The Hierarchy of Engagement

The Fuel to Build an Enduring, Billion Dollar Business

NOTE:

I’VE UPDATED THIS PRESENTATION AND FRAMEWORK — READ THE LATEST AND GREATEST HERE!: https://medium.com/@sarahtavel/the-hierarchy-of-engagement-expanded-648329d60804

ORIGINAL VERSION BELOW:

I think of user engagement as the fuel powering products. The best products take that fuel and propel the product (and with it, the company) forward. Just how products do that is something I’ve been thinking about for most of my career.

At Nir Eyal’s Habit Summit this week, I presented a framework for how I evaluate non-transactional consumer companies I’m looking to invest in that synthesizes some of this thinking — I call it the Hierarchy of Engagement. The hierarchy has three levels: 1) Growing engaged users, 2) Retaining users, and 3) Self-perpetuating.

As companies move up the hierarchy, their products become better, harder to leave, and ultimately create virtuous loops that make the product self-perpetuating. Companies that scale the hierarchy are incredibly well positioned to demonstrate growth and retention that investors are looking to see.

I encourage you to use the Hierarchy of Engagement framework when thinking about your own product, and building out your product roadmap. But, like most frameworks, I am continuously improving the hierarchy and would love to hear your thoughts.

Let me know what you think.

Follow me on Twitter @sarahtavel.