Chou Musings - Yu-kai Chou

Yu-kai Chou made Top 40 on the List of Gamification Gurus

Update: in August of 2013 through 2014, I improved my position to #1 in the Gamification Guru list. It was a good game to play for me and my bio.

Gamifying the competition between Gamification Gurus

It’s been 2 months since I heavily focused my blog on Gamification (although I started working in Gamification since 2003…it just wasn’t called that back then).

I’ve published my Gamification Framework called Octalysis, which was a massively successful and was received very well with companies and professors wanting me to demonstrate more on how to use this framework to make good business (and personal) decisions.

I’ve also finished 3 Episodes (out of 90) of the Video Series: The Beginner’s Guide to Gamification, which is a video education program that combines learning with fun (an actually gamified video course).

This is more of a slow but persistent play, where it probably won’t take off like crazy at the very beginning, but once I finish all 90 episodes, there will be nothing like that on the internet. (Episode 4 coming out in a few days) Also, I’ve already been approached by many parties regarding how they could use Gamification for their organization, after viewing my goofy but hopefully educational videos.

But even with that, it came as a complete surprise to me when I saw myself making the Top 40 List of Gamification Gurus.

Continue reading Yu-kai Chou made Top 40 on the List of Gamification Gurus

Infographic: Loyalty Program Comparison

When it comes to picking the right loyalty program, there are many options available. From solutions that focus on smartphones, iPad apps that utilizes Gamification, to the traditional physical cards, loyalty programs are abundant. Still, while there are many choices, the hard part can be figuring out which solution will fit your business best.

What sort of hardware does the loyalty program require?
Does the loyalty program support text/email marketing?
Am I able to capture SKU Data and/or capture dollar value?

These are the sorts of questions that business owners need to ask when picking a solution that best fits their needs. While the most obvious question is the ability to measure and track ROI with a loyalty program, there are many factors that need to be considered. Continue reading Infographic: Loyalty Program Comparison

If Yelp is bad for business, why should local businesses use it?

There are a myriad of articles online about why Yelp sucks:

Even our own reader Patrick expressed why he feels Yelp is bad for business on our post about how to get more Yelp reviews:

Jun,
[You] did a big disservice to small business by asking them to suport YELP. Yelp is bad for [the] business community and any effort to support them will [continue to affect businesses negatively]. They are first of all not business friendly and most of the Yelpers are bargain hunters. 90% of the reviews are complaints and it has become a complaint forum.
Why do you want business to pay / support a complaint forum. If people really care about business they can talk with the owners and resolve issues. You dont want people to give you a 1 star because they dont like the paint color or they didnt like the owners hair style.
I strongly suggest you should do research and write about how Yelp can hurt local community. Yelp makes a business by pitting customers against business. This is not a healthy model for the economy and local community.
The only way for Yelp to fail is to ignore them and stop their cash flow from businesses. If businesses understand this they will stop support to Yelp.

With so much compelling evidence, should business owners completely shun away Yelp?

Continue reading If Yelp is bad for business, why should local businesses use it?

How Will Your Franchise Restaurants Compete Against Competition?

Last year, the Wall Street Journal reported that McDonald’s was no longer the world’s largest restaurant chain. No longer will McDonald’s and their Big Macs be known as the largest chain. Rather, Subway will bring it’s iconic green and yellow logo and $5 foot-longs to the top of the list and take claim.

While the general public may find it surprising to hear that McDonald’s was overtaken, should one take a closer look at Subway and the strategy they undertook to get where they are today can serve as a great model for franchise restaurants as far as defensibility against other restaurants and expansion strategies.

Knowing is half the battle

In the mid-80’s, the popular phrase “Knowing is half the battle” was coined by G.I. Joe. While G.I. Joe no longer does PSA’s on television, restaurants that stay ‘in the loop’ are the ones that are most likely to succeed.

If you look at some of the top restaurant chains in the United States for example, you will note that one common denominator amongst them all is that they are constantly getting feedback from their customers on ways to improve the service they provide as well as suggestions on future products. Corner Bakery for example is known for their careful attention to detail when it comes to their customer service and making sure that they are providing the highest quality product possible to its 25 million + customers annually. Continue reading How Will Your Franchise Restaurants Compete Against Competition?

How to use Twitter Clients for more effective and consistent Tweeting

There are a TON of Twitter clients. It gets to a point that I get decision paralysis because there are too many options to choose from. If I feel this way, then I’m sure you feel this way too.

Twitter clients range from HootSuite to TweetDeck, providing you with powerful analytic tools, scheduling features, and multiple account management.

The tools and analytics that these robust Twitter clients provide are great only if you’re a big agency or corporation managing 5 Twitter accounts or more. The truth is that the majority of Twitter clients provide you with more features and information than you’ll ever need.

The simplest and most effective Twitter client is Buffer – I use Buffer on a daily basis to easily schedule my Tweets, track my reach, and stay productive throughout the day.

Who should read this post: local business owners looking for an effective strategy to stay consistent with Tweets

What you will learn: how I use Buffer in my Twitter strategy to stay consistent and relevant

Continue reading How to use Twitter Clients for more effective and consistent Tweeting

Update: in August of 2013 through 2014, I improved my position to #1 in the Gamification Guru list. It was a good game to play for me and my bio.

Gamifying the competition between Gamification Gurus

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Knowing is half the battle