4 Tips to Make a Product Sticky

When we say "sticky", we imagine something that attracts in a way that makes you want to come back again and again. In mobile development, creating a "sticky" product is a cherished desire and a key goal. I've been a product manager for over five years and love finding new angles to improve my projects. I want to tell you about James Clear's technique described in his book Atomic Habits. It can be applied to both existing products and new ones to make them more valuable. Since a sticky product is related to the habit loop, I have chosen four habit-forming criteria to focus on: make the product easy, obvious, satisfying, and rewarding. I suggest to reveal each criterion in the following questions:

1. Does the UX of the app provide easy access to a new feature or its core functionality? When we open an app, we expect all new features to be available to us easily, without any cognitive effort. This is what influences the adoption rate of an app. If finding a new feature takes a few minutes, requires extra steps, or is buried deep in the app, then that release has less impact. I recommend using qualitative research to identify UX bottlenecks every time you work on new implementations. With this unnumbered data, you can understand user behavior, motivations, and emotions towards current UX solutions.

2. Is it obvious how to use the feature and do the mechanics you've chosen help users understand how to use it in the activation, retention and monetization phases?

Here, I recommend building a Customer Journey Map (CJM). It illustrates the optimal onboarding stages for highlighting new features, placing a call to action (CTA), and integrating different UX/UI elements. Creating a friction map can also be considered as it details the positive and negative aspects at each stage of the AARRR funnel. I advise analyzing every big product update using the AARRR framework to increase the chances of making informed and insightful decisions:

• Acquisition: Know your user. Identify the main traffic channels, including ad types and main keywords; analyze what is promoted in stores screenshots and make sure it gives a clear idea of the product. The goal is to create a holistic view of the product so that users can easily find the value stated in the advertisement.
• Activation: It's all about the first experience. Quick and easy onboarding is a must in order to inspire users to continue using the product. Therefore, don't neglect to analyze the number of steps required to get the value. Also, when you introduce new things, evaluate the impact of additional features. Sometimes they can distract from the main targeted action - trying out key features.
• Retention: Turn new users into loyal users. In my work, I use Cohort analysis to keep track of user behavior. Differentiation between cohorts by comparing the most effective cohorts to ineffective ones across different acquisition channels is beneficial at this stage.
• Revenue: The new feature must contribute to the financial success of the company. When I evaluate the effectiveness of monetization and customer retention strategies, I take into account the monetization models used for both new and existing customers. Also, don't forget to examine differentiation based on factors such as geography, willingness to pay, key features, and user value and interest.
• Referral: This stage is aimed at increasing sales. Check whether users recommend the product to others and determine the reasons why they do or don't. To encourage customers to promote it, I recommend creating a special offer such as a discount or affiliate program.

3. Is UX satisfying? Here is a good point to use guides and tips. It makes learning new features more fun and easy, improving the overall experience. Also, if a user has reached limits in the product, there should be navigation on what to do next through alerts or pop-ups. Remember not to overload an app with this notifies, as it can be quite irritating. Another thing I think worth mentioning is haptics. This is a technology of conveying information through physical feeling such as a push or vibration that increases emotional connection. With its help you can show that an action has been completed or to attract users' attention in enjoyable way. If the product is satisfying, word-of-mouth marketing will work. To make it even better, we can create a referral loop with rewards.

4. Is UX rewarding? We offer welcome bonuses, such as giving non-premium users free daily credits or a free trial for a few days. Implementing an achievement system can reward loyal users for various actions, such as completing actions, time spent in the app, or sharing the product. Also, consider showing an engaging animation after completing a certain set of actions. For example, if it's a chatbot, it can be shown after creating several images. Also, to create a highly personalized experience, I like the idea of providing access to features that are currently in beta.

To sum up, I’d like to say that it is very important to test a prototype before implementation to gather feedback. If professional user testing services are not available, ask your colleagues. Also, conduct A/B testing to measure metrics and understand user behavior in an ideal scenario. If traffic is limited, deploy the product in production and then conduct post-analysis. Repeat this process until the product reaches a high level of satisfaction. By using frameworks like James Clear's and incorporating user feedback, the development team can shape UX that will form positive habits, and the product will be called sticky. Good luck!