Design case studies and strategies
3 Gamification Design Projects
A series of projects designed to drive higher business outcomes and increase brand loyalty. The solutions were created based on one or more predefined broader themes such as Growth, Motivation, and Hook.
Target Group and the Problems
The target group(TG) was defined as any marketplace agent registered with TravelTriangle, with a higher focus on the agents with low and medium sales performance. The following are the core problems we had identified for solving through gamification of the product.
- The high churn rate of Agencies from the system and Travel Consultants at these agencies.
- The low motivation to work among consultants with no system of incentives and other rewards
- A lesser engagement on the dashboard and tendency to take processes offline, leading to poor product analytics.
Vision and Execution Strategy
- To impart a sense of GROWTH in the user’s mind, by helping them clearly see the growth trajectory planned for them. (Through milestone visualizations, through clear, concise, and easy to consume content)
- To build a scalable system where the users are constantly MOTIVATED and help them measure their performance. (by introducing the right triggers and nudges in their journey using various game modalities, guiding them in the right path to success, )
- To give the users’ a reason to be HOOKED (develop loyalty) with TravelTriangle’s product. (Through appreciations, on-screen and off-screen rewards, and a sense of competition and potential achievements)
Success metrics
- An increased Activation to Conversion(A2C) percentage.
- Increased process adoptions/engagement
- Improved efficiency levels for the low performing agents(measured in business contribution/ Net Earnings).
- Reduced churn rate from the system.
1. Contex Understanding
Over time we have made many visits to the Travel Agencies working with TravelTriangle, conducted various qualitative and quantitative understanding, and Persona creation activities(See the framework we use), and secondary research for planning an effective product-gamification roadmap (see insights here). Doing good user research for once would not only give you enough fuel for a couple of years(if not more) but also will make many medium size project executions even faster. Like the allegory of the two woodcutters, it always pays back in the end to the one who spends enough time sharpening the axe.
2. Design Strategy
Using demographic survey and product usage analytics understanding we had identified the major user segments and subsegments. Various qualitative psychographic interviews threw more lights into the core segments’ motivations and frustrations. Based on the user research insights and the secondary research on gamification, we then plotted the Game Progression for the two core player segments in the system. The agency-level and The travel consultant level gamification.
The levels of the game are designed for their changing motivations at each stage as they progress. The model traces its conceptual roots to the hierarchy of needs that the psychologist Abraham Maslow first described in 1943. The challenges and rewards of Agency Owners are based on the premise that they are more motivated by social status, fame and the scarcity of exclusive deals in doing business with TravelTriangle than minor discounts or incentives, while the Travel Consultants are motivated by the sales incentives, material gifts, and career certificates. This would also provide us with scope for exploring special campaigns/competitions within the larger gamification in order to boost the business when there is a special need.
Having figured out the basic levels, we aligned the same with the skill levels of the users. This was done based on the concept of Initial use and Extended use. Examples are given below.
The first versions of the rules were rather larger themes identified after gathering enough business understanding as well as a better contextual knowledge of the users’ world and their behaviors with the product/service. The Agency Owner’s levels are based on the size of the organization and their business contribution(tentatively) and at the Travel Consultant’s levels are based on the number of leads converted (tentatively as actual numbers may vary depending on the destinations or season).
3. Implementation
Having mapped the larger framework for gamification, the challenge was in execution. It had to be an easy transition without hampering the current business flow. The first phase was bringing various gamification modalities into the current product and seamlessly set the users into gamification. Each of them was a separate project and made steady progress through testing and feedback loop. Let me take you through a few selected projects.
This project plays a critical role in the adoption of upcoming gamification efforts. The dashboard was originally designed for self-reporting(a system called add notes) and management. This gave us lesser control, poor data in the usage analytics, and it also promoted inconsistently product behaviors among the Agents
To be able to create game challenges, the whole process was divided into several small measurable tasks under 6 major milestones with a seamless but controlled environment which collected the necessary product data and feedback. This structure was also the first step towards enabling the Reward Point System for driving gamification efforts.
The process for every sales lead is now split between Quoting, Contacting, Customizing, Finalizing, Converted and Trip completed stages. One had to unlock the upcoming stages using a specific set of activities of the current stage. We also integrated various potential offline activities within these stages by enhancing their ease of work and with rewards.
- Significant increase in the Activation to Conversion(A2C) to ~12% from ~6%
- Significant increase in the dashboard adoption with ~33% growth recorded in ‘reporting notes’.
The process of Holiday sales could range from a week to two depending on various circumstances. At the same time, a single Travel consultant is handling multiple clients who are in different stages of their planning. This project was prioritized as it was expected to have a higher impact by bringing rigor in sales follow-ups and thereby increase productivity. A set of qualitative research done with the target groups revealed that the current reminder and notification system was not effective. Greater adoption of the reminders is critical for a smooth, and enjoyable product gamification.
An audit of the product also studied various touchpoints where reminders are used or needed. It also recorded the limitations and issues faced at each touchpoint and ideated on potential solutions.
The new solution is now divided into three parts. Upcoming/on, Dismissed and Missed reminders. The solution methods
- Non-Modal(Global) popup with manual action required to dismiss.
2. Non-Modal (Contextual) popup that would be alive for ‘xx’ mins.
3. Bell notification for upcoming and missed reminders with icons
4. Quote Follow-up page > Reminders tab will have all the list of reminders separated with dates and icons.
5. Emails sent in advance for upcoming and missed reminders.
- A significant increase of 220% in reminder usage which has a direct impact on the efficiency and productivity of the Travel Consultants.
- Overall Agency conversion increased about~15%(at the lower end)and ~25% (at the higher end)
This project aimed at creating various smaller campaigns to Introduce the concept of competition and rewards for a smooth adoption for the first time. The also helped the business to boost the sales efficacy by incentivizing the users for their extra efforts.
With this project, we opened the Agent partner network to each other to see the progress. Each campaign has set criteria to participate, a deadline and the rules of the game were shared with everyone. These short campaigns are designed all to redeem their points in the end and the top performers can take home additional prizes. The training team had given the agent parters the necessary training through their training mechanism to get them prepared.
The design of the page was to drive competition and evaluate one’s progress. The ranks were highlighted with color and size to push the narrative of rank-based competition among the players. To add more fun factor into the gamification efforts, the theme(story) was designed around an interplanetary treasure hunt where the participants would travel to the mystery treasure planet of wealth. (The theme is still work in progress).
Gamification Project PoD:
Product Manager: Bharat Maddalli | LinkedIn
Research, Strategy, and Design: Dhaneesh Jameson
Associate Designers: Rahul Rajavanshi, Akshita Rastogi
Dev & QA: Gaurav Yadav, Prashant Bansal, Sanju Yadav, Vijay Jha, Vikas Gupta, Arshmeet Singh, Parson Sharma, Amalesh Jana.
