GameIQ
Building Interactive Experiences for Customers

According to neuroscience, a person’s anticipation of rewards triggers the release of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that reinforces behaviors leading to visible benefits. The more unpredictable the rewards are, the more dopamine gets released. Balazs Wellisch, CEO of GameIQ^®, puts the concept into perspective: "The concept of variable rewards is what keeps people sitting in front slot machines in Las Vegas casinos; the randomness of the outcome heightens the fun and excitement we all seem to crave so much." The sales gamification experts at Carlsbad, CA-based GameIQ^® employ the engaging psychology of variable rewards to attract new customers and drive sales for their clientele. Specifically, the firm offers a robust “rewards and loyalty platform” that features a combination of real-time cash rewards and gamification technology. The platform allows retailers to gamify rewards, deepen customer engagement and drive their business forward.

In a retail space saturated with antiquated coupons, groupons, discounts and electronic punch cards, the GameIQ^® platform is a refreshing alternative for both merchants and their customers. It takes only a few minutes for merchants offering apparel and accessories, general merchandise, food, and drinks, or services, to sign up and get listed in the SaaS-based GameIQ^® system. Their listings appear on GameIQ’s customer-facing cash back rewards app —spindy^®—that allows users to browse through a list of participating merchants in their own neighborhood.

Following a purchase at a listed store, customers can then log onto the spindy^® app and upload a snapshot of their receipt as a "proof of purchase." Equipped with Optical Character Reader (OCR) technology, Spindy extracts information from each receipt and creates a digital signature to validate it and approve or decline the payment of rewards. Next, customers can spin a wheel to determine the amount of their reward.

When people get rewards through us, they are celebrating and high-fiving each other. You don't create that experience with coupons or punch cards

With cash back rewards ranging from 1 to 100 percent of the amount spent, the customer experiences the instant gratification of playing a game and winning cash that gets transferred straight to their bank account.

“All rewards are equally important. Bigger rewards obviously create a greater buzz because people are intrinsically moved to want to share that experience on social media,” quips Wellisch. "Spindy acts like a powerful promotional tool, helping merchants to reach a wider audience.” Meanwhile, smaller rewards keep people coming back for more purchases because they crave spinning the wheel again to see if they can win a bigger reward. “When people win rewards through GameIQ^®, they celebrate and congratulate each other with virtual high-fives. You don't create that kind of experience with coupons or punch cards.” Furthermore, GameIQ’s pay-per-performance model helps businesses reduce their customer cost of acquisition. It’s not until an actual sale is made that a small transaction fee applies, instead of a monthly fee or a term commitment.

GameIQ^® has planned geographical expansion nationwide and is currently engaged in the process of creating structured relationships with large product chains in the restaurant and retail space. GameIQ^® also anticipates online expansion, integration with POS applications, and collaboration with large retailers who want to boost sales, leveraging the power of variable rewards from any source, anytime and anyplace.