The Automatic Customer (Gamification Summit)

The Automatic Customer: Designing User Behavior

Gamification ConferenceJune 21, 2012

Nir EyalNirAndFar.com

@nireyal

@nireyal NirAndFar.com

1. Please use your phones. Tweet: @nireyal

2. Slides will not be handed out.

Take notes!


“OMG businesses”

@nireyal NirAndFar.comNirAndFar.com

Patterns


Vitamins or painkillers?


Selling painkillers

- Obvious need - stop pain- Quantifiable market- Monetizable


Selling vitamins

- Emotional need, not efficacy- “Makes me feel good knowing...”- Unknown market


Vitamins or painkillers?


Habit when not doing

causes pain.


Habit-forming technology

Vitamin Painkiller

Pleasure seeking

Pain alleviation


"We wanted flying cars, instead we got 140 characters." - Peter Thiel


How to engineer behavior?


Desire engines

Move users through stages of mastery.Create internal triggers.


The Desire EngineTrigger Action

Var. RewardCommitment

ExternalInternal


Trigger


Trigger ExamplesExternal Internal

AlarmsAdvertising

Calls-to-actionEmailsStores

EmotionsRoutinesSituations

PlacesPeople


DissatisfiedIndecisiveLostTenseFatiguedInferior

Internal triggers tend to be negative emotions

Boredom LonesomeFearConfusionPowerlessnessDiscouraged


Action


whendoing < thinking

= action


triggers

ability

B = m.a.t.

Fogg Behavior Modelm

otiv

atio

n


triggers = interaction design

ability = product

Behaviors to Actions with Cross-Functional Teams

mot

ivat

ion

= m

arke

ting


Variable Reward


We crave predictability

• Variable rewards drive us nuts.

• Compulsion to make sense of cause and effect.

• Dopamine system drives the search.


The search for rewards

the Hunt

the Tribe

the Self


Search for Social Rewards

theTribe

- Acceptance- Sex- Power


Search for Resources

theHunt

- Food- Money- Information


Search for Sensation

theSelf

- Mastery- Consistency- Competency- Purpose


Variable Rewards Levers

•Type

•Frequency

•Amplitude


Commitment


Commitment

• Where user does a bit of “work.”

• “Pays” with something of value: time, money, social capital, effort, data ...


Little commitments, big results

Group 1: 83% refused

Group 2: 76% accepted

Freedman & Fraser, 1966


The crazy logic of commitment

• Should I ‘spend’ (time, money, effort ...) on this? Is it good?

• Only an idiot would ‘spend’ on something not good.

• Since I spent on it before and I am not an idiot, it must be good.

Credit to Jesse Schell


Commitments are about future rewards that make the next action more likely.


"Paying and subscribing are not actions. They are results of engagement." - Gabe Zichermann


Desire Engine CanvasTrigger Action

Var. RewardCommitment


How to use a Desire Engine

1. Think of what the INTERNAL TRIGGER will be. What’s the existing habit you’re attaching to?

2. Find the EXTERNAL TRIGGER to reach user with call-to-action. Communicate “what is product for?”

3. Prompt the intended ACTION - Make sure it’s very simple and defined. Ex - We want user to scroll

4. Add VARIABLE REWARDS - Mix the type (hunt, tribe, self), change frequency, and amplitude.

5. Ask for the COMMITMENT - Does it increase the likelihood of next cycle?


Use this for authentic good.

Simple test:Would you use it?


Some Examples


Twitter (Consumer)T A

VRC

Facebook, friend, email ...

Scroll

Information(Hunt)Follow


Twitter (Creator)T A

VRC

App icon, mention, messageRe-Tweet or Tweet

Social feedback(Tribe)

Connect with others: @ reply, DM ...

Boredom, curiosity, Lonesome


EmailT A

VRC

Icon on phoneOpen unread messages

Write back

Procrastinate, anxiety, thoughts of others....

Tribe, hunt and self


FarmvilleT A

VRC

Facebook feed, email ...Play

• Build farm• Invite others• Pay $

Boredom, lonesome,loss aversion = anxiety

• Points (hunt)• Personalized virtual goods (self)


Please raise your phone in the air.


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The Automatic Customer (Gamification Summit)

Documents

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tribe

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painkillers

vitamins

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