App gamification is an exciting business strategy that many companies are choosing to integrate into their operations. When done right, app gamification can help increase retention rates, drive engagement, and even create new revenue streams.
However, poor research and execution can lead to less-than-stellar results, if not costly mistakes. This article will discuss some of the most common app gamification mistakes, helping you avoid unsuccessful outcomes.
8 App Gamification Mistakes You Should Avoid
1. Not having clear business goals
One of the biggest app gamification mistakes you can make is not knowing what gamification is supposed to achieve for your business. A good gamified experience should be built to support your business objectives, first and foremost.
When planning to gamify your app, you need to establish what results you would like to see and then figure out how gamification can be used to achieve them.
2. Focusing too much on competition
Competition is a good motivator within gamified experiences, as it creates the need to participate and exert effort to be rewarded. However, making competition too steep or the only motivator can have the opposite effectdiscouraging users from engaging and participating.
Explore other motivators such as community interactions and collaborations, social media engagement, and achievement recognition to create and sustain effective engagement.
3. Over-complicating game mechanics
Game mechanics are designed to create structure within a gamified experience, determining what challenges users will face, how they can complete them, and what rewards they receive for succeeding. Making your game mechanics too complicated can end up confusing users and even make them less likely to return.
The best way to avoid this keep game mechanics simple and easy to understand, while balancing the fun and challenges within the experience.
4. Mismatching rewards with challenges
A good game principle to remember is the bigger the challenge, the greater the reward. Too much effort for too little gain will turn users off from further engaging. Too much reward for too little effort will make users bored and unmotivated.
Ensuring the balance of challenges to rewards requires you to keep your business objectives and user base in mind. Additionally, you can also conduct testing for your system and continuously refine it from user feedback.
5. Misusing points and badges
Points and badges are key elements in creating a gamified experience. A common gamification mistake is to misuse these elements, often without aligning with the overall gamification strategy.
To prevent this, you need to consider how these elements can further support your gamified experience. As much as possible, points and badges should fit seamlessly into your system and make sense to your users.
6. Not motivating users enough
As mentioned above, gamification becomes effective when users are motivated to take certain actions, allowing for a continuous, sustainable loop of engagement. Too little motivation will cause users to lose interest and stop engaging with your app.
Addressing this requires a good understanding of your user base. Being able to provide multiple sources of motivation will be more effective in keeping your gamified experience exciting and fun.
7. Skimping on good design
In the digital age, one of the biggest challenges apps encounter is retaining the attention of their users. Your gamified experience can end up failing due to users being turned off or overwhelmed by the visual aspects of your app.
It is important that your gamified experience is not only attention-grabbing but also aligned with your overall brand image. Focusing on the finer details of your design will make the experience more cohesive, pleasant, and even easier to engage with.
8. Lacking a clear understanding of app gamification
Businesses need to stay ahead of the competition by evolving and adapting to new technologies and innovations, such as app gamification. This move can only be successful if you have a good grasp of how these innovations work.
The best way that your business can take advantage of app gamification is to work with professionals. Not only do they have the knowledge and experience to deliver a good gamified experience, but they can also ensure that the right elements and strategies are used to deliver the results you want.
Wrapping Up
App gamification is an exciting venture for businesses wanting to add value to their apps. Knowing how gamification works and the typical pitfalls can give your business a better chance of avoiding costly mistakes and creating a smoother overall experience.
*header photo by samer daboul from Pexels.
