All of the companies that are Internet-based and apps that have been developed, tend to make use of a variety of ways to keep their customers or users coming back online. It becomes quite obvious once you learn about these techniques, but to be able to resist them is quite hard. We are mentioning the four most common techniques that are used for keeping users online.
1. Using Random Rewards
This particular technique is called ‘operant conditioning’. What it does is to incite curiosity in the user, and that curiosity is satiated by opening the app or website. For instance, you receive a notification, but it doesn’t provide you with the detail of has happened. Rather it asks you to click on it and get redirected to the app or website to get your reward. The idea is to have the user keep on scrolling by making use of random rewards.
2. Decoy Techniques
This technique is used to persuade users into buying something. So, how does it achieve that? If you are trying to sell a product A, another product – product B – is used as a decoy product to make the product A look more enticing and exciting. You can learn more by watching a TED Talk that was given by Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist.
3. Trigger-Action-Reward Mechanism
Another technique used exploits your compulsion to binge. You all are well aware of it because of your compulsive need to finish a TV series on Netflix. The trigger-action-reward mechanism can be seen in action on social media websites and apps. You receive a notification that serves as a trigger, you click on the app thus performing the action, and you will get a hit of dopamine when you see that someone has replied or liked a picture.
4. Pavlovian Dog Techniques
This technique is derived from Pavlov and his famous experiments with a dog. He would ring a bell every time he fed his dog, and eventually they learned to form an association between the two events. The response was so good that dogs actually began salivating upon the sound of the bell. The use of light notifications and sounds is a perfect way to make use of this technique. What do you do when your phone lights up or buzzes? Exactly!