Remember this:

• Triggers cue the user to take an action and are the first step in the Hook Model.
• Triggers come in two types:
  • External: Tell the user what to do next by placing information within the user’s environment. They are the first step, the ultimate goal of external triggers is to propel the users into and through the Hook Model so that at the end they don’t need External Triggers. There are a bunch of them:
    • Paid: Advertising, marketing,… Companies use them to acquire new users and them leverage other types to bring them back, since they are expensive.
    • Earned: Favorable press mentions, viral videos, someone reviewing online,… They are free but have to be earned by giving a good service.
    • Relationship: One person telling other about a product, ex. electronic invite, word of mouth, someone sharing something about the product in social networks.
    • Owned: They show up in daily life and it is up to the user to opt in and out. For example, the icon of an app once downloaded, or an email from a newsletter the user has opted in.
  • Internal: Tell the user what to do next through associations stored in the user’s memory.
• Emotions, particularly negative emotions frequently serve as internal triggers (for example having the feeling that you are going to miss important stuff if you don’t check your twitter).
• To build a habit-forming product, makers need to understand which user emotions may be tied to internal triggers and know how to leverage external triggers to drive the user to action.

Do this now:

• Who is your product’s user? Athletes training for an important race that don’t have a trainer.
• What is the user doing right before your intended habit?
  • They have just finished a workout.
  • It is the end of the week and need to check what training do they have for today.
• Come up with three internal triggers that could cue your user to action. Refer to the 5 Whys Method described in this chapter.
  • First:
    • W1: Why would Juan want to use training app?
    • So he can see the completed workout.
    • W2: Why would he want to do that?
    • Because he wants to see if he trained what was in the plan.
    • W3: Why does he want to do that?
    • To know if he is able to follow the plan.
    • W4: Why does he need to know that?
    • To feel that he is capable and strong.
  • Second:
    • W1: Why would Marta want to use training app?
    • So she can see the training for the next week.
    • W2: Why would she want to see that?
    • Because she wants to be ready for the challenging workouts.
    • W3: Why does she want to be ready?
    • Because she wants to follow the full plan.
    • W4: Why does she want to follow the plan?
    • Because she wants to finish the race in good conditions.
    • W5: Why does she want to finish the race like that?
    • Because she wants to feel that her friends and family value her achievements.
  • Third:
    • W1: Why would Laura want to use training app?
    • So she can see how her fitness and fatigue are building up.
    • W2: Why would she want to see that?
    • Because she wants to see if she risks getting injured.
    • W3: Why does she want to know that?
    • Because she wants to continue doing sport.
    • W4: Why does she want to do do that?
    • Because she wants to get fitter and fitter.
    • W5: Why does she want to get fitter?
    • Because she wants to feel that she is invincible.
• Which internal triggers does your user experience most frequently? Fear of having to stop training beacuse of injuries, satisfaction of being capable and strong, ensurance of feeling valued by friends.
• Every time the user needs to feel satisfaction of being capable and strong, she checks her completed workout and compares against the planned workout.
• Refering back to the question about what the user is doing right before the first action of the habit, what might be places and times to send an external trigger? A notification in the mobile phone reminding to upload the workout, email, computer alert, 12 hours after the training was due.
• How can you couple an external trigger as closely as possible to when the user’s internal trigger fires? I assume the feeling of satisfaction of being capable triggers after the user is recovered from the Workout, for example the day after or after a nap, so if I could send the notification at that time, perhaps checking his movement patterns with the phone as a way to guess that.
• Three convetional triggers: Email, notification in the mobile, web notification. Three crazy or currently imposible: Pattern recognition sensor that tracks the activity and finds the athlete is recovered, wearable that evaluates heart rate and finds the athlete is rested…