It’s all in the game…
If you are one of those pre-Millennials wondering how to “do” gamification to attract a new generation of consumers, maybe it is time to stop thinking so hard. Solutions are probably a lot simpler than you imagine.
The practice of gamification involves nothing more than turning an otherwise tedious task into a game or competition. It is regularly used as a business strategy to incentivise employees, particularly sales teams, and there is often an element of loyalty involved.
Tapping into the unknown
In fact, we are often “gamified” without realising it. Think about your frequent flyer status level or that free smoothie you got for reaching your training goals at the gym.
When gamification works, it works really well because it taps into people’s natural desire for achievement. Failure rates are high, though – anywhere between 70 and 80%. This is often due to poorly designed rules and underwhelming rewards, or because gamification was simply not the correct solution in the first place.
The question that remains, however, is how do you tap into the new Millennial generation of consumers – those educated, cynical, socially conscious individuals who are permanently glued to their smart phones, completely ambivalent towards anything to do with insurance, and who seek personal enrichment from everything they consume?
Here are a few things to remember about Millennials:
• Most of them started their working lives in the midst of the worst global economic crisis in 70 years;
• They are the first generation likely to earn less than their parents. Disposable income for people in their 20s is scarcely higher, in real terms, than it was 30 years ago, a phenomenon not seen in other age groups;
• They live with their parents much longer than previous generations. They are not renting flats or buying starter homes, so they are not buying furniture, appliances or household electronics; and
• They are also less likely to take on vehicle or other asset finance agreements.
Quite simply, Millennials own fewer of the sorts of assets covered by traditional insurance products.
The impact of this generation
The impact of this generation is hard to predict but is likely to touch everything from retirement funding to quality of education and healthcare, especially in state-funded models. However, the challenge for insurers looking to break into this market is much easier to define.
Millennials are far more wired and tech-savvy than older generations, and gamification can definitely help to unlock this market. The best approach would be to apply gamification principles to both product and channel.
Super-accessible digital channel
Aim to introduce new products that lower the barrier to entry. For example, offer flexible cover periods – a day, a week or even cover on demand. Also consider portable items cover that is not dependent on a comprehensive product, with a clear path to accessing more sophisticated cover as the client’s insurable assets grow over time.
Make yourself super-accessible through a well-designed digital channel with robust information architecture that allows the user to reach his or her goal (for example, a quote) quickly and efficiently. Merely presenting your back-office application process in a mobile app will not cut it.
The consumer should gain some value or reward by engaging with your organisation, even if they do not become a client. It need not be complicated or costly. Simple ideas work, like allowing a list of insured items to be downloaded from your quote process, which the consumer can reuse on another site, or sourcing the value of a quote item if the consumer cannot provide one.
Most online and digital sales processes allow the consumer to change information and compare the impact on price. You can help by ensuring that information already provided is not lost if the consumer switches between scenarios. Indeed, even allowing the consumer to disengage from the sales process without penalty is a form of gamification. And yes, that could mean not making that follow-up phone call.
