Product managers can balance innovation with customer resistance by really getting to know how their audience behaves. Understanding their current habits and preferences—and what would need to change to adapt to something new—helps us design features that feel less disruptive. The easiest way to do this is to blend the old with the new, so customers feel like they’re sticking with what they know, but with added benefits.
People tend to stick with what’s familiar and often overvalue the products they’re used to by a factor of three. For new products to feel worth it, the benefits need to clearly outweigh the costs of making a switch. These costs can come in the form of transaction costs, learning curves, or even the fear of obsolescence. As a product manager, I can make this easier by designing features that either provide clear, strong benefits or by targeting audiences who won’t have to change their behavior much to adopt them. For instance, eco-friendly cars are more appealing to people who aren’t too accustomed to gas-powered vehicles, because they don’t have as many habits to break.
