BUSINESS: Eager Sellers Stony Buyers

Buyer resistance can prevent users from buying in from new feature launches that can benefit businesses and users due to behavioral change and the loss associated with it. Product managers need to acknowledge buyer resistance when rolling out new features and products and find a way to balance those needs. They can achieve this by employing a customer-centric approach, for instance involving users through beta testing or user interviews. Another way to balance these needs is through gradual introduction, allowing for ease of transition. Some other strategies product managers can employ are: behavioral compatibility— designing products that require minimal changes in consumer behavior, seeking out the “unendowed—targeting customers who are not yet committed to existing products, finding believers in the product, leveraging familiarity, offering trials and support, make values clear, and create a strong onboarding process. Loss aversion, another concept mentioned in the article plays a big role in buyer resistance, since people feel the pain of losses more than they feel the pleasure of gains. This makes users overvalue what they currently have and more fearful of changes. To leverage this concept, product managers can emphasize gains and minimize perceived losses as well as offer trials and guarantees. For example, Toyota introduced the Prius with minimal behavior change for consumers by keeping the driving experience the same while offering significant gains in fuel efficiency and environmental impact. Another example mentioned in the article was the TiVo DVR, which initially faced resistance and a significant learning curve compared to traditional DVD players, to address this, they started offering free trials and risk-free periods, helping to alleviate their customers’ concerns. Another concept that can lead to buyer resistance is product creep— when too many features are added to a product over time, leading to complexity and usability issues. Product creep often stems from internal pressures or demands from sales teams to meet customer requests, which can lead to users feeling overwhelmed. To avoid falling into the product creep trap, PMs can prioritize core functionality when launching a product, in cooperating with user feedback and business goals to prioritize certain features and others. Another tool is to implement a product roadmap to release a build certain features over time without overcomplicating the user experience. During my internship this summer with a start-up, I remember we also had many ideas for our product launch as designers, however, PMs often had to step in and re-evaluate what features need to be prioritized in order to launch in a timely manner and not overwhelm users, which I feel to be very relevant to be points made in the article.