Gamification: The key to transforming lifeless account documents

The evolution of the internet and the rise of mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets have placed information in the palms of our hands in unprecedented ways. These technological advances have brought with them an important shift in expectations. The shift is this: People today expect to be able to immediately interact with information presented to them.

Evolving to meet changing member expectations

This shift has far-reaching implications for customer engagement, particularly in a document-centric industry like banking. Gone are the days when members are satisfied to receive a static PDF account statement. While reading a statement and related documents (loan documents, tax notices, etc.) isn’t typically considered an enjoyable activity, it can become one for the member by adding the dynamic ability to click on colorful charts or graphs of their choosing, or watching videos right on their interactive statements.

This kind of interactivity has received the name “gamification” for its game-like attributes, and a 2011 study by JWT Intelligence found that 63 percent of respondents said making everyday activities more like a game would make them more fun and rewarding.

Gamification is the key

So here is the new opportunity: Introducing elements of gamification in to your documents may be the single most effective way to improve your members relationship with and loyalty to your organization.

Offering communications that are dynamic is an innovative way to take something that may otherwise be viewed as a chore (reviewing account terms, transactions, amounts due, etc.) and transform it into an engaging experience that has added value and improves the member experience.

Dynamic communications have the potential to enhance the member experience in many important ways, including:

• A higher level of personalization – Today, the member decides what information they want to see and how they want to see it. Now your member can have the ability to customize their statement so that the information most important to them, such as payment due dates or accumulated balances, is prominently displayed.

• Deep interactive capabilities – Members can view their documents with attractive graphs and charts that can be clicked on to provide detail that is more specific, even drilling down to a granular level and varying the views with a few clicks. This interactivity improves customer education and understanding and reduces the need for member service calls for questions or clarifications.

• Multichannel delivery options – Maximizing HTML technology, dynamic communications can be viewed on any PC, tablet, smartphone and/or other mobile device.

• Accessibility online or offline – Meeting expectations in today’s “on the go” world, members can interact with their dynamic banking communications anytime, anywhere it is most convenient for them.

The benefits are not just for your member

In addition to these important member benefits, dynamic communications can give your organization a number of new capabilities as well, including gaining insight into member preferences by tracking clicks as well as the ability to present highly relevant and personalized offers and messages—including videos—to target new products and services.

Putting it all together

Forward-thinking organizations realize the time has come to make lifeless PDFs a thing of the past and get on board with modern communications. The marketplace is proving that banks getting the most customer stickiness are the ones that are incorporating some level of interaction into their member experiences. Engaging members through dynamic communications will deepen relationships with them, enhance their experience with every interaction, increase loyalty and, best of all, differentiate your organization from the competition.