Behavioral Innovation

Behavioral Innovation is the process of designing and introducing entirely new behaviors that don’t currently exist in users’ behavioral repertoires but could solve their problems more effectively than existing behaviors.

Definition

While most Behavioral Strategy work involves identifying and enabling existing behaviors that users could perform, Behavioral Innovation goes a step further - it creates behaviors that have never been performed before. This is the behavioral equivalent of product innovation, but focused on human actions rather than features or technologies.

When Behavioral Innovation is Necessary

Behavioral Innovation becomes essential when:

  1. No existing behaviors solve the problem adequately
    • Current behaviors are inefficient or ineffective
    • The problem is novel with no established solutions
  2. Technology enables new behavioral possibilities
    • Digital tools create opportunities for behaviors that weren’t previously possible
    • New contexts require new behavioral patterns
  3. Cultural or social shifts demand new approaches
    • Traditional behaviors no longer fit modern contexts
    • Societal changes require behavioral evolution

The Behavioral Innovation Process

1. Problem Deep Dive

  • Understand why existing behaviors fail
  • Identify the gap between current behaviors and desired outcomes
  • Map constraints that prevent effective behavior

2. Behavior Ideation

  • Generate novel behavior concepts
  • Combine elements of existing behaviors in new ways
  • Consider behaviors from analogous domains

3. Feasibility Assessment

Using the Behavioral State Model:

  • Ability: Can users learn and perform this new behavior?
  • Motivation: Will the behavior align with user goals?
  • Environment: Does the context support this behavior?

4. Prototype and Test

  • Create low-fidelity behavior prototypes
  • Test with small user groups
  • Iterate based on performance and feedback

5. Behavior Teaching

  • Design onboarding for the new behavior
  • Create scaffolding to support initial attempts
  • Build habits through repetition and rewards

Examples of Behavioral Innovation

Digital Behavioral Innovations

Swiping to Navigate (Touch Interfaces)

  • Problem: Traditional clicking was imprecise on small screens
  • Innovation: Swipe gestures for navigation
  • Result: Intuitive interaction that became universal

Pull-to-Refresh

  • Problem: No natural way to update content on mobile
  • Innovation: Pull down gesture to refresh
  • Result: Satisfying behavior that maps to physical metaphors

Voice Commands

  • Problem: Hands-free interaction needed
  • Innovation: Speaking commands to devices
  • Result: New behavior category for device interaction

Social Behavioral Innovations

Hashtag Usage

  • Problem: No way to categorize and find related content
  • Innovation: # symbol for topical grouping
  • Result: Universal behavior across platforms

Story Sharing (Ephemeral Content)

  • Problem: Permanent posts created pressure
  • Innovation: 24-hour disappearing content
  • Result: More authentic, frequent sharing

Business Behavioral Innovations

Subscription Models

  • Problem: High upfront costs prevented adoption
  • Innovation: Monthly subscription behavior
  • Result: Transformed entire industries

Self-Service Analytics

  • Problem: Data analysis required specialists
  • Innovation: Drag-and-drop data exploration
  • Result: Democratized data-driven decisions

Principles of Successful Behavioral Innovation

1. Build on Familiar Foundations

Even novel behaviors should connect to existing mental models or physical actions users understand.

2. Minimize Cognitive Load

New behaviors must be simple enough to perform without extensive thinking.

3. Provide Immediate Value

Users need to experience benefits quickly to adopt unfamiliar behaviors.

4. Enable Social Learning

Make the behavior visible so others can learn through observation.

5. Design for Error Recovery

New behaviors require forgiveness for mistakes and clear correction paths.

Common Pitfalls

Complexity Creep

Starting simple but adding features until the behavior becomes too complex.

Ignoring Context

Designing behaviors that work in labs but fail in real-world environments.

Insufficient Scaffolding

Expecting users to master new behaviors without adequate support.

Cultural Misalignment

Creating behaviors that conflict with cultural norms or values.

Measuring Behavioral Innovation Success

Key metrics include:

  • Adoption Rate: Percentage trying the new behavior
  • Retention Rate: Percentage continuing after initial trial
  • Proficiency Growth: Time to behavioral fluency
  • Organic Spread: Unprompted adoption by new users
  • Problem Resolution: Effectiveness at solving original problem

Relationship to Other Concepts

When NOT to Innovate

Behavioral Innovation carries higher risk than enabling existing behaviors. Avoid it when:

  • Existing behaviors work adequately
  • Users resist learning new patterns
  • The innovation adds complexity without proportional value
  • Simpler solutions exist

Remember: The goal is solving user problems, not creating novel behaviors for their own sake.

Behavioral Innovation is a high-risk, high-reward approach within Behavioral Strategy. Use it judiciously when existing behaviors truly cannot meet user needs.