When an app is goal resonant, it takes the users actions (the inputs) and amplifies/transforms them into goal achievement (the outputs). Apps that are goal resonant enable the user to bridge the Intention-Behavior GapIntention-Behavior Gap
definition: The intention-behavior gap describes the discrepancy between what a person intends to do and what they actually do.
Sheeran, Paschal & Webb, Thomas. (2016). The Intention–Behavior Gap. Social and Personality Psychology Compass. 10. 503-518. 10.1111/spc3.12265.
. It is important to Speak to the user with a shared vocabularySpeak to the user with a shared vocabulary
New users do not yet have the vocabulary to understand the app. They understand the product through the lens of their own goals and what's familiar to them. The company will generally have its own goals, like increasing the frequency of engagement. However, we can't just tell people to use the app every day. The user needs to have a reason to do so, articulated in terms of the user's own goals.
When working with clients, I often Use a badging system as a method of actionable user research to... so they know that the app is goal resonant.
Persuading people to do behaviors that are out of alignment with their goals and values is an uphill battle. Since Products are fundamentally voluntaryProducts are fundamentally voluntary
People can always choose to use the product, use an alternative, or use nothing at all. In fact, not using your product is their default state of being, and you’re trying to get them to do something different and effortful in using your product. Adoption requires a baseline of user involvement in order to overcome inertia.
It’s easier to facilitate people doing something that they want to do than it is to convince them to do something they don’t want to do. It’s easier to enhance their desir..., the only way you're really going to do that is through coercion. It's much easier to design products that facilitate and enable people in doing what they want to do given that they bought your product in the first place.