Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers

While rapid releases of new and improved products are conventionally seen as alluring business practices, history has proved that a meticulous and calculated approach is required to see definitive results. For instance, we’ve seen that Webvan’s immense investment into their online grocery business was deemed unviable and eventually became extinct. In the article “Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers,” the writer proposes that there are four unique characteristics that people typically consider before making a product purchase or decision. First off, consumers often evaluate the product at hand based on its subjective value instead of objective value. Second,  people form a basis or judgment based on a particular reference point, typically a competitor product. Third, people use said substitute to compare the pros and cons of the newer product. And finally, losses of a similar size have a significantly greater impact on consumers than comparable gains. As such, when a product manager is considering a new product, they should objectively weigh these four categories and arrive at a reasonable consensus. Only if all these four categories are fulfilled should a product manager divert their attention to such a new product. Such a strategy is typically validated through extensive customer interviews and inquiries. Ideally, a customer should be able to walk you through their thought process when purchasing such a product. If, for example, the customers feel hesitant to purchase the product because of very similar substitutes, you should be worried about your product not having enough of a moat. Another strategy I would recommend is to actually ask customers if a particular product is offering too many features. Overcrowding the customer is a rather expedited way to lose their trust because their human psychology leads them to believing that they’re paying too much for unnecessary features. They could also be under the impression that the UI/UX is becoming too cluttered and not user friendly. As such, whenever a newer product is being considered, I would always try to limit the number of features such that it only includes those that the customer requires and perhaps a few that they occasionally use. Overall, this week’s reading was a great article that provided invaluable insight into the constant internal battle that product managers face when deciding a new product or feature.