wish to continue participating afterwards, they must become customers.
• Loyalty Points (Miles, Credit Cards): Most of the time companies simply advertise with welcome points or miles. A potential customer then has to see what can be done with them and rummage through catalogs or offers. Why not use the points to open a "new" door in the store where a few offers are displayed? In addition, you could show which doors / levels other customers have achieved or purchased after e.g. 3 months. It’s like „Super Mario“ for points collectors.
• Motivation with Insurances: When it comes to insurance, customers want to interact as little as possible. So why not reward certain behavior and implement it in a playful way? It can be motivating for a potential customer to also receive the reward after signing a contract. This can also be built into the lead generation communication.

Benefits

The advantages of gamification mentioned here are relying on a value-creating engagement strategy afterwards. If such one is in place, the engagement strategy can also be used for lead generation. Customers already receive added value during lead generation and can be seamlessly integrated afterwards. This saves time and money, but also ensures that customers keep being interested in interacting.

In addition, you can already get a lot of information about the customer during lead generation. And if you believe Plato, one hour might be enough...

I would be delighted to have any further exchanges on the subject.

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