the right way to influence behaviour with technology

© 2015 The App Business

The right way to influence behaviour with technology

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This deck is a summary of a recent talk for Mobile UX London

Jean Francois Hector User Experience Strategist, The App Business

It was delivered by this guy:

If you like what you read, you can tweet him directly @jfhector

https://twitter.com/jfhector


Let’s get started


Today, influencing behaviour should be easy. Right?

With all the technology we can use today, you would be forgiven for thinking that influencing behaviour is easy.

You send a push notification here, you put an iBeacon over there, and Bob’s your uncle.

Job done.


Fortunately for all of us, some of the brainiest behaviour scientists in the world have come up with a very simple way to think about behaviours - and what is needed to make them actually happen.

We really wanted all our teams here at The App Business to use these insights, so we have translated them into a set of simple principles and a useful model called MAT.

So let’s take a closer look at what MAT stands for.

If only. In reality, influencing behaviour is very (very) hard.

This is BJ Fogg. ( He’s the brains behind

this paritcular thinking on behaviours )

BJ works here. ( With other really smart

behaviour scientists )


For a customer behaviour to happen, three things need to come together at the same time:


‣ MOTIVATION - a customer must be motivated.




‣ ABILITY - they must have the ability to act easily.




‣ ABILITY - they must have the ability to act easily.

‣ TRIGGER - something that prompts them to act.



*Sorry, Anna!

Perhaps I don’t want to talk to Anna right now. So I have a lack of motivation.

Or, perhaps I can’t pick up because I am in the middle of a meeting. In which case, I lack the ability. right now.

Maybe I didn’t hear or see Anna calling my phone. In which case, I missed the trigger.

If a behaviour doesn’t happen, it is because one or more of these three elements - motivation, ability, trigger - is missing.

Identifying which element is missing helps understand why the behaviour isn’t happening - then we can fix it.

Our Scrum Master, Anna, is calling me, but I don’t pick up.* Why?


For example, here I am checking out at my local Tesco. When I pay, the machine reminds me that I should get a Clubcard. I don’t have one, but I’m very motivated to get it - I’m spending money and I’d like to spend less.

The problem is, there’s no easy way for me to get a Clubcard right there and then. By the time I get home, it would be easy for me to do it - but it’s no longer a priority so I can’t really be bothered, or it slips my mind.

The hard part is making motivation, ability and a trigger all happen at the same time.


MAT isn’t about wasting energy trying to motivate your customers.


MAT isn’t about wasting energy trying to motivate your customers.

MAT is about putting hot triggers on the path of already motivated people, at the point they are most able to act.


Luckily, as soon as he arrived, he received a message from Uber.

In this situation, George was already pretty motivated to find a way to get to his hotel. This made him think about onward travel - and he could summon an Uber easily in just one tap.

George is motivated, encounters a trigger and has the ability to act immediately.

One of our strategists, George, arrived in Dublin recently. He needed to get to his hotel.


How to make the most of MAT


Think about behaviour first and technology second.

Start from a single, simple concrete behaviour.

Predict when/where customers will be most motivated.

Find out what customers are already motivated to do.

Make it easy for customers to act on impulse.

Remember, ’easy’ is different in different situations.

Think broadly about what triggers can be.

Make your triggers hot like a potato.

We translated MAT in eight simple principlesHere is a quick preview of them:

BEHAVIOUR MOTIVATION

TRIGGERABILITY


Behaviours that are good for business.

Behaviours that are good for customers.

Use MAT to facilitate behaviours that benefit both your business and your customers

Don’t use MAT here.

Use MAT here.


To learn more about how to use MAT on your next mobile product, drop us a line.

— [email protected]

+44 203 657 9785

The App Business | The Spitfire Building, 71 Collier Street, London N1 9BE | www.theappbusiness.com

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the right way to influence behaviour with technology

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