Design Habit-Forming Products Faster: Lessons from Hooked
Hey hey!
This week we are talking about growing as a product designer quickly by reading the book "Hooked: How to build habit-forming products".
Understanding how to build habit-forming products can unlock a world of possibilities for product designers, allowing them to create products that are loved and used by millions of people.
So let's get started!
The Core Idea
The key to growing as a product designer quickly by reading the book "Hooked: How to build habit-forming products" lies in avoiding some common mistakes:
Not understanding the four phases of the Hook Model.
Not focusing on the user's internal triggers.
Not designing variable rewards.
Not investing in user onboarding.
Not measuring and iterating on the Hook Model.
The root cause of these mistakes is often a lack of understanding of the psychology of habit formation.
So how can we navigate these pitfalls?
Let's dive in.
Step 1: Understand the four phases of the Hook Model
Why is it important to understand the four phases of the Hook Model?
The Hook Model is a four-step process that companies use to build habit-forming products.
By understanding the four phases of the Hook Model, product designers can start to design products that are more likely to form habits with users.
Here are some of the benefits of understanding the Hook Model:
Increased user engagement: When users are engaged with a product, they are more likely to use it regularly. This leads to increased revenue and growth for the company.
Improved user retention: Habit-forming products are more likely to retain users over time. This is because users are more likely to come back to a product that they are used to using and that they enjoy using.
Enhanced customer satisfaction: Habit-forming products can enhance customer satisfaction by providing users with a valuable and enjoyable experience.
Real-world example:
One example of a company that has successfully used the Hook Model is Facebook. Facebook's Hook Model is as follows:
Trigger: The trigger for Facebook is the feeling of boredom or loneliness. When users are feeling bored or lonely, they may open the Facebook app to check for new notifications or to see what their friends are up to.
Action: The action for Facebook is opening the app and scrolling through the newsfeed.
Variable reward: The variable reward for Facebook is seeing new content from friends and family, as well as getting likes and comments on posts.
Investment: The investment for Facebook is liking and commenting on posts, sharing content, and creating new posts.
By understanding the four phases of the Hook Model, Facebook has been able to design a product that is highly engaging and habit-forming for users.
Actionable framework:
Here is an actionable framework that product designers can use to understand the four phases of the Hook Model:
Identify the user's internal triggers. What are the user's needs, wants, and pain points? What are the things that motivate the user to use the product?
Design triggers that tap into the user's internal triggers. Once you know the user's internal triggers, you can start to design triggers that will motivate them to use the product.
Make the action easy to take. The action should be something that the user can do quickly and easily.
Design variable rewards that are unpredictable and keep the user coming back for more. The rewards should be something that the user values and that they are not sure what to expect.
Make it easy for users to invest in the product. This could involve things like creating an account, saving content, or sharing content with others.
Key takeaway:
The four phases of the Hook Model are a powerful framework that product designers can use to create habit-forming products. By understanding the four phases of the Hook Model, product designers can start to design products that are more engaging, more retentive, and more satisfying for users.
Step 2: Focus on the user's internal triggers
Why is it important to focus on the user's internal triggers?
Internal triggers are the things that motivate users to take action.
They can be positive or negative, and they can be conscious or unconscious.
When product designers focus on the user's internal triggers, they can create products that are more engaging and habit-forming.
Here are some of the benefits of focusing on the user's internal triggers:
Increased user engagement: When users are motivated to use a product, they are more likely to engage with it. This can lead to increased usage, retention, and revenue.
Improved user retention: Habit-forming products are more likely to retain users over time. This is because users are more likely to come back to a product that they are motivated to use.
Enhanced customer satisfaction: Habit-forming products can enhance customer satisfaction by providing users with a valuable and enjoyable experience.
Real-world example:
One example of a company that has successfully focused on the user's internal triggers is Slack.
Slack is a team communication tool that helps teams to stay organized and productive.
Slack's internal triggers are:
The need to stay connected with colleagues. Slack makes it easy for team members to communicate with each other, regardless of their location.
The need to stay informed about what is happening on the team. Slack provides team members with a central place to see all of the team's communication and activity.
The need to feel productive and accomplished. Slack helps team members to stay on top of their work and to see the progress that they are making.
By focusing on the user's internal triggers, Slack has been able to create a product that is highly engaging and habit-forming for users.
Actionable framework:
Here is an actionable framework that product designers can use to focus on the user's internal triggers:
Identify the user's internal triggers. What are the user's needs, wants, and pain points? What are the things that motivate the user to use the product?
Design triggers that tap into the user's internal triggers. Once you know the user's internal triggers, you can start to design triggers that will motivate them to use the product.
Make it easy for users to take action. The action should be something that the user can do quickly and easily.
Design variable rewards that are unpredictable and keep the user coming back for more. The rewards should be something that the user values and that they are not sure what to expect.
Make it easy for users to invest in the product. This could involve things like creating an account, saving content, or sharing content with others.
Key takeaway:
The user's internal triggers are the key to creating engaging and habit-forming products. By focusing on the user's internal triggers, product designers can create products that users are motivated to use and that they keep coming back to.
Step 3: Design variable rewards
Why are variable rewards important?
Variable rewards are important because they keep users engaged and coming back for more.
When users are rewarded for their actions, they are more likely to repeat those actions in the future.
Variable rewards are especially effective because they are unpredictable.
This means that users are not sure what they will be rewarded with, which keeps them coming back to see.
Real-world example:
One example of a company that uses variable rewards effectively is YouTube.
YouTube rewards users for watching videos by giving them recommendations for new videos to watch.
These recommendations are based on the user's viewing history, but they are also unpredictable.
This means that users are not sure what videos they will be recommended, which keeps them coming back to see.
Another example of a company that uses variable rewards effectively is slot machines.
Slot machines reward users with money when they get a winning combination.
However, the winning combinations are unpredictable, which keeps users coming back to play.
Actionable framework:
Here is an actionable framework that product designers can use to design variable rewards:
Identify the user's desired rewards. What are the things that the user values and that they would be motivated to receive as a reward?
Design a system of variable rewards. This system should be unpredictable, so that users are not sure what they will be rewarded with.
Make it easy for users to earn rewards. The rewards should be achievable, but not too easy to earn.
Deliver the rewards immediately. Users should receive their rewards as soon as possible after they earn them.
Key takeaway:
Variable rewards are a powerful way to keep users engaged and coming back for more. By designing a system of variable rewards that is unpredictable, achievable, and immediate, product designers can create products that are more habit-forming for users.
Step 4: Invest in user onboarding
Why is user onboarding important?
User onboarding is the process of helping new users learn how to use a product. It is important because it can help users to:
Get started quickly and easily. A good user onboarding experience will help users to understand the basics of how to use the product and to start using it right away.
See the value of the product. A good user onboarding experience will help users to see the value of the product and to understand how it can benefit them.
Become regular users. A good user onboarding experience will help users to become regular users of the product by teaching them how to use the product's most important features.
Real-world example:
One example of a company that has invested heavily in user onboarding is Dropbox.
Dropbox is a cloud storage service that allows users to store their files online and access them from anywhere.
Dropbox's user onboarding experience is very simple and easy to follow.
When a new user signs up for Dropbox, they are greeted with a welcome screen that explains what Dropbox is and how to use it.
The user is then taken through a step-by-step guide on how to install the Dropbox app on their computer and how to start uploading their files.
Dropbox also offers a number of other resources to help new users get started, such as a knowledge base, tutorials, and support forums.
By investing in user onboarding, Dropbox has been able to help millions of users to start using and benefiting from its product.
Actionable framework:
Here is an actionable framework that product designers can use to invest in user onboarding:
Identify the user's goals. What do users want to achieve with the product? Once you know the user's goals, you can start to design an onboarding experience that will help them to achieve those goals.
Create a step-by-step guide. The onboarding guide should be clear, concise, and easy to follow. It should teach the user the basics of how to use the product and how to achieve their goals.
Use visuals and videos. Visuals and videos can be a great way to make the onboarding experience more engaging and easier to understand.
Offer support. Make sure that users have access to support if they need it. This could include things like a knowledge base, tutorials, and support forums.
Get feedback. Collect feedback from users to see what they liked and disliked about the onboarding experience. Use this feedback to improve the onboarding experience over time.
Key takeaway:
User onboarding is an important part of the product development process. By investing in user onboarding, product designers can help users to get started quickly and easily, see the value of the product, and become regular users.
Step 5: Measure and iterate on the Hook Model
Why is it important to measure and iterate on the Hook Model?
The Hook Model is a framework for creating habit-forming products.
However, there is no one-size-fits-all Hook Model.
The best Hook Model for a particular product will vary depending on the product's users and the product's goals.
That's why it's important to measure and iterate on the Hook Model.
By measuring the performance of the Hook Model, product designers can identify what's working and what's not.
They can then use this information to iterate on the Hook Model and improve its performance.
Real-world example:
One example of a company that has successfully measured and iterated on the Hook Model is Facebook.
Facebook has a team of data scientists who are constantly measuring the performance of the Hook Model.
They use this data to identify what's working and what's not.
They then use this information to iterate on the Hook Model and make it more effective.
For example, Facebook recently changed the way that it displays the newsfeed.
The new newsfeed is more personalized and engaging, which has led to an increase in user engagement.
Actionable framework:
Here is an actionable framework that product designers can use to measure and iterate on the Hook Model:
Identify the key metrics. What metrics are most important to the success of the product? For example, some key metrics might include user engagement, retention, and conversion.
Collect data. Once you have identified the key metrics, you need to collect data on those metrics. This data can be collected through analytics tools, surveys, and user interviews.
Analyze the data. Once you have collected data, you need to analyze it to identify what's working and what's not. You can use this information to identify areas where the Hook Model can be improved.
Iterate on the Hook Model. Once you have identified areas where the Hook Model can be improved, you can start to iterate on it. This may involve changing the triggers, actions, rewards, or investments.
Measure and repeat. Once you have made changes to the Hook Model, you need to measure the performance of the new Hook Model. If the new Hook Model is not performing well, you can iterate on it again.
Key takeaway:
Measuring and iterating on the Hook Model is an important part of creating habit-forming products.
By measuring the performance of the Hook Model, product designers can identify what's working and what's not.
They can then use this information to iterate on the Hook Model and improve its performance.
By measuring and iterating on the Hook Model, product designers in all industries can create products that are more engaging and habit-forming for users.
Recap/Conclusion
The Hook Model is a four-step process that companies use to build habit-forming products. The four steps are:
Trigger: The trigger is what initiates the habit-forming behavior.
Action: The action is the behavior that the user takes in response to the trigger.
Variable reward: The variable reward is what keeps the user coming back for more.
Investment: The investment is what the user does to increase the likelihood of repeating the habit-forming behavior in the future.
Understanding the Hook Model is important because it can help product designers to create products that are more engaging and habit-forming for users. When users are engaged with a product, they are more likely to use it regularly. This can lead to increased revenue and growth for the company.
Here is an actionable framework that product designers can use to apply the Hook Model to their products:
Identify the user's internal triggers. What are the user's needs, wants, and pain points? What are the things that motivate the user to use the product?
Design triggers that tap into the user's internal triggers. Once you know the user's internal triggers, you can start to design triggers that will motivate them to use the product.
Make the action easy to take. The action should be something that the user can do quickly and easily.
Design variable rewards that are unpredictable and keep the user coming back for more. The rewards should be something that the user values and that they are not sure what to expect.
Make it easy for users to invest in the product. This could involve things like creating an account, saving content, or sharing content with others.
By following this framework, product designers can create products that are more likely to form habits with users.
