In today’s fast-paced business environment, competition is fierce, and attention spans are short. Capturing and maintaining customer loyalty has become more challenging than ever. So how can businesses create products and experiences that keep customers coming back for more—without relying on costly marketing campaigns? Nir Eyal, a Silicon Valley entrepreneur and author, offers a roadmap for doing exactly that in his book Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products.
The secret, according to Eyal, lies in creating a solution that becomes such an integral part of a customer’s routine that it transforms into a habit. Eyal’s Hook Model is a four-phase process that engages users on a deeper level, making them return frequently and building a long-term relationship between the business and the customer. Here’s how you can apply these principles to attract customers and keep them hooked for life.
The 4 Phases of the Hook Model
1. Trigger: The Starting Point of Customer Engagement
Every journey begins with a trigger—a prompt that tells the customer to take action. These triggers can be internal (a need arises from within the customer, like hunger or frustration) or external (an ad, an email, or even the aroma of freshly brewed coffee wafting from a nearby café).
Your task is to understand what triggers your customers to connect with your brand. For instance, do they come to you because they are searching for convenience, relief, or excitement? Maybe they're influenced by a deadline, a recommendation, or a desire to solve an immediate problem. Once you recognize the most powerful triggers, you can craft targeted messages and experiences that align with those needs.
A good exercise here is to explore ethnography, the practice of observing your customers in their natural environments to identify what prompts their decisions. Do they scroll through their phone late at night when they remember they need a particular service? Or do they act when they see a flash sale on their social media feed? By watching and understanding their actions, you can craft more effective and timely triggers.
2. Action: Making It Easy for Customers to Act
Once the customer is triggered, they need to take action. This is the behavior your business is hoping to spark, whether it’s clicking on an ad, signing up for a newsletter, or purchasing a product.
But here’s the catch: that action must be both easy to perform and psychologically rewarding. The more barriers or friction a customer encounters (a confusing website, too many form fields, unclear messaging), the less likely they are to follow through. This is why “call to action” buttons need to be clear, compelling, and well-timed. Think of the “One-Click Buy” feature on Amazon, which reduces the hassle of online shopping to a single tap.
Ask yourself: What steps do my customers need to take to complete an action? Are those steps streamlined or overly complicated? Do they feel motivated and confident to act, or are they hesitant? Understanding these dynamics is crucial to increasing conversions.
3. Variable Reward: Keeping Customers Coming Back for More
Here’s where the magic happens—variable rewards. The key to creating long-term engagement is to offer a reward that isn’t the same every time. Why? Because the human brain craves variety. When we receive a reward, but we don’t always know what it will be, the element of surprise and anticipation drives us to return.
Eyal explains that rewards can come in different forms:
Personal satisfaction: The sense of achievement or relief after a task is completed.
Social validation: Recognition from peers, such as likes, comments, or appreciation.
Hunting for deals: Finding a bargain, getting a discount, or scoring a rare product.
Consider how your product or service can provide variable rewards. It could be offering limited-time offers, personalized thank-you messages, or surprise discounts. What you’re doing is creating a sense of “what might I get next time?” that keeps customers intrigued and engaged.
4. Investment: Deepening the Customer Connection
The final phase of the Hook Model is investment—the moment when your customer puts in time, effort, or money into your product or service, and as a result, becomes more invested in the relationship.
The more effort a customer invests, the more likely they are to return, simply because they’ve committed resources. Whether it’s setting up a profile, sharing personal data, or subscribing to a service, these actions deepen their connection. This phase is particularly crucial in ensuring customers don’t just drop by for a one-off purchase but come back time and time again.
One of the most effective ways to keep customers invested is to build a system of regular communication, where customers are not only buying but also engaging. For example, loyalty programs, newsletters, and personalized recommendations help customers feel like they are part of an ongoing relationship.
But the true measure of success is when customers rely on your product so much that losing access to it would feel like a significant disruption. Imagine if Netflix were to disappear tomorrow—how would its loyal customers react? That level of dependency is the gold standard for creating a “hooked” customer base.
Applying the Hook Model to Your Business
This four-phase model is highly adaptable, making it effective across different industries. While it works exceptionally well for frequently purchased products or services, it’s also relevant for businesses with less frequent transactions. The key lies in staying engaged between purchases by maintaining touchpoints, providing value, and communicating regularly.
Here are a few questions to help you implement the model in your business:
What triggers your customers to act? Is it a specific need, a time-sensitive offer, or a desire to belong to a community?
What actions do your customers take? Are these actions simple and straightforward, or do they involve multiple steps?
What type of reward do you offer? Is it satisfying on a personal, social, or financial level? Can you introduce an element of variability to keep things fresh?
How invested are your customers? What can you do to increase their emotional and financial commitment to your brand?
By integrating this Hook Model into your marketing strategy, you’re not just creating customers—you’re creating lifelong advocates who can’t imagine living without your product or service. Keep them engaged, and they’ll keep coming back for more.
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