Last week, the BigDoor team closed out our April conference schedule by attending iStrategy Miami. The conference brought together online marketers to strategize and discuss the future of customer engagement. In addition to enjoying a bit of sun and Florida weather, the BigDoor team had a great time discussing how the BigDoor loyalty solution can solve common marketing problems including; user acquisition, directing user engagement and customer retention.

BigDoor also also competed in and won the iPitch competition. Our CEO Keith Smith gave a 6 minute demo of the BigDoor product to attendees, followed by a Q & A session from panelists: Ben Parr, Jonah Goodhart and Eric Litman. Attendees then voted on the technology they thought was the most relevant to solving their marketing problems. We wanted to share Keith’s winning slide deck, for anyone who wasn’t in attendance or who wanted a chance to look over it again. Feel free to shoot us questions in the comments.

Posted in: Blog, Conferences, Gamification, Loyalty, Testimonials, User engagement

Happy Friday! This time of year is busy for everyone, whether you were preparing for the apocalypse today or trying to do some last minute holiday shopping. If you got too busy to keep up on gamification, loyalty and engagement news, you can catch up on our favorite articles below.

Ice, Lycra and Nike Plus – Getting Gamification and Engagement Right Huffington Post 12/21/2012 Nike is often used as an example of a brand that has successfully used gamification to deepen brand loyalty and engage their customers. While the popularity of Nike+ leaves no doubt that people love using the program, what is less obvious is what specifically Nike did to achieve this level of success. Kent Valentine points out that Nike didn’t just focus on their own brand requirements, but instead focused on a customer need, that once satisfied would benefit the Nike brand.

On the ninth day…embrace gamification Entrepreneur 12/20/2012 Still not convinced that gamification can provide value for your company? Read this and contemplate the many ways that it can enhance your brand’s marketing efforts. No, gamification is not for every brand or company, but this is a great article with a ton of examples and ideas on how to use gamification.

Rewards and Reward Schedules in Gamification Social Media Today 12/18/2012 Rewards and how to use them successfully in gamification has been left out of the mainstream gamification conversation for a while. Most gamification providers stand by the opinion that rewards don’t enhance a program and haven’t tested using rewards enough to know the benefit they can create when used correctly. It is great to see some great gamification minds joining the discussion around rewards and how to use them successfully in a gamified implementation.

How Gamification Makes Social a Reality NewsGator 12/18/2012 Most people are familiar with traditional loyalty programs and non-digital recognition programs, but these types of programs just aren’t working anymore with so much of what we do heading online. Taking these programs online and enhancing them with social elements is exactly what BigDoor (and this NewsGator piece) believe is the next big trend.

Current Loyalty Programs Are Proving to Be Ineffective Towards Retailers’ Goal of Creating More Loyal Customers, According to New Research Report From Edgell Knowledge Network MarketWire 12/19/2012 We have been saying that traditional loyalty programs need a face lift and now Edgell Knowledge Network has the report to prove it. Surveying 60+ retailers Edgell discovered that while more and more people are signing up for loyalty programs, many of these customers are not loyal to any one program, and they don’t understand the benefits that brands are offering them.

Social integration and loyalty – here are the brands that did it best in 2012 VentureBeat 12/20/2012 The power of social media marketing was a huge trend in 2012. While some brands flopped in their attempts, some brands flew past their competitors using social media to connect and engage their fans. Of the brands that successfully employed social media to engage their fans, Urban Outfitters, American Express, Honda, Starbucks, and Grey Poupon.

Don’t believe us that people want loyalty programs? Check out this posting on the League of Legends Community board asking why senior members don’t get benefits for spending more.

Posted in: Blog, Gamification, Loyalty, Social Media, User engagement

Happy Friday! We found some really great articles about building brand affinity, customer loyalty and some interesting critiques on cheaters in gamification programs. Enjoy!

The mechanics of gamification: How to harness perceived distance to benefit your brand Campaign Asia 11/15/2012 Gamification experts often reference basic psychology in explaining the success of gamification and brand loyalty programs but this is by far one of the best examples we have seen. Focusing on how to use gamification to solve customer’s internal needs while promoting your brand, this is an excellent look at how brands should be marketing themselves in today’s online world.

Creating Loyalty With Your Clients Through Social Media Business2Community 11/9/2012 For those of us short on time, this is a very simple and to the point list of ways marketers and community managers can build loyalty online with social media.

The Complex Challenges Facing Advertisers on New Media Platforms Herald Online 11/13/2012 Linda Goldstein, a partner at New York based Manatt, Phelps & Phillips LLP spoke on today’s marketing landscape at the PMA Marketing Law Conference in Chicago. Focusing on best practices for marketing online, she highlighted gamification and stated, “”We must be thinking about how to use gamification and social engagement in ways that create true human response.”

The irrationality of cheating at gamified learning Wired 11/12/2012 Anyone who has played games or experienced a gamified experience online has probably come across someone trying to cheat or game the system. Focusing on cheaters using Memrise, an online memory improvement game, Robert Barry digs into why people cheat and how to combat this trend in our gamified solutions.

Study: Measuring social media word of mouth drives restaurant traffic Fast Casual 11/15/2012 The importance of social media word of mouth is well established among marketers, but a new study done among restaurants shows that analytics and measurement are important in order for brands to see real success on social media. Brands need access to simple analytics to help measure ROI as well as feedback that shows them how to create success in social media channels.

Brand Loyalty Via Social Media CMV Live 11/12/2012 With so many options for consumers on the web, brands can always use a few more tips on how to engage their customers and create deeper brand affinity. CMV Live lists three tips to build better loyalty. Number two on their list, rewards. We don’t want to toot our own horn, but in consumer facing gamification, we were the first gamification platform to speak to the value of tangible rewards in order to boost loyalty and engagement.

Posted in: Blog, Game Mechanics, Gamification, Loyalty, Social Media, User engagement

Happy Friday! Here is the gamification and customer loyalty program news from the past week.

How Gamification Can Improve Customer Loyalty Programs Entrepreneur 10/9/2012 Gamification expert Gabe Zichermann talks about using gamification to improve customer loyalty programs, a topic that is near to our hearts. Here at BigDoor, we have seen great success in making customer loyalty programs more fun and engaging by applying game mechanics and design principles. It is great to see Gabe endorsing that concept!

When research is a game, and politicians seize the social media BizCommunity 10/12/2012 The use of gamification in politics is a relatively new idea, but one that seems to be sparking a lot of interest. At a recent conference of the SAMRA (Southern African Marketing Research Association) Kyle Findlay argued that gamification can produce significantly more effective and valuable market research, by ensuring that respondents are more engaged. Findlay says of his research, “It is important to stress though that gamification generally does not imply turning research applications into video games with bright colours, flashing lights and cute mascots. It can be far more subtle than that. Gamifying a research methodology could rely on something as simple as changing the way in which a question is worded by framing it as a challenge to respondents.”

Three More Views on #Gamification Kapp Notes 10/8/2012 In case your eyes are strained from reading too much, you can jump over to Kapp Notes and check out their compilation of gamification videos. Everything from TED talks to animated comedic shorts.

LinkedIn Decides Recommends Aren’t Worthless Enough, Adds Endorsement Gamification Business2Community 10/13/2012 If you are on LinkedIn you might have noticed this change and wondered what the point was. You aren’t alone. Chris Voss talks about the decision and why it is an example of poorly thought out gamification.

The Gamification of Philanthropy Calgary Herald 10/13/2012 A new app is under development in Vancouver called iBeg and its purpose is to help users understand the difficulties of homelessness while raising money for charity. This is a great example of the ‘games for good’ trend and it will be interesting to see what the app looks like when it is released.

Gamification: Some More Views Business2Community 10/15/2012 A few weeks ago Andrzej Marczewski posted an article that featured various experts opinions on gamification, what it is and how to use it. He has posted the same article, featuring random people who filled out his survey. This is definitely an interesting read that highlights how different people think about the gamification trend.

Maximize your collections! BankersLab gamifies debt collection (exclusive) VentureBeat 10/16/2012 A new training simulation has been created to help teach bankers the ins and outs of collections. It’s called BankersLab and it uses gamification principles to coach bankers through the complex process of debt-collection. While many people facing collections may not appreciate the idea of better training for bankers, this is definitely a new and interesting use of gamification.

Posted in: Blog, Game Mechanics, Gamification, Gamification Tips, Loyalty, Social Media, User engagement

Happy Friday! We know lots of people are standing in line for the iPhone 5, or maybe just patiently waiting for it to be delivered to their door today. This is the perfect time  to catch up on some gamification, customer loyalty and social media news. Check out our favorite articles below.

How to Use Gamification to Reward Customers and Engage Prospects MarketingProfs 9/20/2012 This is a great article focusing on the need to retain existing customers, as well as engage potential customers. While many marketers focus on new customers, “it’s six to seven times more expensive to gain a new customer than it is to retain an existing one”. If you have been focusing on new customers more than your existing customers, this article gives you some advice on how to engage and retain the customers you already have, without abandoning the quest for new customers.

Can Gamification Make Customer Support Fun? Forbes 9/18/2012 There has been a lot of buzz about gamifying customer support to improve agent performance and Freshdesk is doing just that. The platform gives agents points, badges and trophies for hitting goals set-up by managers. The platform also adds a competitive edge for employees, displaying a leaderboard with top ‘players’. This looks pretty awesome initially, and boasts extensive analytics for managers to monitor their employees progress and performance. It will be interesting to see this in action and what kinds of improvement they see in employee performance.

5 Gamification Rules from the Grandfather of Gamification Forbes 9/18/2012 Charles Coonradt has been talking about game mechanics in the workplace for approximately 8 years, long before BigDoor, or anyone else was really aware of the potential of gamification. While he focused mainly on increasing employee productivity, the core concepts in his book “The Game of Work” are directly related to the concepts we talk about in gamification today. This is a great reminder to stay focused on simple gamification as well as a great recap of his book and principles for anyone who hasn’t read it.

Driving Kids to Succeed through Gamification Business2Community 9/17/2012 For many companies utilizing gamification, the next step seems to be a blending of virtual and real world tasks. Sports fans might get the chance to earn points for attending games or even purchasing food within a stadium. A new app called Munzee is embracing this trend to encourage kids to get outside and explore using their geo-rewards program. The app turns people into scavenger hunters who must explore their environments to find items highlighted through the app. Hunters are then rewarded for their discoveries through the app and social integration.

Is Consumer Trust Eroding? Convenience Store Decisions 9/18/2012 While the content of this article might be a bit depressing for many marketers, it highlights exactly the trend that BigDoor has continued to talk about. People are not trusting of brands, and they are less willing to provide brands with their information and details. We see this all the time and have seen huge benefits in gamification to help customers overcome this hurdle and register to websites. These are important stats to look at and valuable when understanding how big a problem marketers are facing.

Does (Customer) Loyalty Drive Referrals – OR Do Referrals Drive Loyalty? Social Media Insider  9/14/2012 On a more positive note, here is a great look at customer loyalty and how the referral system works to build your brand. The article focuses on retention, advocacy and purchasing loyalty and looks at the effect of customer referrals on brand loyalty and success. There are some really good tips in here for anyone focused on building loyalty through referrals.

Posted in: Blog, Game Mechanics, Gamification, Gamification Tips, Loyalty, Social Media, User engagement

Back in June we talked about how excited we were to have Grammy award winning artist and entrepreneur Chamillionaire at Gamification Summit 2012 to talk about brand loyalty and his BigDoor implementation. Chamillionaire discussed his websites lack of engagement and his quest to find a solution that could engage his fans, recognize his online users and boost web registrations. Unlike other solutions he tried, BigDoor’s gamification platform was easy to integrate with his existing website, allowed quick customization and simple rewards management resulting in a 32% user registration rate. You only need to visit Chamillionaire’s website, Facebook or Twitter page to see that the program is still building loyalty and getting fans excited about the Chamillionaire brand.

We posted a Chamillionaire case study last month, but now you can check out the entire Chamillionaire talk from Gamification Summit to find out why he chose BigDoor and how he used gamification to make his loyalty program a huge success.

Enjoy!

Posted in: Blog, Gamification, Gamification Tips, Loyalty, Partners, Success, User engagement

Mygamification is alive! Some of you might have noticed that the mygamification blog and social media stream were a bit quiet last week. I apologize for the sound of crickets, but am happy to announce that I’m now back and ready to post lots of juicy gamification content!

The past week, I was on a road trip from Seattle, WA to New York, NY in a 7 day whirlwind helping a friend move. Since even when I’m not in the BigDoor office, I can’t help but think about the cool stuff we do here for customer loyalty, I found myself noting some things to share with you that I learned on the road.

#1 – Loyalty Matters

Being a Seattleite typically means having a coffee addiction. Having a coffee addiction and a love of loyalty programs, quickly led me to become a gold card carrying member of the Starbucks Reward program. I love the perks, free coffee and status I get at Starbucks with my gold card, and will typically go out of my way to drink coffee there above any other place. If you’re familiar at all with the states of Montana, Wyoming or South Dakota, you may know that Starbucks locations are few and far between. While it might have been easier to settle for a coffee elsewhere, I found myself driving out of the way, or waiting longer distances just to add another gold star to my rewards account. While I’d like to say my loyalty to Starbucks stems only from their delicious coffee, I’d be lying. I’m loyal because I like the status and I like earning free stuff, so it’s worth the extra effort. Bottom line, create reasons for your customers to return to you and they will, even if it means driving across a barren wasteland while jonesing hard for an iced Pike Place Brew coffee with light soy.

Seriously, there is nothing out there...

#2 – Onboarding Matters

Pretty much anyone under the age of 25 has bought something at Ikea. During this trip, we made a stop at the Brooklyn Ikea and I was surprised to see signs for their Loyalty program.  Ikea’s loyalty program (called the Ikea Family) is pretty standard for a retailer, discounts on certain purchases with some free stuff thrown in (coffee is one of them, if you’re curious), but what really impressed me was their flawless onboarding of new users. Most people go to Ikea irregularly, and likely wouldn’t see the value in signing up for a few discounts at a store they see maybe once or twice a year. But upon walking through the front doors, visitors are greeted with large colorful signs, pointing to kiosks to sign up. The kiosks are not only located in the perfect spot (before you shop), they also clearly spell out what you get. Best of all, they allow you to input your information, print out your new rewards card and start shopping with discounts in a matter of minutes. How many of us have been interested in a rewards program, but irritated by difficult or slow onboarding? Most Ikea visitors might bypass a mail in rewards form, or a clunky slow system, but Ikea managed to make the process so easy, everyone I was with signed up. Onboarding users into a rewards or loyalty program should be easy, it shouldn’t deter your users and it should give them a hint of what using your product or consuming your content should be like, namely enjoyable.

Who wouldn't stop for this?

#3 Hype Yourself

Are you awesome? If you read this blog, probably, but do your users know it? Do they know about the cool customer loyalty program or gamification solution you have spent time putting together? A loyalty program won’t do you any good if people don’t know that it’s there or what it can do for them. Cue Wall Drug. If you haven’t heard of it, you’ve probably never driven the I-90 corridor between Michigan and Montana, because if there is anything Wall Drug is good at, it’s making you aware of its presence. Miles of billboards tell bored, hungry or sleepy drivers about the wonders that await them should they get off the freeway and spend a few moments at the tourist trap/food mecca that is Wall Drug. By the time you hit the exit, travelling East or West, you are craving their fresh donuts, can’t wait to see their T-Rex, or just excited for a cup of coffee or some free ice water. While Wall Drug was probably one of the coolest things I saw on the drive to NY, I would have never stopped, bought my share of donuts and ice cream or seen a giant Brontosaurus, if Wall Drug hadn’t spent 15 miles telling me about how I couldn’t live without them. It’s ok and should be encouraged to tell users how cool you are, and get them excited for the things you are doing.

While I don’t advise driving across the country in a giant rental truck in the middle of summer for everyone, I can advise keeping your eyes open for new and old techniques that we can apply to the online world to increase user engagement and loyalty. These are a few of the techniques and things I noted about loyalty in the past week, but I’d love to hear yours!

Posted in: Blog, Loyalty, Social Media, User engagement

Hello, my name is Carlos Gonzalez. I am a Social Media curator and manage the social media for many different clients and brands. I assist BigDoor with their social media goals. I have been socially promoting a gamification design studio in Park City, Utah for about two years now. I have remained focused in this niche of “gamification”, as the industry is relatively new, and frequently share my personal thoughts on my blog, gamifiXation.com. BigDoor has invited me to write a guest blog, and so I thought I’d share one of my favorite examples of gamification that works.

I often monitor the threads on Twitter regarding gamification, and see many posts from folks looking for examples of gamification. Yes, the word “gamification” has caught a big buzz in the last year, but it is nothing new at all. Some of the most successful companies online have relied on game mechanics to self monitor their large online communities. The most obvious example, eBay, which has successfully used game mechanics since day one. However, the usage of game mechanics in eBay’s strategy is rarely mentioned in any eBay news.

Status and leader boards are also nothing new, (you were probably introduced to them in Kindergarten). When game mechanics are implemented well, they create engagement and accountability within the online community (I didn’t want to read those books, but I was definitely not going to let my classmates beat me on the status board!). One of the first things I check on eBay before I buy something is the feedback score of the seller -basically the seller’s status. If the seller has a bad rating, especially on an item I am interested in –then I am less likely to buy. These type of game mechanics and online community self-policing saves eBay a lot of dollars in customer service. On eBay, you can’t buy your favorite badge or rating, you have to earn it.

While eBay has a great program for existing users, I also love catching examples of great gamification that influences potential users to become active community members. Starbucks is a prime example of a major franchise chain that is doing it right. Great gamification means a GREAT User Experience (on AND offline). You can always count on the wi-fi working flawlessly at a Starbucks location.

Today’s marketers need to understand the value of a Social Media Impression. A good game keeps you coming back to play. Because of the lousy experience I received at the last non-Starbucks coffee I tried –I never went back. Starbucks,  on the other hand –has their free wi-fi blasting 24-7 and is very consistent. They know how to keep customers happy and returning to their stores. While their online experience is smooth, I believe BigDoor could do some cool stuff with the Starbucks landing page to create stronger engagement and social loyalty to the site (such as implementing BigDoor Quests). However, I have to say –the Starbucks iphone app kicks ass and does a great job of using game mechanics (progress bars, badges, and points) to keep people playing.

I recently decided to visit a Starbucks to pay with my iPhone for the first time. Confident that my money wouldn’t go to waste, I uploaded $20 to my Starbucks iPhone app and began to play.

Without even realizing it, I had become a green level member, well on my way to gold, and in the process become even more hooked on Starbucks (or maybe caffeine?). While Starbucks does a fantastic job using gamification in their mobile app; the possibilities of gamification on their website, rewards site, and integration with the app from the web, are limitless. BigDoor’s experience in web gamification, could beef up the gamified program Starbuck’s already has with mobile and create a more engaged and loyal web audience. Like the app’s encouragement to join the rewards program, Starbuck’s website has a great potential for a landing page that encourages web users to join, engage online, download the app and start drinking more Starbucks.

Thanks for reading, would love to hear of some feedback and gamification examples you’ve come across in the comments!

Posted in: Advertising, Badges, Blog, Game Mechanics, Gamification, Gamification Tips, Loyalty, mobile, Monetization, Social Media, Technology, User engagement, Virtual Currency

My daughter is currently in love with puzzles. The solid 45 minutes of her sitting still, working quietly is a welcome respite from her normally loud, “spirited,” three year old personality. It’s fascinating to watch her work. She’s very methodical in her process: laying out all the pieces (she’s up to 70+ now); turning over all the images; she typically findshe largest image and works out from there. For my daughter, playing a puzzle is a social activity, she talks to me, asks for help when she needs it and when she’s finished she wants to share her work with everyone.

Yesterday Zynga released their latest game, Hidden Chronicles. Described as Zynga’s “first social hidden object game” the game incorporates many of the things that make solving puzzles so much fun: critical thinking, memory, skill, sharing and a social aspect. It will be interesting to see if Hidden Chronicles can replicate the huge success the company had with Cityville but for now they have a few fans playing again along here at BigDoor!

–Carrie

Posted in: Blog, Game Mechanics, Gaming, UI, User engagement, UX

Today, consulting company, Deloitte, LLC released their third annual “Tech Trends” report. The report identifies the “10 trends and disruptive technologies that are expected to play a crucial role in how businesses are anticipated to operate globally in 2012 and beyond“…and “will have an impact for CIOs in the coming year and beyond.” Gamification and User Empowerment were listed as part of the “Disruptive Deployments” category.

Posted in: Announcements, Blog, Featured, Gamification, Technology, User engagement