As we engage in business and, quite frankly, in life, we assume that if something is new, better, or cooler, people will simply want it: the latest iPhone, the most expensive clothing, or even a collectible, like a labubu. But as John T. Gourville discusses in “Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers,” innovation is not necessarily logical, but an emotional process! Many great ideas and concepts fail not because of the product, but because of how feelings have been ingrained in people.
This process is also called “loss aversion”, meaning the pain of losing something hurts or feels is approximately 3x stronger than the happiness of gaining something new, but as a consumer, I see that as a loss opportunity of routine, control or identity (the 9x effect).
Thus, when a company introduces a product, and people rush to buy it, I do not believe it is because people are obstinate. It’s psychology. Regardless of what quality it may be, people always want to try to have the newest version of something to feel better for themselves.
This concept explains the reason that even great inventions sometimes fail. Consider, for example, the Segway. It was going to change the way we move around cities. However, for most people, it felt too different. It just felt too weird for most people to think of themselves using it in a normal way. The Toyota Prius was successful because you drove it like any other car, but it was advertised as helping you save money on gas, and that you were saving the planet. The important difference? The Prius didn’t ask people to change who they were or how they behaved; it simply made their existing habits more rewarding
Here is another personal example. When I worked with Quechua teachers in the Peruvian Andes to introduce computers into rural classrooms, many of the teachers were initially resistant to introducing computers , not because they were opposed to using computers, but did not want to take away chalkboards and notebooks that they used in their lessons, because to them, that made up their identity. Once we reframed computers to a way to preserve their lessons, not to substitute their lessons, they were more willing to be open to collaborating with their lessons.
Companies need to ensure that their ideas are familiar and easy. One example is Google, which has kept its homepage simple and recognizable, while still producing smarter and up-to-date technology in the background. People are biased toward the familiar and take comfort in the known (the “endowment effect”), so products that align with typical behavior have more promise. The best way to tempt people into change is to get some early adopters on board and let the excitement of it spread, while showing everyone else that change can be manageable and even fun. A simple way for me to put it is that “Winning innovation is simply about walking beside people, not sprinting out ahead of them”!
References
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- Eager Sellers and Stony Buyers: Understanding the Psychology of New-Product Adoption by John T. Gourville From the Magazine (June 2006)
- https://www.destination-innovation.com/why-did-the-segway-fail-some-innovation-lessons/
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301421510002983
- https://strategos.com/google-model-managing-continuous-innovation-rapidly-changing-world/
