Week 30 - 🎣 The Hook Model: How to Create Addictive Products 🚀
Quote
"Great products don't just solve problems, they create an itch that needs to be scratched." - Nir Eyal, author of Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.
POLL
💯 Framework // Concept // Mental Model
Are you a product builder who wants to create products that keep customers coming back? Do you want to create products that become a habit for your customers?
If so, then the Hook Model is an essential framework to understand. The Hook Model is a four-step process that helps product builders create products that are habit-forming and keep customers engaged.
In this article, we'll explore the Hook Model and how it can help you create addictive products. We'll cover the history of the Hook Model, why it's important, and dive into each of the four steps. By the end of this article, you'll have a deep understanding of the Hook Model and how to apply it to your product development process.
What is the Hook Model?
The Hook Model is a four-phase process that businesses use to create products or services that customers engage with frequently and voluntarily. The aim of the model is to establish a customer habit, connecting their problem with the company's solution with enough frequency to make engagement an ongoing practice.
What is the History of the Hook Model?
Nir Eyal, an entrepreneur, author, and behavioral economist, developed the Hook Model methodology. Eyal's approach to product development is based on the creation of habitual behaviors via a looping cycle that consists of a trigger, an action, a variable reward, and ongoing investment. His work on the Hook Model has revolutionized the way businesses approach product development.
Why is the Hook Model Important?
Gaining a deep understanding of customer behavior is crucial for building products that are habitually used by customers, which can give businesses a powerful competitive advantage. By utilizing the Hook Model early in the product development process, product teams and managers can ensure that their new products or services are designed to be habit-forming, thus increasing the likelihood of customer loyalty and long-term engagement.
The Hook Model
The Hook Model is based on a cycle that consists of four main stages: Trigger, Action, Variable Reward, and Investment.
🎣 Step 1: Trigger
The first step of the Hook Model is the Trigger. The trigger is the cue that prompts the user to take action. There are two types of triggers: external and internal. External triggers are cues that come from outside the user, such as an email, notification, or advertisement. Internal triggers, on the other hand, are cues that come from within the user, such as a thought, feeling, or emotion.
🧲 Example: Let's say you're a product manager for a meditation app. One way to create an external trigger is to send a notification to the user's phone reminding them to meditate. An internal trigger could be the feeling of stress or anxiety that prompts the user to open the app and start meditating.
🎣 Step 2: Action
The second step of the Hook Model is Action. Action is the behavior that the user takes in response to the trigger. To increase the likelihood of the user taking action, the behavior needs to be easy, simple, and quick.
🏃♀️ Example: In the case of the meditation app, the action could be to start a guided meditation session with just a few taps on the app. The simpler and more effortless the action, the more likely the user is to take it.
🎣 Step 3: Variable Reward
The third step of the Hook Model is Variable Reward. Variable rewards are rewards that are unpredictable and keep the user coming back for more. The reward needs to be different every time to create a sense of anticipation and excitement.
🎁 Example: Example: In the case of the meditation app, the variable reward could be a different guided meditation every time the user opens the app. This unpredictability keeps the user engaged and interested in continuing to use the app.
🎣 Step 4: Investment
The fourth and final step of the Hook Model is Investment. Investment is the effort the user puts into the product, which increases the likelihood of them using it again in the future. The investment can be in the form of time, money, or data.
💰 Example: In the case of the meditation app, the investment could be the user's progress data, which shows how long they've meditated and how many sessions they've completed. This investment creates a sense of ownership and encourages users to continue using the app to maintain their progress.
In conclusion, the Hook Model provides a powerful framework for product builders and marketers to create products that users will engage with regularly. By understanding the psychological principles behind the Hook Model and how to apply them to product development, you can create addictive products that keep customers coming back. Remember that the key to success is to provide value to your users and make their lives easier. By doing so, you can build a product that not only solves a problem but also becomes an essential part of your users' daily routine. So, use the Hook Model to create products that people love and make their lives better.
📚 Book
https://www.amazon.com/Hooked-How-Build-Habit-Forming-Products/dp/1591847788
🎧 Podcast
😎 Meme
I spend a lot of time researching on topics to give you the best content, If you like my work please like and share it with others. If you have any feedback for me or want me to write on other topics please leave a comment below. Thanks for your continued support.
✌️ It only takes one minute to complete the Net Promoter Score survey for this Post, and your feedback helps me to make each Post better.
https://siddhartha3.typeform.com/to/AmQxc4Uk
If you liked reading this, feel free to click the ❤️ button on this post so more people can discover it on Substack 🙏
Absolutely Polina, I will tru to add more examples of current products covering steps 3 and 4.!
Thanks for the review Sid! Personally I was just about to try this book out. :)
It seems to me that while steps 1&2 are pretty often in PM‘s focus, deep consideration of rewards and generating feeling of investment for users may be out of scope sometimes. And that prevents companies from growing retention. 🤔
It would be interesting to discover more great examples of these steps!