Lately, I’ve been intrigued by the fact that simple incentives are such powerful motivators for consumers. Relatively meaningless things like points, “badges” and other intangible objects can push us to be more loyal users and even try new products (this is the part where I insert links and support but for some reason have none - either way, just go with it). It has been baffling me lately considering the success of Foursquare and Gowalla. Even the Huffington Post has introduced a badge system recently.
Truth be told, marketers have been using point-based systems to reward consumers for decades. It’s always been a success in the past, and is really the only reason I fly Delta these days. For some reason its just been more prevalent to me now that it’s entering the digital space. It even draws me to consider if this will be a bigger part of our future (check out this quirky pov at the 21 min. mark).
Thinking about this the other day, I’ve come up with a theory why this works. The reason points, badges and reward-based incentives work is because it follows the same system of human nature. Psychologists will tell you that humans learn through reward and punishment. It’s why we have pain and pleasure. Since babies, we learn through positive and negative reinforcement. Positive reinforcement being a mother’s smile and clap on our first steps. She is giving a reward. This is carried throughout our educational system as well with grades, accreditations and special club/organizations that separate and reward those who are the best at something in particular. The workplace, sports and relationships operate this way too. It’s what we know as humans - part of our culture, our way of life.
These incentivizing systems tap into this innate behavior. Not because we really want a meaningless badge, but because the reward behind it is powerful to us. It’s a way of knowing you did well, and showing others what you’ve achieved.
