Rajat Paharia’s (2013) chapter two of How to Revolutionize Customer and Employee Engagement with BIG DATA and GAMIFICATION Loyalty 3.0 breaks down the five intrinsic motivators humans have when it comes to approaching life. Paharia starts by describing his understanding of motivation within the context of business as, internal and external factors that bring desirability and energy, and the context of the energy inclines persistent effort to attain a goal (Paharia, 2013, p.24). With this in mind, he defines five key intrinsic motivators that with true understanding can achieve Loyalty 3.0. “Autonomy, Mastery, Purpose, Progress, and Social Interaction” (Paharia, 2013, p.24-25) are innate reasonings that each and every human being has, consistent through many societies and cultures. Paharia states that these are all intrinsic motivators because he believes that intrinsic motivation leaves a stronger bond between the consumer and the task. Paharia goes on to acknowledge that external motivators can ensure proficiency in getting tasks done, however, this usually leaves a negative outlook of the task when at its completion. This is not what Loyalty 3.0 looks like. It is important to understand the importance of external motivators, as consumers will utilize both intrinsic and external reasonings, the strongest loyalties come from internal motivators.
Now that we have an understanding of the background of Paharia’s “five key intrinsic motivators” (Paharia, 2013, p.38) let's define what each of them are. “Autonomy- I control” (Paharia, 2013, p.28) this motivation comes from a reframing of one's duties. A boss could give you an itemized list that should be completed at specific times throughout the day, or they could tell you can do whatever you want during your hours just as long as you finish up these few tasks. Many modern-day businesses have adapted to this style of dolling responsibilities where you remove negative associations and build a narrower point of view. A kin to the Montessori philosophy. “Mastery- I improve” (Paharia, 2013, p.31) stems from a desire to be better. Paharia states that mastery is never achieved, but the individuals who truly seek it belong to a growth mindset (Paharia, 2013, p. 31) This motivator is the need to achieve or prove the impossible despite failure and flashback. “Purpose- I Make a Difference” (Paharia, 2013, p.32) This is the need for value in your work or task. Adding meaning to the work you are doing allows workers to take pride in what they do, allowing the product to represent a part of themselves. “Progress- I Achieve” (Paharia, 2013, p.34) Similar to both Mastery and Purpose, Progress is all about seeing achievement. When employees are rewarded through acknowledgment of the progress they have made, rather than the work they have left, there is an increase in motivation and content within the business (Paharia, 2013, p.34). “Social Interaction- I Connect with Others” (Paharia, 2013, p.35) is the motivation that comes from fellowship. When employees have personal stakes in the place they work, friendships/rivalries, there is a higher expectation and loyalty that comes from it. This relationship between company and employee can be the crux of why they choose to leave or stay at their place of work when better deals come. This again goes back to finding pride, likeness, and purpose within the work employees create. We bond meaning to tasks, and bond customer to business.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (English Standard Bible, 2001/2016, 2 Corinthians 5:17). We as Christians are called to adopt a new mindset or motivation when we are found in Christ. While we can find identity and pride in the work we do, it is important to remember our identity lies in Christ. This motivation we have as new creations should change how we interact with the world, both in the value of the work we do and the loyalties we form.
References
English Standard Bible. (2016). Literal Word. https://esv.literalword.com/ (Original work published 2001)
Paharia, R. (2013). Loyalty 3.0: How to Revolutionize Customer and Employee Engagement with Big Data and Gamification. McGraw Hill Professional.
-----Next part is not to be graded-----
Kat’s Soliloquy Section
This subject is very interesting to me from the viewpoint of faith and morality. Where is the line when making a business a consumer idol or taking choices from consumers? When do plans to achieve customer loyalty cross the line? Is it wrong for Christians to have a cult loyalty to brands? When we play into our consumer's motivations, how can we be sure that taking that twisting into our own objectives is right. PR as a whole is a controversial topic in both secular and Christian groups. When we help brands reach cult or true loyalty followings based on the morals and virtue of the brand, is it not just making an idol for consumers? When consumers adopt these loyalties, they become a part of their identity (to various degrees of course), but shouldn’t we only find our identity in Christ-like things? While we can trust many brands to deliver good products and services eventually, they will make a mistake, their fault or someone else's, something will cause controversy. Cult and true Loyalty then can be extremely dangerous as these people believe themselves to have made a genuine relationship and they were betrayed. With the insanity that has made parasocial relationships common and normal, via the internet, these relationships you try to spur (employees especially) can be dangerous as when an employee puts their all into a business they lose much of their social life because their social life has become a part of their work. Encouraging employees to have a life outside of the job would be insanely hard to convince businesses, however, when problems arise at work it rarely will spur the same amount of emotional lash-back they receive when problems happen. Where is the line we draw when encouraging loyalty because these extremes do well for virality and initial business growth, but are harrowing when the brand “needs” to be held accountable (even if the situation can't change) we can never guarantee what will happen next. While we are seeing the rise of remote work within the modern-day which would remove the direness of this subject we are moving to an age where finding the right identity is so very important to consumers so fitting that identity is both dangerous and vital. Strategic Communication is such a great tool as we can use it to promote good in the world, but it is a tool that can do the exact opposite extremely well.
