"Keep Them Coming Back: 23 Habit-Making Insights for Product-Minded Founders" - Company Spotlight: Understanding TikTok & ByteDance, China’s Attention Factory

"Keep Them Coming Back: 23 Habit-Making Insights for Product-Minded Founders" - Company Spotlight: Understanding TikTok & ByteDance, China’s Attention Factory

In the world of startups and product development, it's easy to get caught up in the functionality and performance of a product. However, what truly matters is how the user feels when using it. Users want to feel connected, entertained, and like they belong somewhere. As a founder, it's crucial to understand and engineer for these emotional experiences.

One key aspect to consider is how your product makes people feel. A lot of successful products take off because they tap into a certain feeling or emotion. It's important to be in tune with your users and try to experience your own product as they would. By understanding the emotional impact of your product, you can build and plan for those "wow" moments that make users want to share their experience with others.

Aiming for frequent and timely usage of your product is also essential. People have limited attention and time, so designing with that in mind can lead to more success. By creating features that indulge in playful exploration, provide moments of surprise, and are fun without a specific goal, you can increase engagement and keep users coming back.

Creating a habit is another powerful tool for founders. When a product becomes a habit in a consumer's mind, they no longer consider whether the competition has a better product. Habit forms a competitive moat that is hard for others to penetrate. To form a habit, your product must satisfy a user need, provide real lasting value, and occur frequently enough to become ingrained in the user's routine.

The ability to make a behavior easy to do is crucial in driving user engagement. By making the key behavior or habit as easy as possible, users are more likely to perform the intended action. Additionally, offering variable rewards can tap into the psychology of searching and create a sense of anticipation and excitement.

Understanding human psychology is vital for founders. By studying people and their behaviors, founders can create products that align with their desires and motivations. Evan Spiegel of Snapchat understood the power of deletion by default and how it changes the way people perceive connections. By leveraging these insights about humanity, founders can create products that resonate with users on a deeper level.

When looking for traction and growth, it's important to focus on the depth of connection with early users rather than just the numbers. Finding a small group of users who swear by your product and use it daily is a strong indicator of future success. By expanding on the meaningful connection with these users, you can attract a larger audience.