Gamification Boosts User Engagement & Frees Up Engineering

Executive Summary

Boost user engagement with gamification. Increase onboarding, adoption, and retention with simple, scalable solutions for small and medium-sized businesses.

A growing software provider serving small and medium-sized businesses struggled with low user engagement. Specifically, many users signed up but rarely completed onboarding or explored advanced features. As a result, the company experienced wasted sales efforts and stunted growth. However, after implementing a gamification system on their website and mobile app, they saw significant improvements. Onboarding tripled, active usage increased, and the product team was finally able to focus on improving the core offering.

Client Challenges: Low Engagement and Onboarding Issues

The company faced difficulties in encouraging users to complete onboarding and return to the product regularly. In fact, many users abandoned the platform after registering, never experiencing its full value. While marketing sent reminder emails and rewards, these efforts required constant engineering support and didn’t produce the desired results. Consequently, the company needed a more effective solution to boost engagement without a large budget.

Why Us: Simple Gamification Solution for Quick Results

The decision-makers sought a solution that could be deployed quickly and required little technical expertise. They wanted a tool that would allow product and marketing teams to manage challenges and rewards independently. After reviewing our track record with similar businesses, they were confident in our ability to deliver the right solution, and they trusted our clear, hands-on support.

Project Details

The project ran from September to December 2024, with a focus on cost efficiency and scalable growth. The technology stack included Flutter for the mobile app, FastAPI for backend services, and PostgreSQL for the database.

Solution: Seamless Gamification Integration into Existing Platforms

We worked closely with the client to implement a lightweight gamification layer that integrated seamlessly with both their web and mobile platforms. This solution involved installing a small code package and mapping key user actions, such as completing setup, trying new features, and referring friends. Moreover, our easy-to-use dashboard allowed non-technical staff to launch challenges, adjust points, and track campaign success in real-time. The solution was up and running within a week, with no need for significant investments or complex training.

Key Features: Live Leaderboards, Badges, and Custom Challenges

The gamification system included live leaderboards, badges for reaching milestones, and the ability to create custom challenges. Additionally, product managers and marketers could view user actions and engagement rates in the dashboard, allowing them to adjust campaigns instantly. Importantly, the visual design was aligned with the company’s brand, ensuring a consistent and seamless user experience across both desktop and mobile platforms.

Results: Dramatic Increase in Engagement and Retention Rates

In just two months, onboarding completion rates increased dramatically, rising from under 20% to more than 60%. As a result, the number of weekly returning users grew, and more customers discovered premium features. Additionally, the engineering team reported spending less time on manual campaigns, freeing up resources for new product improvements. Users provided positive feedback, highlighting how fun and motivating it was to earn rewards and track their progress.

Implementation Challenges: Overcoming Technical Hurdles and User Feedback

One of the main challenges was determining which user actions would have the most significant impact on retention. Therefore, we ran experiments and gathered user feedback to refine the events that triggered points and rewards. While some technical issues arose when connecting older system components, these were resolved with minor updates. Furthermore, marketing and design teams collaborated to ensure that rewards felt both achievable and meaningful to users.

Lessons Learned: Key Takeaways from the Gamification Experience

Clear objectives, along with a willingness to experiment, were critical to the project’s success. Moreover, empowering non-technical teams to create and adjust engagement campaigns made a significant difference. By focusing on a small number of high-value actions, rather than attempting to gamify every interaction, the system remained simple and rewarding for users.

Next Steps: Future Plans for Expanding Gamification Features

Encouraged by the success, the company plans to introduce seasonal challenges and social sharing features to maintain user momentum. They will also explore more detailed analytics to understand which rewards create the most value. Additionally, personalising challenges based on user behaviour is an area they are keen to develop further.

Final Thoughts: The Power of Gamification for Small Software Businesses

Ultimately, this project demonstrated that even a small software business can achieve significant improvements in user engagement without a large team or budget. By focusing on what matters most to customers and enabling staff to run and measure campaigns easily, the company was able to boost retention and speed up product innovation. Both staff and users have shared positive feedback, and the company is now well-positioned to continue building on this momentum.

Ready to enhance user engagement with gamification? Contact us today to explore how we can help you boost retention and growth with a seamless, cost-effective solution tailored to your business. Let’s make your platform more engaging!