Definition

A four-phase process that companies use to form user's habit.

Phase of hook model

1. Trigger

A trigger is the actuator of behavior — the spark plug in the engine. Triggers come in two types: external and internal. Habit-forming products start by alerting users with external triggers like an email, a website link, or the app icon on a phone. -> Triggers move the user to take action. It prompts to certain behaviours, Triggers come in 2 types

External Triggers: It tell users what to do

• Paid Triggers (advertising to acquire new users)
• Earned Triggers (press mentions and features, these are built over time)
• Relationship Triggers (another word-of-mouth - audience benefit sharing)
• Owned Triggers (users opt to receive through newsletter and notification) -> This is the most important one. Because it derives from user's need themselves, practice repeatedly until it forms a habit.

Internal Triggers: Users themselves feel the need to do

• Internal triggers, by raw explanation, is what's going on with user's mind/ bodies that promote the urge to relapse.
• During the process where a product becomes a habit, products must deeply coupled with negative feelings. Products that ease boredom, loneliness, frustration, confusion, or FOMO are products that successfully reached the stage of forming user's internal triggers. -> products become the top-of-mind solution: google, facebook, IG, spotify, youtube -> when product's name becomes a verb.

When users start to automatically cue their next behavior, the new habit becomes part of their everyday routine.

2. Action

The behavior done in anticipation of a reward. Action is the use of the product, based on 03 factors: Motivation, Ability and SImplicity. Behaviour done in anticipation of reward. If the user doesn’t take action, the trigger is useless. Motivation: The level of desire. How much do user want to do it Ability: The capacity of taking action. Is there any obstacle? Simplicity: The effort level of the process. How many steps are there until user fulfill their needs

3. Variable reward

Products need to reinforce the motivation of indulging in the form of rewards. Meaning: The value users get every time they get back to the product.

What distinguishes the Hook Model from a plain vanilla feedback loop is the hook’s ability to create a craving. Feedback loops are all around us, but predictable ones don’t create desire.

It's the same with a different treat magically appears in your fridge every time you open it. By preparing that treat, your intrigue is created to open the fridge over again and again.

4. Investment

Where the user does a bit of work. The investment occurs when the user puts something into the product or service such as time, data, effort, social capital, or money.

However, the investment phase isn’t about users opening up their wallets and moving on with their day. Rather, the investment implies an action that improves the service for the next go-around. Inviting friends, stating preferences , building virtual assets, and learning to use new features are all investments users make to improve their experience. These commitments can be leveraged to make the trigger more engaging, the action easier, and the reward more exciting with every pass through the hook cycle. …