Making a game out of lead generation: The whys and hows answered
1 . Introduction
How do businesses identify potential customers and expand across new and diverse consumer groups? How do they ensure that exposure through advertising crystallizes into involved perception and action on the part of the audience? This process of due identification and attraction of prospective customers by synthesizing their interest in and engagement with a brand and its products or services is filed under lead generation. From grabbing attention to creating pathways of connection that would convert these collected ‘leads’ into buyers, it is an indispensable part of the sales and marketing funnel, and has only grown in significance with the revolutionizing way of shopping brand identity and conducting business. As the market gets saturated with offerings, it becomes essential to distinguish oneself by curating the whole experience of consumers instead of focusing on just one-time sales. It is in this arena that gamification of lead collection has emerged as a distinct possibility of fostering meaningful relationships and reshaping one’s brand identity through it.2 Codifying lead generation: the whys and the hows
The process entailing amassing of leads spans multiple pathways and constant renewal of strategies. They must be assimilated into a Customer Relationship Management system for tracking, and different combinations of methods must be experimented with for scoring leads and driving conversion rates. The following are the key components of collecting leads across an array of channels:- Visualizing your audience and their problems: Every business has an ideal customer, recognizing whom is the first step of forming any marketing strategy and also the basis of diversification. Identify the problems of these potential customers you are hoping to solve.
- Content with clear CTAs: Content marketing in the form of case studies, blogs, infographics, ebooks, crash courses and other free resources have traditionally been used to draw in varied audiences by cultivating their interests. Most of these can be predicated by a distinct call to action that compels the visitors to offer their contact details in return for valuable information.
- Social media and targeted ads: Every social media platform has its own preference for a particular type of content that its users resonate the best with. Aligning yourself with those trends and following up with targeted ads and promotional campaigns are among the surest ways of reaching a wider crowd to amass leads.
- Email marketing: This is a refining step in your lead collection journey, and will help filter out frivolous ones. Personalized emails with special offers, early access and closed-group knowledge can help you create a VIP list of sorts of prospective customers. They may be educated, guided and nurtured into becoming loyal consumers through effective email marketing.
- Forms and chatbots: Install your website with an arsenal of automated problem-solving tools for surface-level queries, such as a live chat feature. Chatbots and forms are trusted to usually generate quality leads as those surveying your website will be more actively interested in what you have to offer. An intuitive, user-friendly site experience also makes for quick and simple submission of relevant information.
- Showcase your expertise: Through webinars, workshops and other regularly hosted events, you can attract participants while making a solid case for your command of the related field of their interest. They also indicate how open you are to communication and a dynamic exchange of information.
- Referral programs: Encourage existing customers to participate in referral programs through adequate incentives. Word-of-mouth marketing lends immense credibility to your business and drives quality leads your way.
3 . Why should you opt for lead generation games?
Gamification is found at every juncture of life. We can even say that it is in our very inclination to seek it in order to find a right balance between work and play and make the former interesting. Lead generation games are one such trump card that can be incorporated into any kind of marketing strategy, and are suited for one-off events, such as trade fairs, inaugural events, etc., as well as long-term data collection through websites, apps and more. They help one:- Grab attention: At elaborate fests and crowded exhibits, a branded marketing game can very well function to highlight your booth and drive traffic your way.
- Increase dwell time: Games are perhaps the surestway to engage your audience effectively and maximize the time they spend in your brand’s vicinity, making them much more responsive to promotional messages and sales pitches.
- Positive brand reaffirmation: With the help of these marketing games, you can rework your brand’s relationship with diverse groups right from the get-go. Amicability and keeping up with the trends in a manner that indicate your prioritization of customer experience go a long way in consolidating brand image.
- Network effectively: Through trivia, interactive games and multiple players setups, you can invigorate the crowd for interpersonal communication and aim for authentic word-of-mouth marketing.
- Automize data collection: The laborious task of collecting relevant information, including short surveys, can be automated and streamlined by encouraging participation in such games.
- Lead qualification: Smart designing of marketing games and quizzes can itself assist with synthesizing consumer behaviours and ranking leads to assess which might have better conversion rates.
- Boost social sharing: Exciting gameplays, wins and prize distribution motivate people to take to social media to share their moment of joy and spread the word.
- Combine feedback collection: Brief questionnaires, trivia games, etc. may be designed to gain valuable input from the users that can help with post-show insights.
4 . The best lead generation games in business
- Before deciding upon a game to expedite lead generation, it is essential to figure in several key factors, such as the budget, the scale of the event, the likely demographics that will make up your audience, the time you wish to accord each visitor at your booth, etc. You must also consider developing greater buzz an traction by splitting the games into stages, and taking a round or two online- to social media platforms. From gamifying online engagement with the use of relevant hashtags and motivating creative expression via user-generated content to simple HTML-based games, you can design an exhaustive, absolutely immersive experience for the people and target brand exposure. Here, we have a brief list of some of the most popular and effective games for lead generation that will be a solid addition to your marketing strategy:
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- Spin the Wheel: A simple ‘Feeling Lucky’ game setup, no matter what form it takes, draws even the most casual visitors to test their luck. You can create more elaborate variants with a pair of rolling dice, lucky draws, scratch cards, etc. These games are most preferred for their versatility. From the website to an in-person event, they can facilitate data collection anywhere.
- Trivia Quiz: Quizzes can be designed as a general trivia to keep the crowd interacting actively over a longer period and to bring them together in a more orgnized manner. There may also be event or industry-specific Buzzer-based quiz setups meant for occasions where you are seeking to actively attract a specific kind of audience and thus, looking for more quality leads whose interests align with your business. Testing the knowledge of the invitees is a surer way of ranking leads and proceeding with post-event analyses.
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- VR and AR-based Games: Captivate the crowd with the power of Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality. These innovative technologies alter realities to provide multi-sensory engagement to its users and offer a thrilling experience for the purpose of BTL marketing and other corporate occasions. Wow your audience with the VR Golf Simulator or another sport of their choice, or take them on a Roller Coaster ride!
- Scavenger Hunt: Got a venue big enough to spare? Allow your guests to embark on an adventure with a little planned treasure hunt. It can be entirely DIY-ed, QR-code based or even an AR experience! An elaborate game such as this is a great way to not only heighten awareness about your brand’s products and services, but also serves to help with lead scoring by observing the participants’ motivations to complete the missions.
- Custom Digital Games: Promising uninterrupted fun with incredible ease of use, branded touchscreen games are among the most widely used to collect leads. They offer multi-player setups, attractive gameplays, multiple installations in limited space and reawaken an arcade-like ambiance that livens up the occasion altogether. Memory Games, Puzzles and Sorting Games are also an excellent choice for boosting brand
- Interactive Displays: Multimedia display booths offer an array of possibilities for one-on-one engagement with the attendees, and also enable them to choose their own personalized event experience. You can offer an interactive exploration of your products, design an exhibit that reads like transmedia storytelling, or conduct polls and surveys. Each of these activities can be made to accommodate the collection of relevant information, while also helping provide valuable insights into consumer behaviors and preferences.
- Escape Rooms: Looking for an incredible team-buliding activity that concretizes your brand presence while simultaneously generating tremendous hype among onlookers? Design an escape room challenge that incorporates your brand identity, with messages, slogans and even actual products placed appropriately for the participants to encounter and use to solve the puzzles.
