Driving customer loyalty should be a priority for any business looking to foster sustainable long-term growth.
And gamification presents a major opportunity here.
According to Gartner research, over 50% of loyalty program memberships will utilize gamified experiences by 2023.
These game-like rewards and incentives drive several key loyalty behaviors:
- Increased engagement and purchases
- More customer referrals
- Higher renewal rates
- Reduced churn
Let‘s explore two powerful methods for building loyal customers with gamification in WordPress…
1. Launch a Gamified Loyalty Program
The most direct approach is creating a structured loyalty program that rewards repeat purchases and referrals with points, status upgrades, and exclusive perks.
Programs with gamified point systems see 9x more daily engagement versus basic discounts alone.
And tiers that customers unlock by accumulating points work extremely well at incentivizing higher spending.
For example, Sephora›s Beauty Insider program offers:
- Insider (0 points required)
- VIB (350 points required)
- VIB Rouge (1000 points required)
Higher tiers receive better rewards like free products and early access to sales.
Driving customers to advance keeps them engaged and spending more.
Choosing the Right WordPress Loyalty Plugins
The WordPress plugins below allow you to launch customized, gamified loyalty programs:
| Plugin | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Smile Rewards | Tiered loyalty levels, point tracking, member coupons, email notifications |
| LoyaltyLion | Social sharing & review incentives, automated rewards engine, built-in campaigns |
| Advanced Coupons | Flexible points system rules, earning/burning ratios, level up programs |
I recommend Smile Rewards for its tier-based program capabilities out-of-the-box. Level status is highly gamified and motivational.
Configure point earning opportunities that align with your business goals – purchases, reviews, referrals, engagement, etc. Make joining and participating easy.
Send email updates when customers unlock new achievements. And promote hot deals and incentives to redeem points.
2. Incorporate Rewards Into Your Sales Funnels
You can also take a more immersive approach by incentivizing customers directly within interactive shopping experiences.
Plugins like CartFlows make it simple to gamify multi-step sales funnels, even leveraging psychological elements:
- Progress bars – Visualizing completion taps into our desire to fully finish goals. Offer incremental discounts at 25, 50, 75 and 100%.
- Spin-the-Wheel popups – These chance/surprise-based games compel engagement and releases dopamine hits upon winning discounts.
- Behavior-triggered surveys – Pose timely questions to gather insights while serving spin wheels, vouchers, etc. in exchange.
FunnelKit specializes in creating side carts and sticky bars with real-time behavioral rewards:
- Personalized product suggestions – Recommend specific items someone is likely to buy based on past purchases and browsing data for +15% higher conversion rates.
- Interactive quizzes – Answer a quick brand quiz to unlock 10% off or free shipping coupons.
- Points/badges – Highlight milestones like ›You›re just 200 points away from Gold Status!› with status bars.
As users progress, surprise them with tailored product suggestions and affinity rewards. These immersive experiences inspire intrinsically motivated engagement more than generic discounts alone.
Key Takeaways for Maximizing Loyalty with Gamification
Personalize incentives using collected customer data so rewards feel more meaningful rather than random. Gift them their favorite product for 300 points instead of generic coupon codes.
According to Nielsen, over 85% of customers prefer personalized rewards over generic discounts and sales.
Tie program status to lifetime value (LTV) thresholds. Leveling up to ›Gold› status upon spending $500 total or after their 5th lifetime purchase, for example, rather than temporary point expiries.
Promote and remind customers about progress towards the next milestone or level status via cart prompts, post-purchase emails, popup invites to complete an action, etc.
In closing, gamifying loyalty experiences results in up to 30% higher customer retention for brands (Bain & Company research).
So rather than just intermittent sales and discounts, surprise and delight program members through achievement journeys and exciting rewards that deepen WordPress site engagement.
