If you (just as I am) are one out of three mobile phone users, you probably read this on your smartphone!? A recently conducted study by Nielson revealed that over 43% of all US mobile phone owners have a smartphone as of October 2011 and that even 62% of the so-called „Generation App“ (people aging 25-34 years) own Smartphones.

Nowadays we are not only looking for local information, companies, news, services and deals on our PCs while we are at home, but rather on our smartphones or our tablets while we are on the go. Greg Sterling, senior analyst with San Francisco-based consultancy Opus Research says SoLoMo „[…] is about getting nearby information on demand, wherever you may be.”

Although I would consider myself rather as being part oft he Late Majority (regarding to The Everett Rogers Diffusion of innovations theory), one of my friends is an “E-Fan” or let’s say Early Adopter, in order to stick to technical terms ;). She has just recently brought my attention to a great app Starbucks offers. Starbucks uses geo-location tactics, in order to facilitate life for shoppers craving a cup of nice coffee by showing the closest store to the consumer’s current location as a result of using the app. Here I have a video for you to show how easy such applications are to use.

Moreover companies like DDR Corp., which owns hundreds of U.S. shopping centers, take it to the next level and incorporate a so-called geofencing technology. DDR Corp. does not only offer information as the customer „pulls“ but also „pushes“ information (by texting deals from retail tenants within those malls) on their smartphones as soon as the customer enters a mall’s border. For those of you who are concerned about protection of data privacy, geofencing – similar to Canada’s anti-spam legislation (CASL) – takes a Consumer opt-in approach. So, only those shoppers who enter a mall’s border and who additionally have opted-in to the service receive text messages about sales, special offers and promotions happening in real time.

SoMoLo makes it possible for companies to offer consumers a highly-personalized shopping experience — and I think not only the technology is ready now, but so are we!

Facebook, Ebay, XBox Live, Starbucks, Nike, FourSquare, Linkedin, Hallmark and many more big companies have done it successfully – Gamifying their websites in order to increase the time spent on their website and return visits and as a result foster customer engagement and loyalty which often turns into higher sales.

In 2010 67% of U.S. households played video games and the average gamer spent 8 hours a week playing video games. The number of online shoppers is constantly increasing, amounting to 87,5% in 2011 in the U.S. Looking at those numbers, I think it was only a matter of time that marketers find a way of combining those activities and provide an unique online experience to internet users and specifically their company’s customers.

Gabe Zichermann, the author of the new book Gamification by Design defines Gamification as „the process of using game thinking and game mechanics to engage audiences and solve problems“. It is important to add the 3 Fs (Feedback, Friends, Fun) to a customer online experience in order to keep customers engaged, motivated and coming back to a company’s website.

In this context Feedback is the process of providing users information on how they are doing. I personally think it is a great and motivating way to be shown collected points, a progress bar or popup notifications that make you want to „work“ even harder! Another way of engaging community members is to offer real-world rewards and perks. But it is not only motivating to receive (positive) feedback but also to share achievements with your friends via social networks. It is also fun to invite friends for a specific activity as part of the gameplay and share the experience, joy and exitement of playing or „running online“ as it is the case with NikeiD! Another way of connecting with people (or sporty fellows ;)) online is via User Generated Content like uploading pictures, video or posting comments on the webpage. All this is part of viral marketing and represents a powerfull tool to increase brandawareness.

Regarding Gamification from a marketers point of view, the challenge is to find a balance between providing unexpected delight to customers and long-term, results-oriented fun because – I think that is something we all can agree on – games and fun in general is a powerful force for behavior change.

In case you haven’t already been confrontated, overwhelmed or have even become addicted by some „gamified websites“, take a look at 5 brands with winning gamification strategies – I’m sure you will enjoy it!