You Only Prefer It That Way Because It’s Familiar

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This post is part of a series about making better product decisions.

Tell me how many times you’ve experienced the following: You’ve just introduced a new concept design – maybe it’s a new way of doing an old feature or maybe it’s a whole new metaphor for your current product. Small or large, it doesn’t matter. It just matters that you took something old and you are proposing turning it into something newer – shinier – better.

As you present the update to your sales team, they start to ask questions. Does it do x? Does it do y? They want it to work exactly like the old way. You’ve already worked with them (and talked directly to customers) to understand that x and y aren’t really needed. In fact, your update includes significantly better ways to do x and y. You patiently explain this again. They agree with your rational. The new way is better. And yet, they have concerns.

What’s going on?

I’m guessing you’ve seen this scenario countless times. And not just with your sales team. You’ve probably seen it through user feedback after every  significant user-facing release. You’ve probably seen it from every group in your company whenever you touch a part of the product that impacts their ability to do their job.

Too often the feedback we get, isn’t about whether or not the product we are building is actually solving a need, it’s about the fact that something has changed and people are uncomfortable with change.

There are two factors at play here. First, the more we are exposed to something the more likely we’ll develop a preference for it. So the longer your product stays the same the more resistant people are going to be when you change it.

Second, loss aversion is a major factor here. Research consistently shows that losses are more than twice as painful as equivalent gains are pleasurable. When we change the way things work, people first see the loss. They mourn for what’s going away. This interferes with their ability to see what’s coming, to appreciate the new.

These two factors combine to reinforce the status quo.

So when we introduce product changes, the people in your organization (and also your end-users) are going to react strongly against what you are introducing. They have developed a preference for how things are today (even if it’s not working) and are afraid of what they might lose. Even when the loss isn’t significant in practice, the fear of the perceived loss may be great.

So how can we overcome this status quo bias?

First, we can work to make the new familiar long before the change takes effect. Socialize the change long before you start building it. Create opportunities for people to get repeated exposure to the upcoming change. Help them grow accustomed to it long before they have to use it.

Second, work hard to counteract loss aversion. Can you frame the change as a gain rather than a loss? Highlight what’s good about the change. Help them get excited about the future. Don’t hide what’s going away. But help them see the benefit before you tell them what you are taking away.

I know it’s cliche. But change is hard. We can’t overlook this. And as product designers, we need to do everything we can to ease the burden.

What are you doing to ease the burden of product changes? Please share in the comments.

This post is part of a series about making better product decisions.