Learning about the psychology of new product adoption is interesting because it highlights one of the biggest challenges in product development and selling: how do I build products that users actually want to buy and use? Many innovations fail because consumers overvalue what they currently have, and companies overvalue what they are creating. This clash of perspectives leads to products failing even when, on paper, they look innovative and valuable.
So the question becomes: given this psychological mismatch, how can companies and product managers balance the desire to innovate and introduce new features with the need to address buyer resistance? In Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers, Gourville provides insights on addressing this resistance. He introduces the psychology of gains and losses and argues that people place much more weight on the losses they endure than on the benefits they gain, even when the losses and benefits are the same magnitude.
Consider the Segway scooter, a classic example of an innovative product that was expected to become the status quo for personal transport but failed to meet targets after launch. The obvious benefit is mobility: traveling short to moderate distances faster than walking. But a buyer also loses the health benefits of walking. Psychology research suggests that this loss will outweigh the benefit in consumers’ minds.
As a product manager, I would account for this effect and reduce my own bias from seeing the innovation as groundbreaking. It is important to know that consumers are likely to remain skeptical and may not see a clear need. The reading describes a 9× effect where the mismatch between consumers and the company leads to a nine-to-one discrepancy between what innovators believe consumers want and what consumers truly desire. To overcome this, we must make the product meaningfully better so the benefits far outweigh the losses. Gourville suggests striving for 10×.
The second point is to optimize for “smash hits,” which are products that offer great benefits but require minimal behavior change. This increases the chance of success in both the short term and the long term. For smaller changes, “easy sells” also work: limited innovation paired with limited behavior change. The goal is to avoid significant behavior change unless absolutely necessary, because the chance of success is low. Compatibility with existing behaviors is crucial; asking consumers to change how they operate to use a new product will almost always lead to resistance.
Finally, I would find believers, people who are so convinced by the benefits that they do not weigh the losses as heavily. Capturing these users first helps create a loyal base and a product reputation that makes it easier to expand to other consumers and gain traction.
