Consumers love competition, and they love their mobile devices. Combine the two, and financial institutions (FIs) may have the answer to increasing consumer engagement via mobile. Enter gamification.
Gamification is the process of adding games, or gamelike elements, to non-game activities. In the financial services industry, gamification can be incorporated as a unique and rewarding way to drive consumers to complete specific activities, such as making deposits or loan payments. In fact, rewards and loyalty programs are forms of gamification. Learn more about gamification in this quick video.
With the ever-growing prevalence of gamification, it’s worth considering how this innovation can be applied to an FI’s credit card offering.
A recent CBInsight article offers a few suggestions for community FIs to consider when incorporating gamification with their card programs:
- Earning points — Design the program to include levels and award points for certain spending activities such as buying local during a set time frame.
- Create challenges — Offer discounts and extra rewards based on specific spending accomplishments, like cardholders using their cards more times than the previous month.
- Promote competition — This can include encouraging cardholders to use their cards and redeem points for a specific purpose, such as donating to a non-profit organization. Cardholders who redeem the most points could be given an additional incentive.
Community FIs can add more elements to their cardholder gamification by including early access to information (including financial education), promoting customers to VIP status for their gamification achievements and building individualization into the rewards system.
