project waalhalla presentation: 5 things required for action

Steve Wendel Principal Scientist, HelloWalletAuthor, http://bit.ly/changebehavior@sawendel Project Waalhalla 2 September 2013

you need for users to take action

Ah, budgeting.

A bit of background

http://oreilly.com/go/behavior-change

Start with 100 people, on 100 couches

Put them together

Engage

Step 1: Detect A Cue

Step 2: Evoke a Positive Reaction

Step 3: Pass the Conscious Evaluation

Step 4: Make Sure They’re Able to Act

Step 4: Make Sure They’re Able to Act

Step 5: Make it Urgent

Step 5: Make it Urgent

Put them together

Engage

3 strategies to pass the funnel

Conscious choice.Build a habit.Cheat.

Get this.

http://oreilly.com/go/behavior-change

Build the story in 3 steps

1. Structure the Action

2. Design the Environment

3. Prepare the User

Structure the Action:Break down hard problems

Write out the sequence of steps.

Make each step pleasant. Straightforward. “Easy”.

Tailor it to their prior experiences. Skip ahead where possible.

Take the garden path.

Construct the environmentto support action

Grab the user’s attention.

Make sure the motivation is clear.

Provide urgency.

Remove distractions.

Page-Level Tactics to Support Action

Component: To Do This: Try This:

Cue Cue Action Tell the User What The Action Is

Increase Power of Cue Create Clear Affordances

Increase Power of Cue Clear the Page of Distractions

Reaction Increase Trust Make Site Beautiful and Professional

Increase Interest & Trust Social Proof

Increase Interest & Trust Display Strong Authority on Subject

Bypass Automatic Rejection Be Authentic and Personal

Evaluation Increase Motivation Prime User-Relevant Associations

Increase Motivation Loss Aversion

Increase Motivation Peer Comparison

Increase Motivation Peer Competition

Increase Motivation Make the Rewards Vivid

Decrease Costs Default Everything

Decrease Costs Lessen Burden of User Action (cheat)

Decrease Costs Reduce information required for user to proceed (simplify)

Decrease Costs Avoid choice overload

Ability Increase Logistical Ability Implementation Intentions

Decrease Resource Constraints Automate

Increase Sense of Feasibility (Self-Efficacy) (Positive) Peer Comparison

Time Pressure Increase Urgency Frame text to avoid temporal myopia

Increase Urgency Remind of prior commitment to act

Increase Urgency Make it scarce Increase Urgency Make it time-sensitive

Prepare the user

Help users see and tell the story of their successes.

Build on related, positive experiences.

Educate usersabout how to do take action.

The goal: lock it in & move on.

Just get it done.

Make it a habit.

Fully automate it.

Automate tracking, and grab attention where needed.