Gamification, a new business opportunity
The rise of digitalisation and social media has led to the appearance of new business technologies such as gamification, a segment currently being developed with an optimistic future ahead of it. So what’s behind the success of gamification?
Gamification: a perfect combination of routine and fun
Gaming is no longer just for children. More and more adults are attracted to all types of gaming. If to begin with, the gamification industry focused on video games, nowadays numerous sub-niche markets have appeared and are taking advantage of this trend to make this potential business grow even further.
This consumer revolution is largely down to the technological evolution that the gaming industry has undergone in recent years. New screens, graphics cards and virtual reality have transformed gaming into a unique experience for adults too.
One of the great gamification experts, Yu-Kai Chou, has developed his own theory as to why users become hooked on gamification products. For him, gamification is nothing less than the perfect combination of the fun to be had playing video games with the daily routine, which is not at all seductive, but is essential for everyone.
It is based on the existence of eight basic driving forces that make us take part in a game: we feel part of something big, the achievements that we can obtain, stimulation of creativity, the sense of ownership, affinity or social connection, impatience, the unexpected and the feeling of knowing that by playing we are preventing something bad from happening.
This is why there are growing numbers of success stories of companies who have chosen gamification as their core business.
Companies committed to gamification
The Spanish Association of Videogames (AEVI) estimates that the gaming industry in Spain now accounts for 1 billion euros. In fact, eSports are becoming a highly prosperous industry at a dizzying pace.
MCR was one of the first wholesalers to choose gamification as a business segment. With an eye on its future development, it has introduced more specific products and more cutting-edge solutions into its business. This gives it an extensive reseller community containing a wide range of profiles.
MCR also made full use of the surge and in April it held the first event in Madrid based on gamification as a business opportunity. This conference demonstrated the importance of technology and the gaming market from a manufacturer and distributor’s perspective. MCR enjoyed the backing of leading manufacturers such as Nvidia, Razer and Samsung in organising the event.
Lenovo is another company that has realised the importance of gamification as a business sector. The loyalty of its consumers is one of the reasons that has convinced this multinational to commit to the gaming sector as one of the cornerstones of its business.
Despite being a leading company in the technology sector, Lenovo has realised that it is consumers that dictate what happens in the market. Therefore it is essential that their demands are met and that they are given unique and satisfactory experiences to ensure that the company continues to be a benchmark in the market.
One of the strong points of Lenovo’s offer in recent years are its Legion gaming teams and the first device with Tango augmented reality technology, Phab 2 Pro.
Gaming techniques to stimulate, train and develop talent
In recent years, according to the Forbes magazine Global 2000 List, 70% of the world’s largest companies have implemented gaming techniques to stimulate, train and develop talent within companies.
As well as transforming rather unattractive tasks into stimulating ones, gamification also measures specific actions. Many Human Resources departments have started using this tool to identify talent within the company and discover the strengths to be developed in each collaborator.
Gamification mechanics have also successfully been integrated into personnel attraction and selection processes, where, once the desired profile has been established by the organisation, Human Resources can identify the behaviour required for the post through individual or group processes and collect information that would be difficult to obtain through a traditional interview.
Besides this, the Contact Centre industry has observed numerous benefits from the application of gamification. The sector is characterised by high levels of staff turnover. Through gaming, companies are able to motivate employees with incentives and prizes, getting agents involved, thereby raising their awareness of customer demands and consequently improving the quality of the service.
These techniques impact directly on the increase in productivity. According to a study by the Aberdeen Group, the incorporation of gamification fosters agent performance and minimises average resolution time, while increasing customer satisfaction rates.
In conclusion, gamification began as a trend at the start of this decade and is now an essential tool in leading companies.