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BUSINESS AGENDA | WINTER 2015
COVER STORY Mr Klepper offers some insight on how Karmafy integrates the gamification process in its business model: “our process of combining technology and social responsibility is a means for businesses to have not only a healthy return on investment but also a socially responsible return on investment.” He continues, “gamification is at the core of what Karmafy does and as such we’ve designed our technology and gamification engine in a way that allows us to integrate easily with existing products or even internal company systems for HR, sales and customer support. For example, we can directly support and reward positive actions and achievements to empower users and employees alike. These users can then allocate their Karmafy Points to support the organisation of their choice, thus giving them control over how we distribute part of our revenues.”
John Klepper
“In today’s competitive digital landscape it’s no longer enough to simply have a good business... to have a well thought out and effective reward system built in to keep people’s attention and incentivise them to return is vital.” – John Klepper So how exactly can the Karmafy Point system be used and who can use it? Mr Klepper easily elucidates the question, “as a child, you may have skipped along the pavement on your way to school, merrily avoiding each crack, in order to turn an otherwise humdrum walk into something fun, which when you think about it, is simply how we find ways to bring gamification into our everyday lives. Karmafy Points are an easily understandable means to empower customers with what we call ‘freemium philanthropy’, which is the basis of our business model and has been developed through the team’s many years of collective experience in game design and gamification.” Mr Klepper decodes the term freemium philanthropy, explain-
ing that it means that anyone who interacts with this platform is able to have a positive impact on the world around them regardless of whether that person spends money or not. He continues, “as human beings we are naturally competitive, therefore these points are key to the process as they encourage a healthy competition amongst users to compare their scores within the context of doing good. The user's score is a reflection of how much
positive action they have helped make possible.” Karmafy’s undeniably innovative business model successfully integrates business, gamification and philanthropy into one effective platform that can be used by virtually anyone, anywhere. Mr Klepper underscores that gamification has allowed Karmafy to create two sets of customers; on one side, the businesses and their products that become Karmafy-enabled, and on the other
side, over 40 high impact philanthropic organisations for users to support. Mr Klepper concludes, “in today’s competitive digital landscape it’s no longer enough to simply have a good business. A modern business needs to be fun and engaging for its users, customers and workforce. To have a well thought out and effective reward system built in to keep people's attention and incentivise them to return is vital and ultimately a real potential boost to a company’s bottom-line.”