Meaningful Motivation Principle 2: Measure what matters
This article is part 2 of an 8 part series. Please follow us to read all 8.
TLDR: Three Key Experience Strategy Takeaways:
As we continue our tour through the key design principles of Meaningful Motivation, our next stop is Meaningful Measurement. There are many elements that come to play in meaningful measurement, but for today, we’ll focus on one of the most important and often overlooked elements.
From KPIs to OKRs plenty has been written on measurement, but from a Meaningful Motivation perspective, we have to understand that as important as process is, humans are motivated by results. If you’re in the Motivation business, your customer is going to measure the value of their time spent with you and invested in your products and services, based on results.?
Most companies focus on quantitative measurements, like pounds lost, dollars saved, or blood pressure lowered. Compared to qualitative measures, they are easier to measure, and therefore, demonstrate results. Unfortunately, these results usually aren’t compelling or consistent enough to maintain sustained engagement. To keep your customer focused throughout a process that will inevitably have ups and downs, you need to also be able to measure progress toward the benefits of these metrics. That’s where a compelling “why” comes in.
Getting to a compelling “why”
When people are seeking support in achieving their goals it’s important to remember that there’s a lot they don’t know about where they’re going. Therefore, asking them where they want to go is unlikely to lead you to the real truth. They may know they want to feel better, stronger, smarter, more sophisticated, etc. But, most people haven’t invested time and energy in figuring out what that means and what it gets them. In order to measure meaningful outcomes for them, you’re going to need to prod and dig a bit deeper. Better/stronger/smarter/ more sophisticated, to what end? This is often described as peeling the onion. The best way to accomplish this is to repeatedly ask “Why?”, “What will that get you?”.?
The weight loss company Noom does a terrific job of this by asking new clients a series of questions during their onboarding process. They begin by asking why the client wants to lose weight. Through an automated question flow they trigger the client’s active reflection on why they want to lose weight, in order to peel the onion and get to the heart of that matter.?
Now, this doesn’t mean a person’s “why” measures trump the importance of a quantifiable result number on the scale, but it does allow you to provide clients with continuous reinforcement of why they’re going to all the trouble to make a behavior change.?
By capturing a specific and compelling “why”, you help your client see for themselves why the changes they need to make are worth their time, energy and money. You help them see why their goals are worth investing in, and you capture a powerful bit of data that you can use as the carrot to keep them focused when engagement gets slippery.
Reflecting on “Why”
Capturing a compelling why is important and powerful, but on its own it’s simply a realization. To harness the real motivational power of “why”, your product or service must also actively trigger moments of reflection regularly.?
While you may not be able to show verifiable or quantifiable proof of the progress toward “why” you can trigger your client’s reflection on progress by regularly asking them to reflect on the changes they’re making and how those are impacting their progress toward their “why”.?
As your client progresses through their journey toward their goals, it’s likely that their “why” will change. Even if you can’t predict exactly when that will happen, by making it a part of your reflection process you can keep the power of “why” alive throughout the journey.
Next up in our series: Boost Awareness! To guide and support your client in achieving their goals, help them understand what works for them and what doesn’t.