Habit: The 95% of Behavior Marketers Ignore

Cue

A cue activates a habit, similar to the first domino tumbling all the rest. A cue can be any stimulus associated with the context of the habit, including sights, sounds, smells, tastes, and even a touch. A combination of stimuli can also activate a response, such as the smells and sounds of a fast food restaurant cueing the script to order a burger and fries. Linking cues to behavior accelerates habit formation.

Research in Motion (RIM), a small Canadian company, entered the cutthroat world of wireless data in the late 1990s, going head-to-head with market leader Motorola. RIM’s unique solution—a combination of a small swath of wireless spectrum, a handheld device, and middleware software—enabled mobile workers to receive their office email ...