Companies leverage two basic pulleys of human behavior to increase the likelihood of an action occuring: the ease of performing an action and the psychological motivation to do it.

Instead of relying on expensive marketing, habit-forming companies link their services to the users' daily routines and emotions.

Why not live now instead of someday?

When designers intentionally trick users into inviting friends or blasting a message to their social networks, they may see some initial growth, but it comes at the expense of users' goodwill and trust. When people discover they've been duped, they vent their frustration and stop using the product.

User habits are a competitive advantage. Products that change customer routines are less susceptible to attacks from other companies.

The ultimate goal of a habit-forming product is to solve the user's pain by creating an association so that the user identifies the company's product or service as the source of relief.

The aim is to influence customers to use your product on their own, again and again without relying on overt calls to action such as ads or promotions.