UX Gamification for SaaS: How to Boost User Engagement
UX gamification can make the difference between user adoption and churn. How?
Imagine two users signing up for your SaaS product:
- User A encounters a plain, text-heavy onboarding process with no interactive elements or a clear sense of progress. They feel overwhelmed by the amount of information and struggle to stay motivated to complete the steps.
- User B embarks on the same onboarding journey. But this time, it’s infused with UX gamification. A colorful progress bar tracks their completion, badges pop up to celebrate milestones, and encouraging messages cheer them on.
Which user is more likely to complete the onboarding process, explore your product’s features, and become a loyal customer? User B: who feels a sense of accomplishment with each step and is eager to unlock the next reward.
In this article, we’ll explore the ins and outs of UX gamification, uncover its benefits, and provide a practical guide to implementing it effectively in your SaaS product.
What is gamification?
Gamification is the addition of game elements and principles into non-game environments to influence behavior and increase engagement.
It’s easy to confuse this term with game design, but they’re distinct concepts. Game design focuses on creating full-fledged games, while gamification borrows game mechanics like points, progress bars, badges, leaderboards, and storytelling to enhance non-game experiences.
What is UX gamification?
UX gamification takes the thrill of gaming and applies it to digital products and mobile apps. It’s a human-focused approach to UX design that taps into our natural desires for achievement, competition, and reward.
Think of a productivity app like Asana. It’s not a game, but it uses gamification to keep users engaged. For example, Asana celebrates your onboarding progress with interactive animations and lets you visually track your progress with colorful progress bars. These elements make the platform more enjoyable and motivate users to stay active.
Gamified elements are a powerful tool for SaaS growth. They can help increase user engagement and loyalty by up to 47%, leading to higher retention rates and customer satisfaction.
Why? Because when users are actively participating and having fun, they’re more likely to stick around, explore features, and ultimately become brand advocates.
Why is gamification in UX design important?
Not sure if UX design gamification is something to explore for your SaaS? Here are three reasons to change your mind:
1. Enhanced motivation
Gamification taps into the user’s intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, making tasks more enjoyable and encouraging specific actions within the product.
For example, imagine a gamified personal finance app. Instead of just showing dry charts and graphs, it awards points for budgeting wisely, badges for saving consistently, and even lets users “level up” their financial health. Suddenly, managing money transforms from a daunting responsibility into an engaging game of financial progress.
This isn’t just about making things fun. A study by Alsadoon (2023) found that incorporating game mechanics like points, badges, and challenges can trigger the release of dopamine—a neurotransmitter associated with pleasure and motivation. This encourages users to actively participate and strive for achievements within the product.
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2. Increased user engagement
Gamification transforms passive users into active participants. Elements like progress bars, interactive guides, and personalized feedback create a sense of ownership and encourage users to explore features and complete tasks. This leads to increased time spent on the platform, higher user retention rates, and improved overall satisfaction.
For example, Nike+ Run Club uses gamification to motivate runners with virtual challenges, personalized goals, and social sharing features. This has resulted in a highly engaged user base with millions of active users.
3. Improved user experience
Gamification can transform potentially tedious tasks into enjoyable and engaging experiences. This reduces friction, minimizes frustration, and generally contributes to increased retention.
For example, imagine a 20-minute onboarding flow that feels overwhelming to new users. By adding a visual progress bar that fills up with each completed step and culminates in a celebratory modal, you provide a sense of accomplishment and motivate users to reach the finish line.
4. Boost conversions
Gamification can be a powerful tool for driving conversions, whether it’s encouraging users to sign up for a free trial, complete a purchase, or upgrade to a premium plan.
The reason is simple: strategically adding gamified elements enables you to nudge users toward desired actions and make the conversion process more rewarding. Studies have shown that gamification can boost conversions by as much as 50% or more, depending on the product and target audience.
6 types of game elements in UX (+ gamification examples)
UX designers employ several game elements to drive user engagement. This section will show you six of the major types.
1. Badges and stickers
Badges and stickers provide visual representations of achievements or milestones.
Earning these visual rewards gives users a sense of pride that motivates them to complete all the milestones and accumulate as many badges or stickers as possible.
Example: Duolingo, the language learning app, awards badges for completing the onboarding process, achieving streaks, and mastering specific skills. This game element is displayed on the user’s profile and acts as a visual reminder of their progress and accomplishments.
2. Points and rewards
Points systems provide a quantifiable measure of user engagement and progress. Users earn points for completing specific actions, and these points can often be redeemed for tangible rewards or virtual goods.
Example: Greenlight is a debit card and financial literacy app that rewards users with points for saving money. Seeing their points accumulate provides a clear sense of progress and encourages users to continue saving. The ability to redeem points for real-world rewards further incentivizes engagement and reinforces positive financial habits.
3. Levels, progress tracking, and journeys
Levels give a clear sense of direction and motivate users to reach the next stage. Progress bars and user journey milestones make achievements tangible and encourage users to keep going.
Example: Userpilot combines a gamified checklist and progress bar to guide new users through the onboarding process. Seeing a clear list of steps sets manageable expectations and helps users visualize the end even before they begin.
4. Leaderboards
Leaderboards are a competitive element that allows users to compare their progress with others. They can be based on individual achievements, overall performance, or specific challenges.
Example: Fitbit uses leaderboards to show users how their activity levels compare to friends and other users. This approach taps into the user’s extrinsic motivation to be recognized and encourages them to reach higher levels.
As users strive to improve their ranking and achieve new milestones, they become more invested in the platform, leading to increased retention and long-term engagement.
5. Time constraints
Time constraints introduce a sense of urgency and excitement by limiting the time to complete a task or achieve a goal.
Example: The Forest app uses a timer to help users stay focused and improve productivity. Users plant a virtual tree that grows over time as long as they stay focused on their task. If they leave the app, the tree withers and dies.
This gamification type can help establish consistent engagement. It worked for Forest—although its MAU isn’t public, the app has over 10M downloads on PlayStore alone, 4.5/5 reviews from nearly 700,000 users, and an active social media community.
6. Negative scoring
Negative scoring creates a risk-reward situation where users can lose points or progress for poor performance. It’s a great tactic that adds a layer of challenge and strategy to the user experience.
This game element taps into a psychological principle called loss aversion, where the pain of losing something is more powerful than the pleasure of gaining something of equal value.
Example: Grammarly deducts points for writing errors. This triggers loss aversion, as users are motivated to avoid losing points and strive for a higher score on their next attempt.
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How to implement gamification for your SaaS product
Follow these practical steps to build a solid gamification strategy for your SaaS:
1. Define your goals
Before diving into gamification, it’s crucial to identify what you aim to achieve.
Are you looking to increase user engagement, boost feature adoption, improve onboarding completion rates, or drive conversions?
Clearly defined goals will guide your strategy and help you measure its success.
2. Understand your users
Gamification is most effective when tailored to the specific user needs and motivations. For example, leaderboards may not work well for digital banking systems because users might be sensitive about their financial information being publicly displayed or compared to others.
Take the time to understand your users’ preferences, behaviors, and pain points. What kind of challenges do they enjoy? What external rewards or incentives would resonate with them? (e.g., badges, points, exclusive content, discounts, etc.).
Consider conducting user research, surveys, or analyzing user data to gain insights into your audience. This will help you identify the most effective game mechanics and tailor your strategy to resonate with users.
Userpilot can help you gather customer data and segment them based on specific characteristics. For example, you can use funnel analysis to understand how users interact with your tool and then decide on the right engagement strategy for different journey stages.
3. Choose the right gamification elements
With a clear understanding of your goals and users, you can now select the most effective game mechanics. Think of the elements that will resonate best with your target audience and motivate them to achieve your desired outcomes.
If your goal is to increase user engagement, you might focus on game mechanics that encourage daily logins, content creation, or social interaction.
If you aim to improve onboarding completion rates, you might gamify the onboarding process with progress bars, checklists, and celebratory modals for completing each step.
For example, here’s a modal designed with Userpilot to encourage users through the onboarding process:
4. Design an intuitive experience
Gamification should enhance the user experience, not complicate it. Focus on creating a clear and intuitive experience where users can easily understand how to participate and earn rewards. When needed, provide clear instructions, visual cues, and feedback systems to guide users through the gamified experience.
If you’re using a checklist, keep it concise with 3 to 5 key actions to avoid overwhelming users. This helps users focus on the most important tasks and provides a sense of accomplishment as they check items off the list.
Remember to thoroughly test your gamified elements before rolling them out. A frustrating experience, like a progress bar that doesn’t move accordingly, can quickly discourage users.
Userpilot makes this easy. Our code-free and intuitive interface allows you to easily build and test your gamification elements in real time.
Don’t have any experience with UX gamification? No problem! You can use our fully customizable templates to build in minutes.
5. Track and analyze results
Monitor key metrics such as user engagement, retention rates, feature adoption, and conversion rates. More importantly, aim to identify which game mechanics are working well and which ones need improvement.
For example, if you’ve implemented a points system, track how many users are actively earning points and how this correlates with their engagement. If you’ve introduced badges, monitor how many users are earning them and how this impacts their motivation and retention.
This data-driven approach will help you refine your gamification strategy and ensure that it’s achieving your desired outcomes.
6. Reiterate and improve!
Gamification is an ongoing process. Don’t be afraid to experiment with different game mechanics, adjust your strategy, and continuously iterate to improve the user experience. A/B testing can be a valuable tool in this process.
Let’s say your analysis from step 5 reveals that many users aren’t engaging with the points system. Instead of abandoning it altogether, create two variations: A – the existing points system, and B – a modified system with adjusted point values or different ways to earn points. Randomly assign users to either version A or B, then analyze their engagement and compare the results.
Don’t limit yourself to A/B testing alone. Consider gathering qualitative feedback through user surveys or interviews to understand why users aren’t engaging with the points system.
Are the point values not motivating enough? Are the tasks required to earn points too difficult or time-consuming? This qualitative data can provide valuable insights to further refine your gamification strategy and create a more rewarding experience for your users.
Common challenges + solutions in implementing a gamification strategy
UX gamification comes with a few challenges that can hinder you from getting the desired results. Below are the major challenges and how to avoid them:
Accessibility and inclusivity
Gamification should be designed to be accessible and inclusive for all users, regardless of their abilities or disabilities.
This means considering factors such as visual impairments, auditory limitations, cognitive differences, and motor skill challenges. Failing to address accessibility can exclude a significant portion of your audience, create a poor user experience, and even come across as discriminatory.
Solution: Follow accessibility guidelines such as WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) when designing the user’s interaction flow.
Provide alternative formats for content, such as captions for videos and transcripts for audio.
Gamification fatigue
Users may become bored or disengaged if the game mechanics feel forced or irrelevant to their needs. This can result in decreased motivation and even lead to churn.
Solution: Use gamification strategically. Focus on your core user flows and provide options to customize the experience or opt out of certain elements.
Lack of novelty and variety
The absence of new discoveries can quickly cause users to lose interest in gamified elements. No one wants to see the same or similar rewards over and over without anything to look forward to.
Solution: Offer a variety of gamification elements and try to personalize the user experience. You could also periodically introduce new challenges or reward users with gifts they are not expecting.
For example, surprise power users who actively engage with specific features with a discount on their next subscription renewal. This unexpected gesture will show appreciation for their loyalty and encourage continued engagement with the gamified system.
Conclusion
You can be as creative as you want with your gamification strategy. Just ensure the game elements align with user needs and your product’s core function.
Always remember that your primary goal is to provide a valuable product that solves user problems. Gamification should complement, not overshadow, that core functionality. Continuously monitor your strategy, conduct A/B testing, and gather user feedback to ensure it’s driving positive results.
Ready to take your UX gamification to the next level? Book a demo to see how Userpilot can help you better understand users, deploy in-app gamification elements, and track your KPIs.
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