2017 Contact Center Gamification Product and Market Report

DMG Consulting's second Contact Center Gamification Product and Market Report examines this emerging IT sector: the vendors, their offerings, the functional capabilities of gamification solutions, product prices, best practices and more. The Report analyzes market trends and challenges, product innovation and the competitive landscape, and provides 5-year growth projections. It presents information about the uses and benefits of these applications in the contact center, as well as newer applications in the back-office and other areas of the enterprise. It provides emerging best practices, so enterprises can derive the greatest return on their gamification investments.

Gamification solutions apply the concepts of games and challenges to motivate, engage and reward employees and customers. The vendors of these solutions often target contact centers because these are people-intensive departments that can benefit greatly from gamification initiatives. When it comes to employees, the value proposition of these solutions is that they are intended to improve productivity, enhance quality, engage employees. This results in more satisfied employees, reduced attrition, better teamwork, and as a result, a better, and cost-effective customer experience. Gamification also satisfies the needs of the Millennial workforce for immediate, timely and continuous recognition and fairness in the application of work rules, practices that are also appreciated by other generations.

There are two primary forms of rewards used in gamification solutions: extrinsic and intrinsic. Extrinsic rewards include cash, gift cards or physical goods, and intrinsic reward options include badges, points and leaderboard position, which give participants recognition and social status in their communities. Recognition is typically delivered in a Facebook or Twitter-like paradigm that enables agents to establish an online presence and identity in the workplace. Points, which are a form of in-app currency, can be redeemed for prizes, the power to unlock new gamification capabilities and different levels of participation, or to “buy” preferential shifts or preferred time off.

The concept of gamification has caught on in contact centers over the past few years, and vendors in other IT segments are adding gamification practices to their solutions. Vendors of performance management, quality assurance, workforce management and customer relationship management solutions are embedding gamification techniques to improve adoption and utilization of their core capabilities and to address the needs of their customers.

The challenge for companies is to choose the right gamification solution for their culture and the function of their organization, and to invest continuously in these solutions to keep the gamification challenges fresh and compelling. When used successfully, gamification solutions can make the workplace fun and engaging, building morale and encouraging team-building and peer-to-peer mentoring.

Enterprises are also seeking customer gamification modules in order to improve loyalty and engagement. Most customers are open to and in many cases, welcome, gamification practices on a company's website, for example, as long as these techniques remain optional and the process is fair. The key is to provide a good mix of rewards and to refresh them continuously so that customers will keep coming back for more. This is a major challenge, as customers are known to be fickle in their buying and brand preferences.

DMG expects that a growing number of applications and processes will be gamified in the future. Uses of gamification will include hiring and on-boarding of new employees, rewarding agents for successfully handling challenging situations, recognition of back-office and branch employees for outstanding performance, and much more. Employees will benefit from a more enjoyable work experience, and customers will appreciate interacting with a more motivated and engaged workforce that is committed to service quality.

The ‘2017 Contact Center Gamification Product and Market Report’ is the only in-depth analysis of this growing market. The Report analyzes 6 vendors who offer gamification solutions to contact centers, although many of the stand-alone solutions can also be applied more broadly to other enterprise departments and customers. The 5 vendors covered in detail are: Clearview, CRMGamified, nGUVU, NICE and TouchPoint One. AgentBalance is covered at a high level.

Key Reasons to Buy This Report

• Definition of gamification and the approaches used by the vendors who deliver these capabilities

• Functional building blocks of contact center gamification solutions

• High-level technical analysis, including system administration, security, and integration capabilities

• Service deployment options for gamification solutions

• Market and business trends and challenges that are driving investments and guiding vendor innovation

• Gamification market innovation, including a review of recently introduced functionality and what is planned for the next 12 - 18 months

• Explanation of the current uses and applications of contact center gamification and the resulting benefits

• Discussion of how gamification promotes improved performance through employee engagement, empowerment and community

• Insights into how the gamification of customer activities is reducing customer effort and improving the customer journey while taking customer engagement and brand loyalty to new levels

• A look at the potential uses and benefits of gamification in the back office and across the enterprise

• Gamification market activity analysis and 5-year market growth projections

• Review and assessment of the gamification competitive landscape

• Overview of the 6 leading and contending gamification vendors, including company snapshots, go-to-market strategies and product offerings

• In-depth, side-by-side comparative analysis of the fundamental gamification capabilities in the 5 featured gamification solutions

• Implementation analysis, including vendor methodology, best practices, training and professional services, maintenance and support, and return on investment

• Comprehensive customer satisfaction survey results that measure and rank ratings across 10 vendor categories and 9 product components, plus customer insights on product strengths and enhancement opportunities

• Vendor pricing models for on-premise, cloud-based and managed service gamification solutions

• Detailed company reports for the 6 leading and contending gamification vendors, analyzing their products, functionality and future product development plans

• Gamification Vendor Directory

Report Highlights

• The value proposition of gamification solutions is clear: Gamification techniques are being used successfully in contact centers to reduce agent attrition and build morale. By recognizing a job well done and providing timely feedback and rewards, these solutions enhance quality and engage employees while improving productivity. These same principles can be used to motivate and incentivize performance excellence in other departments throughout an enterprise.

• Gamification is a perfect match for the Millennial-centric workforce: Millennials place a great emphasis on fairness in the workplace, a work/life balance, and continuous recognition. Gamification solutions satisfy these needs by using automation instead of subjective judgment to identify performance achievements and providing rewards based on pre-defined business rules.

• Customers benefit from gamification just as much as employees do: By motivating behaviors that promote service excellence, gamification results in greater customer satisfaction. Vendors are also beginning to roll out gamification solutions targeted at customer engagement and retention. Everyone enjoys a well-designed game, and customers are responding positively when website and self-service activities are gamified, which ultimately benefits a company's brand and bottom line.

• Gamification is essentially a science, but rewards are an “art”: Whether a gamification initiative is targeted at employees or customers, the right mix of rewards is essential to make the program successful. A good combination of intrinsic and extrinsic awards is necessary in order to motivate employees, and both staff and customers require continuous innovation in games and challenges to keep them engaged.

SAMPLE FIGURE

Table of Contents

1. Executive Summary

2. Introduction

3. DMG Consulting Research Methodology

• 3.1. Report Participation Criteria

4. Service Delivery Models

• 4.1. DMG Service Delivery Definitions
• 4.2. Gamification Vendor Service Delivery Options

5. What is Gamification?

• 5.1. DMG's Definition of Gamification
• 5.2. Vendor Definitions of Gamification
• 5.3. Vendor Gamification Approach
• 5.4. Gamification Application Building Blocks

6. High-Level Technical Summary

• 6.1. Security
• 6.2. Administration
• 6.3. Integration

7. 2017 Gamification Trends and Challenges

• 7.1. Gamification Trends for 2017
• 7.2. Gamification Challenges for 2017

8. Gamification Market Innovation

• 8.1. New Product Features
• 8.2. Emerging Capabilities

9. Game On! Why Contact Center Gamification is Serious Business

• 9.1. Uses of Gamification
• 9.2. Gamification Benefits

10. Level Up! Using Gamification for Agent Engagement, Empowerment and Self-Directed Performance Improvements

11. A League of Their Own: Customers Get in the Game

12. All In! Enterprise Applications for Gamification

13. Gamification Market Projections

14. Gamification Competitive Landscape

15. Gamification Vendors and Solutions

• 15.1. Company Snapshot
• 15.2. Vendor Strategy
• 15.3. Vendor Offerings and Products

16. Gamification Fundamentals

• 16.1. Game Mechanics
• 16.2. Rewards and Recognition
• 16.3. Scorecards, Dashboards, Reporting and Analytics
• 16.4. Mobility Features

17. Implementation Analysis

• 17.1. Implementation Process
• 17.2. Implementation Best Practices
• 17.3. Training and Professional Services
• 17.4. Maintenance and Support

18. Return on Investment

19. Gamification Vendor Satisfaction Survey

• 19.1. Survey Methodology
• 19.2. Summary of Survey Findings and Analysis
• 19.3. Detailed Survey Findings and Analysis
• 19.4. Customer Insights

20. Pricing

• 20.1. Premise-Based Pricing
• 20.2. Cloud-Based Pricing
• 20.3. Managed Service Pricing

21. Company Reports

• 21.1. AgentBalance
• 21.2. Clearview
• 21.3. CRMGamified
• 21.4. nGUVU
• 21.5. NICE
• 21.6. TouchPoint One, LLC

Appendix A: Gamification Vendor Directory

TABLE OF FIGURES

• Figure 1: Service Delivery Models, Advantages and Disadvantages
• Figure 2: DMG's Service Delivery Model Definitions
• Figure 3: Gamification Vendor Service Delivery Options
• Figure 4: Vendor Definitions of Gamification
• Figure 5: Vendor Gamification Approach
• Figure 6: Gamification Functional Building Blocks
• Figure 7: High-Level Technical Summary
• Figure 8: Security
• Figure 9: Administration
• Figure 10: Integration Capabilities
• Figure 11: 2017 Gamification Trends
• Figure 12: 2017 Gamification Challenges
• Figure 13: New Product Features
• Figure14: New Product Features, by Category
• Figure 15: Future Enhancements
• Figure 16: 2017 Enterprise Servicing Goals
• Figure 17: Top 10 Ways Gamification is Being Used to Motivate/Reward Employees and Customers
• Figure 18: Top 5 Quantifiable Benefits for a Gamification Solution
• Figure 19: Benefits of Engaged Agents
• Figure 20: Gamification Features to Promote Agent Engagement
• Figure 21: Employee Engagement
• Figure 22: Customer Engagement
• Figure 23: Back-Office and Enterprise Gamification Applications
• Figure 24: Gamification Market Growth Seat Projections 2017 - 2021
• Figure 25: Company Information as of February 2017
• Figure 26: Gamification Strategy
• Figure 27: Product Information
• Figure 28: Game Mechanics
• Figure 29: Rewards and Recognition
• Figure 30: Scorecards, Dashboards, Reporting and Analytics
• Figure 31: Mobility Features
• Figure 32: Implementation Process
• Figure 33: Best Practices for Getting Started with Gamification
• Figure 34: Implementation Best Practices
• Figure 35: Training, Workshops and Professional Services
• Figure 36: Maintenance and Support
• Figure 37: Gamification Benefits and ROI
• Figure 38: Customer Survey Rating Categories
• Figure 39: Average Vendor Satisfaction Ratings, by Category
• Figure 40: Current Product Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 41: Implementation Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 42: Professional Services Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 43: Training Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 44: Ongoing Service and Support Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 45: Vendor Communication Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 46: Product Innovation Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 47: Responsiveness to Product Enhancement Requests Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 48: Pricing Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 49: Overall Vendor Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 50: Product Satisfaction Ratings, by Category Figure 51: Ease of System Configuration, Set-Up and Maintenance Satisfaction Ratings by Customer
• Figure 52: Ease of Integration with Third-Party Systems and Applications Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 53: Flexibility in Creating and Customizing Gamification Programs, Reward Levels and Recognition Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 54: Ability to Tie Gamification Programs to KPIs for Productivity, Quality, Schedule Adherence, Sales/Retention, etc. Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 55: Ability to Support Many Levels of Competition (self, one-on-one, peer groups, teams, sites, etc.) Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 56: Ability to Provide Employees with Real-Time Performance Data and Gamification Results Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 57: Ability to Automate Rewards Administration, Payouts and Fulfillment Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 58: Ability to Create an Internal Social Community to Foster Collaboration, Encourage Peer Support and Recognize Achievements Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 59: Ability for Agents and Managers to Easily Use and Engage with the System Satisfaction Ratings, by Customer
• Figure 60: What activities is your gamification vendor supporting?
• Figure 61: What are the top 3 - 5 benefits you have gained from using a gamification solution?
• Figure 62: Please tell us the top 3 - 5 strengths of your gamification solution.
• Figure 63: What product enhancements would you like to see?
• Figure 64: Please feel free to provide any additional comments about your experience with the vendor and/or product.
• Figure 65: Pricing for a 250-Seat Premise-Based Gamification Solution
• Figure 66: Pricing for a 250-Seat Cloud-Based Contact Center Gamification Solution
• Figure 67: Pricing for a 250-Seat Managed Service Contact Center Gamification Solution