Business Quote by Nir Eyal
““A company can begin to determine its product’s habit-forming potential by plotting two factors: frequency (how often the behavior occurs) and perceived utility (how useful and rewarding the behavior is in the user’s mind over alternative solutions). Googling occurs multiple times per day, but any particular search is negligibly better than rival services like Bing. Conversely, using Amazon may be a less frequent occurrence, but users receive great value knowing they’ll find whatever they need at the one and only “everything store.””
About This Quote
Source Book: Hooked: How to Build Habit-Forming Products, Nir Eyal, 2014
Habit formation depends on both how often a behavior occurs and how valuable users perceive it compared to alternatives.
In simple terms: Habit strength = frequency + perceived value
Key Takeaway
Design for frequent, valuable interactions.
Themes
habit formation
product design
user engagement
psychology
behavioral economics
Mood
analytical
strategic
Type
business
psychology
strategy
When to use this quote
- product launch
- app onboarding
- feature rollout
- marketing campaign
- customer retention
Key Concepts
frequency
utility
reward
competition
value perception
Questions to Reflect On
- How can you increase perceived utility?
- What behaviors are truly valuable to users?
A Different Perspective
If utility is low, high frequency alone won’t create habit.
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![“[S]ometimes, when you are a food person, the possible irrelevance of what you are doing doesn’t cross your mind until it’s too late. (Once, for example, when I was just starting out in the food business, I was hired by the caper people to develop a lot of recipes using capers, and it was weeks of…” quote by Nora Ephron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d79/nora-ephron-1217_business_s-ometimes-when-you-are-a-food-person-th_980.jpg)
![“If the State does not acquire supremacy over [vast private] enterprises, it becomes their puppet, and they become the real State.” quote by Bertrand Russell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/bad/bertrand-russell-69_acquire_if-the-state-does-not-acquire-supremacy_1379.jpg)