If you’re like most people, you can recall a joke or two that you learned in your childhood and still retell it perfectly decades later.  The reason you remember those jokes is the power of humor.  When we find something funny, it signals our brains to store it in our memory.  Using this idea can be highly beneficial to your business.  Read on for some tips on how to incorporate fun elements into your business and increase your bottom line.

• Make marketing fun!  Many successful companies have created brands that don’t take themselves too seriously.  For example, a pet waste removal service by the name of Doody Calls is one of the most successful in its locality.  Why?  Its name is simple, memorable, and invokes a laugh, giggle or at least a smile at the sound of it.  Consider using wordplay in your marketing materials; it‘s a great way to stand out from the crowd.
• Encourage friendly competition.  The reason that gamification has become so popular in business is because it caters to our innate needs for recognition, praise, and the ability to express or display our accomplishments (think trophies and badges).  Companies like FourSquare and Shopkick have taken this to the next level by posting leader boards and reminding you where you stand among your friends.  Even if you are just starting out, create small ways for your customers to “play” and compete with each other for special gifts and incentives.
• Create a progress tracker.  This works really well on websites, but could also be applied to tangible incentives, like punch cards.  For example, when customers place an order on your website, incorporate a progress bar that displays how close they are to completing the process.  They could even get an extra reward for completing a brief survey upon placing the order.  You could also create a punch/stamp card or other reward system, similar to the one used by Subway, where your card gets stamped with the purchase of each sub up until the 10^th one that you get for free.  Something so simple rewards loyal customers and motivates new customers to continually come back.
• Bring some fun to professional development sessions/team meetings.  Fun is a highly effective motivator, so incorporate it into the contact you have with your downline or other staff.  Create a theme for the meeting and select an appropriate, upbeat song to play as people arrive. (A meeting about personalized customer service could kick off with “Any Way You Want It” by Journey.) Have people pair up to solve a quick riddle or conduct a brief interview with each other.  When you make such events fun for your team, they will look forward to coming, and in turn will enjoy the work part of it even more.  A happy team makes a motivated team.

It’s no secret that success in small business takes a lot of “blood, sweat, and tears” so to speak.  However, making your business fun for yourself, your customers, and your team will increase your ability to maintain success in the long term.

How do you use fun to increase business?  Please share your ideas in the comments section below!

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