Gamification in Customer Support: Leveling Up Customer Engagement and Loyalty

Hope you’re ready to power on—and take on—the next generation of customer support.

Enter gamification: a game-changing strategy that has transformed businesses across the globe.

The Mario-inspired work dream has become a reality. We’ve entered a dimension of excitement, innovation, and intelligence when it comes to motivating not just customers, but especially customer service agents.

Imagine, for a moment, a world where customer support isn’t just a task, but a competition that breeds excitement and higher performance.

If you can picture this scenario, you’ve just unlocked the first level of understanding the universe—and potential—of gamification in customer support. ??

Step aside, traditional customer service. There's a new player in the game. And this is a whole new arena. One filled with challenges, levels, rewards, and achievements, all geared toward enhancing customer engagement and agent performance.

Hold onto your controller. This will be a wild ride through levels of loyalty, side quests of satisfaction, and bonus points of brand engagement. All are focused on the power that gamification holds for your company’s customer support.

1. Understanding The Magic Potion Of Gamification

What is Gamification?

Gamification is the wizardry of incorporating game-like elements into non-game scenarios. Think about earning points, leveling up, or unlocking achievements—all wrapped up neatly in the customer experience. It’s like turning a mundane task into something like a Mario Kart race.

But gamification isn’t just about adding game mechanics to boring to-do lists. Nor is it just about making work fun, either. Behind it all is very real science.

Gamification relies on human psychology, tapping into our innate desire for competition, achievement, and recognition. Striving for victory, to achieve more, to be recognized—it's a universal language that transcends age and geography.

This unique mix of fun, competition, and rewards helps to make even the most mundane tasks more exciting. Turning your customer support agents into next-level performers and your customers into long-term loyalists.

Why Use Gamification in Customer Support?

Because since Atari, 40+ years of history have shown us that people like games. Sometimes they love them.

More often than not, even if they don’t, they add a little more personal “oomph” to their efforts when it comes to getting results. No one wants to finish in last place—in Pong, in Tetris, in the contact center. Or even in the middle of the pack.

From points and badges to leaderboards and challenges, gamification elements can truly blend into a potent potion that can awaken a whole new level of customer and agent engagement. For more on this subject, take a look at this recent post on the LiveVox blog.

It makes the process of problem-solving more engaging for customers. Plus, you'll never hear an agent, and by extension, a customer, say: "I had a boring time getting my issue resolved."

2. The Epic Quest of Enhancing The Customer And Agent Experiences

Points + Rewards

Ah, rewards! Who doesn’t love to collect shiny things? Incorporate a system where customers earn points for engaging and watch how they turn into relentless treasure hunters.

Every customer ticket turns into a quest. Every resolution into a victorious battle. Your agents aren't just solving problems anymore. They're on an epic journey to provide the ultimate customer experience.

And what's a quest without a guide? Agents also become the wise mentors, the skillful support ninjas, guiding customers through challenges.

Challenges + Missions

By creating challenges and missions for customers to solve, they are no longer mere users but valiant heroes on an epic quest. Check out how businesses are doing this right now!

It's not just the customers who are on this quest. Agents are motivated by rewards, leveling up, and public recognition, fostering a more collaborative and positive work environment.

Leaderboards + Achievements

Incorporating gamification requires state-of-the-art technology that enables seamless integration of game mechanics into customer support processes.

In the customer support space, especially inside call and contact centers, dynamic Wallboard solutions like the ones we offer at LiveVox help agents and managers visualize KPIs in real-time. And literally keep everyone eyeing the same goal.

Successful, industry-leading brands have successfully implemented gamification in their customer support efforts. See how they’ve done it in this in-depth article from G2.

3. The Eternal Bond Of Customer And Agent Loyalty

Make Customers Part of Your Kingdom

Treat your customers like royal citizens in your corporate kingdom. Gamification in customer support ensures that every interaction is a celebratory feast, fostering an eternal bond of loyalty.

Gamification builds a deeper, longer-lasting bond between your customers and agents. And the more engaged everyone is, the more loyal everyone becomes to your company.

Beyond enhanced customer loyalty, there are other results that make this strategy worth plugging into—namely, increased engagement and motivation, both of which we’ll cover in more detail below.

The Power of Community

By encouraging customers to compete and cooperate, you create a thriving community. Like a guild in an MMORPG, they rally together, defend the brand, and share experiences.

Gamification has the power to create an exclusive community between your customers. One that shares experiences, challenges, and rewards. It's a connection that can, and often does, goes beyond mere transactions.

Data-Driven Analytics Insights (A.K.A. The Oracle's Wisdom)

The wisdom of analytics in gamification is like having a prophetic oracle. It provides insights into customer behavior, preferences, and trends, guiding you like the North Star.

Through smart analytics, you can see how gamification positively impacts customer satisfaction and agent performance. It's an insightful glimpse into the inner workings of your magical new world. For a look into the future of analytics trends for gamification, GrowthEngineering has you covered all the way until 2025.

It’s Time To Set Your Sights On The Final Boss Level For Your Customers And Agents

We've ventured through the magical land of gamification in customer support, and it's clear that this isn't just a trend—it's the future. It's about making customer service more than a duty or requirement or need-to-have.

This is the chance for you to make support an adventure filled with challenges, rewards, and camaraderie. For everyone involved with your contact center.

In this day and age, you're no longer just a company. You're a game master, orchestrating epic adventures for your customers and agents. Now, isn't that something to strive for?

With gamification, we're not just solving problems; we're engaging minds, capturing hearts, and creating loyal brand warriors. So, pick up that virtual sword, shield, or customer support tool, and join the revolution.

The realm of gamification is here, it's real, and it's taking the customer support world by storm. It's more than just about making things fun. It’s about creating unforgettable experiences, nurturing everlasting bonds, and turning both customers and agents into champions of your brand.

This is a time-tested, yet innovative, strategy for boosting your customer ROI, exciting your agents, and seeing more positive results from everyone at the same time. Now go forth and conquer the world of customer engagement like never before. ?

featured image by Berkeley Communications on Unsplash