Game-Based Marketing – Gabe Zichermann & Joselin Linder

October 22, 2012

Devon Sampson Business, Motivational Psychology , , , , , , , , Leave a comment

“Funware is a design philosophy that helps us mesh games with marketing.” (29)

“Everything can be made more fun.”

“Game mechanics are levers used to drive user behavior.”

“Passive games are different from active games in that most players don’t even realize a game is being played.” (43)

“Points provide the basic underpinning of scorekeeping, and social networking sites provide a unique opportunity to drive scoring behavior.”

“Rules, whether obvious or not, are essential both for maintaining order and for effective Funware design.”
 

Success is much less interesting if it’s not social and others don’t see you win.

 
“Social networks provide an unparalleled opportunity to market using game mechanics.” (62)

“Leaderboards are often the best initial Funware mechanics to use as they are cost-effective and easy for users to understand.”

“Even simple leaderboards like the ‘friend count’ on Facebook can have a profound effect on user behavior.”

“Point systems let you incentivize many behaviors and fine-tune the value of actions and cost of rewards at will.” (89)
 

Badges and their conspicuous display are an essential mechanism for conveying and reinforcing user success.

 
“Levels and status are powerful tools for creating loyalty and driving user behavior.”

“Although prizes generate a lot of PR buzz, they don’t deliver lasting loyalty in and of themselves.” (110)

“Frequent flyer ‘games’ are among the most successful and popular loyalty programs.” (139)

“Points in [frequent flyer programs] are often used to encourage incremental elevations in expenditure.”

“The virtual goods market is growing rapidly from a $5.5 billion level in 2009.”
 

Even noncompetitive people will compete in competitive situations. (159)

 
A major consideration in game design is the type of player the game is supposed to attract. In the context of Funware, there are five main player types:

  • Achievers

    • Driven by a desire to meet goals and gain status and points. They prefer a game that is winnable, although playing well may be more important than finally winning. Perhaps most importantly, they desire praise and recognition, and so do not like games that only attract other achievers.

  • Socializers

    • Want to meet and interact with other people in their game. They prefer cooperative to competitive play, and generally have long lists of friends and contacts.

  • Explorers

    • Like nothing better than digging through a complex environment and uncovering new challenges and tasks. They are most likely to set their own goals, and so do not need a game with extensive leveling systems or objectives.

  • Killers

    • Are competitive and love beating other players or showing off their power. Games must be winnable to attract killers, and they prefer it if the odds are stacked in their favor.
     
     

    Brands that implement games early will be at a distinct advantage over latecomers.

     

    Generation G is the most technologically savvy, competitive, and socially networked. (180)

     

    Kids who grow up on games are going to expect gamelike experiences in all aspects of their lives.

    The Personal MBA – Josh Kaufman (Marketing)

    April 21, 2012

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    In an attention economy (like this one), marketers struggle for attention. If you don’t have it, you lose.

    -Seth Godin

     
    Getting attention is the point of marketing, but remember that the only attention that really matters is attention from prospects who will purchase from you.

    Don’t even expect people to be receptive to something that fundamentally contrasts with their world-view (eg: benefits of red meat to a committed Vegan).

    “Receptivity is a measure of how open a person is to your message.” (83)

    The two components of receptivity are: what and when.

      When – People tend to be more receptive at certain times of the day, and extremely non-receptive to even the best value-offerings in the wee hours of the morning.
      What – “The form of your message has a big influence on how receptive people are to the information that message contains. If the form of your message suggests that it was created just for them, you’re far more likely to get your prospect’s attention.” [eg: postal junk mail vs. hand-addressed Fed-Ex envelope] (83-84)

    “Skilled marketers don’t try to get everyone’s attention – they focus on getting the attention of the right people at the right time.“

    “Marketing is most effective when it focuses on the desired end result, which is usually a distinctive experience or emotion related to a core human drive.” (87)
     

    People don’t buy quarter-inch drills; they buy quarter-inch holes.

    -Theodore Levitt, former professor at Harvard Business School

     
    Discovering where Probable Purchasers start looking for information after crossing the interest threshold (Point of Market Entry) is extremely valuable, because that knowledge will allow you to reach them first (eg: Procter & Gamble, Fisher Price, and many other companies make “care packages” that are given to new parents as soon as they leave the hospital with their new baby).

    “The quickest way to waste a multi-million-dollar advertising budget is to try to force people to want something they don’t already want.” (92)

    “If you encourage your prospects to visualize what their life will look like after purchasing, you increase the probability that they’ll purchase from you. The best way to help your customers visualize is to expose them to as much sensory information as possible – the information their mind uses to conclude, ‘I want this.’” (94)
     

    Selling to people who actually want to hear from you is more effective than interrupting strangers who don’t.

    -Seth Godin

     
    “A Hook is a single phrase or sentence that describes an offer’s primary benefit. Sometimes the Hook is a title, and sometimes it’s a short tagline (eg: a title like ‘The 4-Hour Work Week’ or a tagline like ’1,000 songs in your pocket’)” (99)

    Attention isn’t quite enough, however. You also need a Call-To-Action. Consider two billboards for the same place:

    Devon’s Hamburgers are the best*

    Take exit 25 and turn right for the best burgers in town

     
    *Disclaimer: Statement is for example purposes only. There has yet to be conclusive evidence that suggests that Devon’s hamburgers are, in fact, the best.

    Rework – 37signals (Marketing)

    April 15, 2012

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    We’re willing to lose some customers if it means that others love our products intensely.

     
    There’s no such thing as a marketing division, because everything has to do with marketing.

    Don’t blindly copy your competition even if something they’re doing is clearly working. The problem with copying is that it skips understanding, and you cannot grow without understanding why something works.

    The main way to de-commoditize your project is to inject yourself into it. That way, you’ll always be leading; it would be stupid for anyone else to try to better than you at being you.
     

    When you don’t know what you believe, everything becomes an argument. Everything is debatable. But when you stand for something, decisions are obvious.

     
    “Emulate drug dealers. Make your product so good, so addictive, so can’t-miss that giving customers a small free taste makes them come back with cash in hand. This will force you to make something about your product bite-size. You want an easily-digestible introduction to what you sell.”

    “Instead of trying to outspend, out-sell, and out-sponsor your competitors, try to out-teach them.”

    “Big companies can afford a Super Bowl ad. You can’t. But you can afford to teach. They can’t.”

    The reason you’ve heard of great chefs like Emeril Lagasee, Jamie Oliver, and Paula Deen rather than other top chefs is because the aforementioned chefs share everything they know.

    It’s okay to share your secrets because no one can beat you at your own game.

    People have an insatiable need to see behind the scenes, so show your customers behind the scenes of your company (eg: Youtube videos of your creative process, making-of documentary) and you’ll pique their interest – not to mention create a unique bond with them on account of the fact that they’ll see the personality and humanity of your company.

    “Don’t be afraid to show your flaws. Imperfections are real, and people respond to real.”

    SPIN Selling – Neil Rackham (Guest poster: Sebastian Cass)

    February 27, 2012

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    Sebastian Cass has been a good friend of mine for many years.

    Recently, we’ve been enjoying the work of best-selling author and Forbes columnist Michael Ellsberg. In one of Ellsberg’s most famous public appearances, a speech he gave at the Google headquarters, he recommended the book SPIN Selling by Neil Rackham. Since this was the second time it had been endorsed by someone I respected (the other person being Josh Kaufman, author of the The Personal MBA: Master the Art of Business), I decided that I should check it out for myself sometime in the near future.

    Sebastian, on the other hand, was eager to read it right away since he has already worked in several sales jobs and possesses an utterly absurd amount of knowledge on the subject. Less than two days later, he had finished it.

    So I’ve invited Sebastian to guest post about SPIN Selling and he’s agreed to share his notes and thoughts about the book with you guys today. In this post, you’ll learn about some of the most uncommon, unconventional wisdom behind sales and why the phrase, “high-integrity sales” is not a contradiction in terms. (D.S.)

     
    SPIN Selling contains by far the best advice I’ve ever come across when it comes to selling. This short explanation is only meant to show you the specific things I took from it and why I think it’s a great tool for sales/marketing professionals looking to improve their results exponentially.

    This book is based on a massive amount of research conducted by the Huthwaite group and by Rackham himself. The advice of the book is aimed at “large” ticketed items, items that will sometimes take longer than a single sales call to sell. The term “SPIN” is an acronym for the 4 kinds of questions that make the model, they break down as follows:

    -Situation questions: A question in which the seller finds facts about the current state, short and long term plans, and overall condition of the buyer’s company
    (Note: Research shows that they are not very critical in making a sale successful, and one should keep them short as a customer might become impatient.)

    -Problem questions: These are the types of questions that most people should consider improving, they’re designed to find any dissatisfactions or hassles that the customer is having at the moment (these should be aimed at the kinds of problems the customer would no longer have if he owned your product).

    -Implication questions: This is where conventional selling techniques verge off, most training would direct people to give solutions that their product could offer to solve the customers “needs” as explained by the customer in the previous phase, however, this model takes it a step further. Implication questions are meant to show the customer/buyer the implications and future hassles his current problems will lead him to (ie: fast turnover on workforce, training costs of new employees, time that could be spent more wisely). In short it makes his problems become EXPLICIT NEEDS; he is now aware that the problem is more severe and he is now looking for a solution.

    -Need-payoff questions: This is the final step in which the seller posses a different set of questions. These are aimed to get the customer/buyer talking about how if he had a solution to his now-explicit needs (from the implication stage) and the other ways in which having such solution (seller’s product) could help him (customer/buyer) and his business.

     

    The SPIN model however is only one part of the bigger 4 part breakdown of a sales call. The whole model looks like this:

    Opening –> Investigating (SPIN model for questioning comes in here) –> Demonstrating Capability –> Obtaining Commitment.

    Opening: the research shows that staying on point is key, conventional wisdom on opening may not work so well for bigger sales, specially “starting off with chit-chat” or “open by demonstrating advantages”; a good rule of thumb to follow will be to establish:
    -who you are
    -why you’re there (but not by giving away product details)
    -your right to ask questions.

    Investigating: I’ve explained above in the SPIN model.

    Demonstrating capabilities: The main thing to learn from this is the difference between features, advantages (usually referred in sales training as benefits), and “true” benefits.

    Features – have low impact over the long and short term, they don’t really relate to the customer. Over-featuring a product will always lead to price objections, which might either be a service or disservice to the product depending on whether the price is low or high respectively.

    Advantages – these are the ways that a customer/buyer could benefit from using the product, but since it does not tie in to their Explicit Needs, they’re very easy to forget.

    (True) Benefits – They tie in strongly to the customer/buyer’s explicit needs and are the answer to their Need-Payoff statements. Customers/buyers will remember them because they relate to their deepest needs.

    Obtaining commitment: the main point here is to understand the four kinds of outcomes that can come from a sale.

    • No Sale
    • Continuation
    • Advance
    • Sale

    Since immediate No Sale/Sale situations only make up 10% of sales calls for high price items, one should pay attention to Continuation and Advances instead.

    Continuation is usually made up of flattery of the product: “that was a great presentation”, “we look forward to hearing more”, but no actual commitment to follow the relationship in any meaningful way. This is why they are considered unsuccessful.

    Advances on the other hand offer a “next step” kind of mentality. The sale won’t be done right there, but both parties are taking steps forward and it is considered a success since it’s more likely to lead to an actual sale.

    The book also covers how research suggests that the areas in which most sales training focus most of their energy (closing techniques, open-closed questions, objection handling) are far less effective for large sales. Instead there’s obtaining commitment, SPIN model for questioning, and objection prevention.

    ……

    These are the main points I drew from this book; I’d recommend you read the book if you saw any information here you’d like to improve and/or learn more about. I’ve decided that I’m going to work in a position in sales that pays solely on commission for the next little while. The items I’m aiming to sell will be high-ticketed items (cars sales, real estate, corporate tech solutions).

    I’m not doing this for the financial remuneration but rather to apply the skills and mindsets that this book has taught me. As with anything you read, I also recommend that once you finish SPIN Selling (either the actual book or just my notes) you should take action in the near future to practice the ideas that Rackham presents.

    Entelechy – the becoming actual of what was potential.

    This word is used towards the end of the book to emphasize the importance of actually integrating any skill one learns in order to make it truly ingrained. I included here as well to reiterate its importance.

    Until the next time guys.

    -Sebastian Cass

    The E-Myth Revisited – Michael E. Gerber (Part 2 of 3)

    February 18, 2012

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    “Pretend the business you own – or want to own – is the prototype for 5,000 more just like it.” (98)

    If you create a solid foundational system for your business that employees can follow, it will make your business more system-oriented and less dependent on the whims and quirks of your employees. The better your system, the less that the quality of your employees matters.

    One of the main benefits of having a written Operations Manual and a structure behind your business is that it helps the customer get a uniformly predictable, reliable service. This means that if the customer likes the service, he knows the next time he purchases it, it will be just as good.

    The basic expectation of customers is that they will get a consistent experience. Do not regularly violate this expectation.

    Basically, think of your business itself as a product.

     

    “Creativity thinks up new things. Innovation does new things.” -Theodore Levitt, Harvard professor

    Anytime you improve anything about your business, you will make more money than you would have otherwise.

    “Innovation continually poses the question: ‘What is standing in the way of my customer getting what he wants from my business?’” (121)

    Quantification – numerically measuring the impact of an innovation.

    The only way to know the exact impact of an innovation is through rigorous quantification (ex: counting how many people came through the door at the time of a promotion).

    Orchestration – ensuring that a good innovation is implemented every single time by eliminating employee discretion.

    Without orchestration, you can’t have a franchise.

     

    If you don’t know what your Primary Aim is, you can’t know if you’re moving toward it.

    Ask yourself the following questions:

    • What do I wish my life to look like?
    • How do I wish my life to be like on a day-to-day basis?
    • How much money will I need to do the things I wish to do? By when?

    Strategic Objective – a clear statement of what your business must do to reach its Primary Aim.

    The first standard of your strategic objective is money: how much money do you expect your business to make? Unexpected circumstances always happen, but some estimate is better than no estimate.

    Focus on core values when defining your business. Commodities are just the things that your customer walks out with, your product is what your customer feels after dealing with your business.

    Start With Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Everyone to Take Action – Simon Sinek

    December 3, 2011

    Devon Sampson Business, Social Dynamics , , , , , , Leave a comment

    There are two ways to affect the behavior of others: to manipulate and to inspire.

    Price is an example of manipulation. It is a great way to stimulate demand and support in the short term but a singular focus on it has devastating effects in the long run.

    People are comfortable buying all kinds of different products from Apple. This is because of their ”clarity of WHY”; even though the what’s are different (phones, computers, tablets, etc.), the WHY is consistent among all products underneath the Apple umbrella (challenging the status quo, zen-like simplicity).

    Conversely, Dell’s MP3 player was a flop because Dell has always identified themselves based on their WHAT: computers.

    The what should only be the logical stuff that the brain uses to rationalize the WHY. This is because WHY’s are difficult to articulate.

    Early adopters, that is, those consumers on the left side on the innovation diffusion curve, purchase things based on feel, based on WHY. Don’t blindly sell to the majority, seek out the early adopters on the left side of the curve that believe what you believe and will be loyal to you. These loyal early adopters will “tip” the majority in the middle of the curve (see The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell).

    Charisma is clarity of WHY.

    Energy excites, charisma inspires.

    Charisma breeds loyalty.

    As a company grows, its CEO becomes farther removed from its what. It can, and it must, however, maintain control over its WHY.

    The best example of brand loyalty is this: there are many people that have tattooed the Harley Davidson logo on their body. And a portion of these people don’t even have Harley Davidson motorcycles.

    Products or whats are simply megaphones for the WHY.

    There is a difference between achievement and success. Achievement is a something to be reached for, a tangible, measurable goal. Success, on the other hand, is a feeling, a state of being. Achievement is getting what you want, success is clarity and expression of WHY.

    The tendency is to become preoccupied with tangible results – achievements – the WHATs, at the expense of the WHY. This is what causes “selling out” and ultimately, the demise of even industry-leading companies.

    Rework – 37signals (Summary)

    November 30, 2011

    Devon Sampson Business, Motivational Psychology , , 2 Comments


     
    (Ed: You can now find more detailed notes about “Rework” in The Vault)
     

    Rework shows you a better, faster, easier way to succeed in business. Read it and you’ll know why plans are actually harmful, why you don’t need outside investors, and why you’re better off ignoring the competition. The truth is, you need less than you think. You don’t need to be a workaholic. You don’t need to staff up. You don’t need to waste time on paperwork or meetings. You don’t even need an office. Those are all just excuses.

    What you really need to do is stop talking and start working. This book shows you the way. You’ll learn how to be more productive, how to get exposure without breaking the bank, and tons more counterintuitive ideas that will inspire and provoke you.

    -Amazon.com description (excerpt)
     

    The “real world” that most people talk about when shooting down ambitious ideas isn’t a place, it’s an excuse.

    When facing a difficult, overwhelming idea, ask yourself: “What can I do right now that’s good enough?” Not only does this inspire immediate action, it gets the ball rolling for you to do the bigger thing later on.

    The common problem that all the idiots have on “Kitchen Nightmares” is that there’s just too much stuff on their menus. When overhauling their restaurants, Gordon Ramsey always starts by cutting back.

    People use equipment as a crutch. But give Tiger Woods some old clubs and he’ll still crush you.

    Put out the necessities now, add the luxuries later.

    The best way to make something great is through iterations. Stop theorizing about what will work. Find out now.

    If we can’t accurately estimate projects that take 2 hours, how can we estimate projects that might take a year? The longer the project, the more magnified that planning errors become.

    There’s no such thing as a marketing division, because everything you do has to do with marketing.

    A great way to gain support is to position yourself as the anti-(business/industry).

    Focusing on the competition makes you more reactionary than visionary.

    “If I had listened to my customers, I would’ve gotten them a faster horse.” -Henry Ford

    Listen to feedback from your customers, but don’t write it down. If it’s really important, it’ll keep coming up and you won’t be able to forget it.

    Don’t hire someone if you don’t need them, no matter how good they appear.

    If employees are forced to constantly ask for permission, it creates a culture of non-thinking.

    Don’t scar on the first cut. Don’t create a policy because someone did something wrong once.

    Inspiration has an expiry date. SEIZE IT.