Behaviour as a KPI for effective communication: how do you define a behavioural goal?

Communication plans often get stuck on terms like “engagement” or “awareness.” Metrics that are certainly measurable online and therefore seem like solid KPIs. The problem? There is no action in them.

Without a clear behavioural goal, there is no effective communication. You can dress up a campaign as beautifully as you like, but if you don’t know exactly what your audience should do differently tomorrow, you will never be able to measure success clearly.

It’s time to let go of abstract ambitions and focus on observable behaviour. Because only when you know what someone should concretely do does your strategy gain real direction. But how do you define a concrete behavioural goal?

The formula for behaviour

Behaviour may sound like an abstract ambition as well, but it becomes concrete when we look at the Fogg Behaviour Model. BJ Fogg, an American behavioural scientist, argues that people do not simply start displaying a certain behaviour. They only do so when three conditions are met: Motivation, Ability and Prompt.

In short: B (Behaviour) = MAP (Motivation + Ability + Prompt).

Only when these three elements come together at the same moment can the desired behaviour occur.

Motivation

Why should your audience display the behaviour you want them to show? In other words: what’s in it for them?

Fogg identifies three key motivators that drive people into action:

  • Feeling (pleasure or pain, the pains and gains of your audience)
  • Anticipation (hope or fear)
  • Social factors (the desire to belong to a group)

Pleasure, hope and acceptance can motivate people to display certain behaviour, while pain, fear or rejection can discourage it.

Ability

How easy do you make the desired behaviour for your audience? According to Fogg, six factors influence the ability of your audience to act:

  • Time
  • Money
  • Physical effort
  • Mental effort
  • Deviating from the norm
  • Deviating from one’s routine

In short: if the desired behaviour costs too much money, time or energy (both mental and physical), your audience is unlikely to act, no matter how strong the motivation may be.

Prompt

This may be a confusing term in the age of AI, but by Prompt Fogg means the trigger for behaviour. In other words, the cue that initiates action. Without a prompt, the behaviour simply does not occur.

According to Fogg, there are three types of prompts:

  • The “Facilitator” – makes the task easier (when motivation is high but ability is low). Think of a simple ordering process.
  • The “Spark” – a motivating message (when motivation is low but ability is high). For example, a video that shows the benefits of your product or service in a way that resonates.
  • The “Signal” – a simple reminder (when both motivation and ability are high). Think of push notifications or reminders that prompt the desired behaviour.

Which levers are you pulling?

If you are clear about what your audience should do differently and understand how the MAP works, you can break down why the behaviour is not happening yet. And therefore which levers you, as a communication professional, can actually pull.

Is the barrier to performing the behaviour too high (Ability)? Is it unclear what the audience stands to gain (Motivation)? Or is the right trigger at the right moment simply missing (Prompt)?

These insights make it far easier to understand how communication can drive real results. Stop hoping for “more visibility” and start designing behaviour.

​Curious what that could look like for your brand? We would be happy to think along with you.