What if completing staff training, navigating a website, or even filling out a feedback survey gave you that same buzz you get from beating a high score?
Well, look no further than gamification.
Defining Gamification
Unlike traditional games, which are designed simply to entertain, gamification strategically applies game mechanics to real-world tasks, making them more interactive and rewarding.
For instance, Deloitte realised they weren’t getting much traction to their learning and development program, the Deloitte Leadership Academy (DLA). After implementing a gamified survey platform, they saw a 37% increase in weekly returning users, indicating a significant increase in user engagement.
This just shows that, when applied thoughtfully, game mechanics can transform mundane tasks into meaningful experiences. These are some of the most successful and widely recognised game mechanics in UX design:
- Progress Bars
- Badges
- Points
- Leaderboards
- Avatars
At Adexchange, we’ve seen how gamification can transform customer and employee experiences alike. But let’s be clear: successful gamification isn’t about shoving a points system on your workflow and calling it a day. It’s about playing with (no pun intended!) the interaction between the user’s goals and the business objectives.
So, how can game mechanics elevate the experience for our customers and staff? Let’s explore the five most powerful elements that drive engagement and motivation, with real-world examples to illustrate the magic of gamification.
Progress Bars: Visualising Success, One Step at a Time
There’s something pretty satisfying about seeing a progress bar inch towards its completion. It provides a clear visual indicator of advancement, motivating users to keep going – the end is in sight!
- Customer Example: At Adexchange, we designed sales decks for a contact centre tech company with built-in progress bars. Prospects could see their journey through the presentation, which kept them engaged all the way to the final slide – leading to further conversations and more sales for our client.
- Survey Boost: Progress bars will be a game-changer in our newly designed customer feedback surveys for a multinational medical equipment manufacturer. By showing respondents how close they are to finishing, they’ll be more willing to see it through to completion, ultimately helping the company gather actionable insights to further improve their customer experience.
Badges: Trophies for Everyday Wins
Badges tap into our inner child and love for achievement, turning small wins into moments of recognition. Whether it’s completing a training module or watching an entire tutorial series, badges symbolise accomplishment in a fun and tangible way.
- Skill Building: For employees, badges make professional growth feel rewarding. Completing training modules or hitting milestones becomes a reason to celebrate (and show off a bit too!).
- Customer Delight: Think of Duolingo, the language-learning app with over 19 million users. Its ‘Strike’ badge system encourages users to stick with daily lessons. Since this feature has been implemented, retention and churn rates have improved, the latter going from 47% in 2020 to 37% in 2023.
Sometimes, our staff or membership portals might not be advanced enough to reward people with personalised badges. In this case, we might consider using positive reinforcement visuals or achievement triggers – like a moving graphic of a firework, for example – to signal accomplishment and encourage continued engagement.
Points & Leaderboards: Quantifying Progress and Sparking Friendly Competition
Points and leaderboards work hand in hand to create measurable progress and fuel competition. Points provide structure and rewards for completing tasks, offering a sense of accomplishment whether users are chasing the highest score or simply tracking their own progress. And while we’ve all heard the saying, “It’s not the winning, it’s the taking part,” it’s the winning that feels good.
- Customer Example: At Adexchange, we helped a leading toy company transform long-winded knowledge articles into bite-sized checklists, enabling employees to earn points for each completed task. This not only makes the mundane activities more fun but also encourages a healthy sense of competition through a leaderboard.
- Gamified Fitness: Research into Fitbit’s leaderboards found that users who participated in points-based competitions walked an extra 370 steps per day — that’s a 5% increase(!) — demonstrating how even small doses of competition can boost motivation and productivity.
Avatars: Adding Personality and Ownership
Avatars are abstract representations of users, often customisable, that bring a sense of ownership to the gamified experience. Let’s be honest — most of us spent more time perfecting our Sims avatars and crafting dream homes than actually playing the game. And yes, we all had at least one dramatic house fire incident.
- Employee Engagement: At Adexchange, we incorporated avatars into the toy company’s gamified task system. Staff could create unique profiles, adding a personal touch that turned work into play.
- Customer Connection: Loyalty programs and account dashboards can benefit from avatars, giving users a way to express themselves and feel connected to the experience.
Making Gamification Work for You
At Adexchange, we know that gamification works best when it’s tailored to the needs of users and aligned with business goals. Whether it’s adding progress bars to customer-facing surveys, creating leaderboards to motivate staff, or using avatars to add a personal touch, the possibilities are endless.
Ready to transform your customer and employee experiences with gamification? Let’s turn work into play — and see the incredible results together.
