TEI 030: How Product Managers Create Products that Hook Customers

Global Product Management Talk is pleased to bring you episode 030 of...

The Everyday Innovator with host Chad McAllister, PhD.

The podcast is all about helping people involved in developing and managing products become more successful, grow their careers, and STANDOUT from their peers.

Our Guest: Nir Eyal has been a startup co-founder, a CEO, and now helps product teams build habit-forming products. He is also the author of the book “Hooked,” which tells you how to create products that capture the attention of consumers and create engagement.

Highlights from the discussion include…

• The “Hooked” model applies best to products that require repeat engagement. This is clearly appropriate for many software applications (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Google) but can also be incorporated in the service aspects of other products.
• The 4-step hook model is:
  • Trigger: a cue to action  that tells the user what to do next (e.g., “You got to see this video!”). A trigger leads to an action.
  • Action: the simplest behavior done in anticipation of the reward (e.g., clicking on the link to see the video).
  • Variable Reward: satisfies the customer’s curiosity or need for taking action. Adding a bit of variability creates surprise and enhances anticipation that keeps customers returning (e.g., mailing video updates weekly but varying the day they are mailed).
  • Investment: for customers to be truly hooked, they must have some investment in the product themselves – some work they perform that helps create attachment to the product (e.g., enhancing or completing their customer profile).