According to a report from consulting firm Capterra, the customer relationship management (CRM) market is on pace to surpass enterprise resource planning (ERP) as the largest grossing enterprise software sub-segment. That growth statistic shouldn’t be surprising – if your business has customers, chances are you’ve either implemented a CRM solution or you’re thinking about it.
CRM isn’t just a sales tool. The finance and IT departments, customer service representatives, even executives who want to analyze data captured through the solution need to know how to utilize its various components. How does a company that has invested in CRM make sure that various internal audiences are using the CRM solution correctly and accurately? Gamification could be the answer for many.
In this slideshow, Chuck Ingram, director of CRM at Tribridge, a technology services firm, provides his thoughts on gamification as a way to ensure that companies are making the most of their CRM investment.
Making the Most of CRM Investments
Click through for more on how gamification can play a significant role in improving CRM adoption and overall accuracy, as identified by Chuck Ingram, director of CRM at Tribridge.
What Is Gamification?
Gamification is the use of game mechanics and experience design to digitally engage and motivate team members. Just as a game encourages people to participate and interact, similar tactics in marketing and business circles can help prospects, clients and employees come closer together and become more involved with the brand.
Gamification isn’t a new concept or practice, but it continues to be a growing trend and topic among executives. Why? Because it can be a way to drive revenue and improve efficiency.
Making the CRM Commitment
According to Gartner, 50 percent of consumer product investments by 2017 will be redirected to customer experience innovations. Whether or not this statistic holds true, executives increasingly understand how important CRM — generally defined as building a company’s people processes and technology around their customers — is to overall performance.
It’s important for leadership to understand that purchasing the solution is just the beginning of the commitment – implementation and adoption are the real keys to success. Software publishers understand this. We know, because many of them are enhancing their solutions to meet these needs.
When CRM Doesn’t Work
Despite recent enhancements, CRM software satisfaction rates notoriously remain in the 50 percent range. A key reason is low adoption of the technology. After executives follow through with the purchase, they move on to the next “big decision.” They don’t always consider the “people” part of the implementation. Integrating a CRM solution into your organization often creates a cultural shift that needs to be supported throughout the organization.
Companies need to commit to implementation – including training and adoption programs such as gamification. Without the right plan in place, CRM software won’t add a single dollar to your bottom line.
Why Gamifying Might Be the Answer
So how does gamifying a CRM program work?
A recent article on eLearningindustry.com breaks it down chemically. When our bodies receive a reward for a behavior, a neurotransmitter chemical in our brains called dopamine is released. There is a correlation between many highly addictive drugs and dopamine production. While gamifying a CRM solution or a training program at work certainly won’t create addiction problems – the real-life, reward-based chemistry to encourage us to “adopt” it is absolutely there.
According to a survey conducted by TalentLMS, 79 percent of the participants (both corporate learners and university students) said that they would be more productive and motivated if their learning environment was more like a game. CRM publishers and partners are recognizing this. Microsoft Dynamics CRM, for example, now offers gamification features via its acquisition of Incent Games, Inc., a provider of a sales gamification platform.
CRM Gamification Success Factors
Brian Burke of Gartner states that designing the gamification solution around the intersection of an organization’s goals and the employees’ goals is the best approach. Some other important factors for success include:
- Teaching your employees process improvement and value versus measurement.
- Focusing on the broader team – not just on the “leaderboard” – for better overall performance.
- Defining the process and using gamification to drive results – giving employees the proper information and guidance.
- Identifying KPIs and other intelligence to help employees make better decisions and drive performance.
It’s an exciting time for CRM – look for adoption rates to reach new levels in 2016 thanks in large part to the growth of gamification.
