Gamification Mechanic Monday: Gift giving
Gift giving in games is often part of progression and can be built in to stimulate social gaming. One of the reasons behind it is that when you play with friends and people you know, the stickiness of the game goes up and an element of peer to peer competition naturally happens even if it is unspoken. Just think of social games such as Candy Crush, Farmville and multiplayer online games, where you can give lives, powers and tools of the game to your friends.
In business you can introduce gift giving for employees for example, where one employee may give away a day off to another one or you can earn points for regular business actions, which can then be transferred to other colleagues or clients. In well developed loyalty programs giving away points or giving away a free gift has been a regular part of the package. A lot of businesses will also have a free gift offer sometimes with a condition attached. Free gifts still work.
The whole gift giving process becomes more powerful when the employee or customer chooses to do it, without obligation attached or conditions. It appeals primarily to socially friendly people as well as those of a philanthropic nature.
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Where will you or have you introduced gift giving in your business?
