So, what is hooks? A hook is a thing that is mainly designed to be noticeable by people at very first sight. In this case, hooks are a set of components associated with internal triggers used by business organisations. The Hook Model Methodology, developed by an entrepreneur, an author, and a behavioural economist, Nir Eyal, is a four-phase business process used for describing a user’s interactions with the product.
History of the Hook Model
The American author Nir Eyal introduced the hook model in his book “Hooked” and mentioned the approaches of creating habit-forming products. In the book, Hooked by Nir Eyal also provided examples of companies that successfully implemented this model.
Importance of Hook Model
The hook model helps provide a competitive edge to your business in the market by engaging your customers voluntarily with your product and not letting them switch to the products of other companies. It attracts customers and keeps them hooked with your company for the long run. It also consists of the hook design, a fully-serviced creative digital agency offering graphic design and branding, print signage, websites, digital marketing, and much more.
What is the Hook Model?
The hook model is defined into four phases- trigger, action, reward, and investment. For building habit-forming products, many companies use the hook model to stay pertinent to the users’ lives and minds in this new era of technology. It is designed to induce the customers in such a way that in the end, the customers end up getting, or sharing, or reviewing a product or service which they never thought of buying in the first place.
What are the four phases of a Hook Model?
- Trigger– The first and foremost phase of the hook modelis the trigger- the actuator of the behaviour. It induces the customers in developing a need or desire in having a product or service. The triggers are of two types- the internal trigger and the external trigger. The external trigger comprises the location, event, people surrounding you, and the different situations, whereas the internal trigger includes needs, emotions, feelings, and choices. In comparison, the internal trigger is considered more challenging to be found as it depends upon the customer’s behaviour, preferences, and sentiments.
- Action- After being triggered, comes the action phase that deals with motivation and ability. As a response to the triggers, this phase allows the customers to browse a particular product or service online in detail and then finally decide to buy that. To increase the chances of the users taking the intended actions, the designer of the behaviour constructs the action as easily as possible. But if the customer does not want to buy the product after browsing, it can be considered that the process is interrupted, and there must have been a flaw in this phase of the hook model.
- Variable Rewards- The next phase deals with the variable rewards awarded by the behaviour designer to accomplish the customer more and more in buying the product. For example, turning on of light while opening the fridge door is common; the designer needs to add extra features to that fridge to make it stand out from the crowd, thereby developing interest among the customers. These additional features, termed variable rewards, are used by many companies to hook users. The different rewards provided in this hook modelare- rewards of the Self, rewards of the Hunt, and rewards of the Tribe.
- Investment- Finally, investment is the last phase of the hook model. The customers, being influenced by the product and service benefits, are lastly willing to invest in that product. The investment can be in terms of time, money, data, or social capital. The customers can either visit the website frequently, buy the product, give feedback and review the product, or share the said product or service on social media. This phase includes the consumers investing in the product and moving on and keeping track of the product and its benefits regularly, hence making them loyal to the product or service.
Conclusion
To conclude, this hook model works on building habit-forming products and making the customers loyal to your company. It deals with the fundamental nature of a customer, making them habitual to your product and letting them buy the same product repeatedly. To know about the hook model and other product management in more detail, you can go for the product management courses online, a 6-month course, thereby providing an opportunity for aspiring product owners, future CEOs, and product managers.
References
https://www.jigsawacademy.com/blogs/product-management/hook-model
https://www.nirandfar.com/how-to-manufacture-desire/