Behavior Market Fit

Behavior Market Fit means identifying and clearly defining behaviors that your target audience can and will realistically perform to solve a validated market problem. In practice, the selected behavior must be exciting (users want to do it), feasible (they are able to do it in context), and rewarding (the experience delivers immediate value). It occurs only after establishing Problem Market Fit and before achieving Solution and Product Market Fit.

Key Insight

Even clearly validated problems won’t be solved unless the required behaviors align naturally with user capabilities, motivation, and context.

Adoption criteria

compelling
reasonable
socially acceptable
physically simple
cognitively simple
affordable
rewarding
useful
impactful

Example

Negative Example: Google Glass required new social behaviors - like speaking to a wearable camera in public - that most users were unwilling or uncomfortable to adopt. Poor Behavior Market Fit contributed significantly to its failure.

Positive Example: Instagram succeeded by explicitly shifting from check-ins (low Behavior Market Fit, minimal adoption) to photo-sharing, a natural behavior aligned with users’ existing habits and desires (high Behavior Market Fit).

Heuristic: Identify realistic, natural behaviors clearly aligned with user motivation and context before designing products.

Validation rules

Ability to perform the behavior ≥ 6/10 for the median user.
Motivation to perform it ≥ 6/10 without extrinsic payments.
Environment supports it ≥ 6/10 where it naturally occurs.
Users report the behavior as exciting/compelling when shown realistic examples and first‑run prototypes.

Use the Behavioral State Model to score the eight components and identify the limiting factor (minimum component rule). Report Δ‑B for the behavior after a small intervention and the observed TTFB.

Failure tell: If users say they want the outcome but avoid the behavior in a realistic context, you do not have Behavior Market Fit.

← Back to Glossary