Old habits die hard: Coaching and communication — essential tools to release the potential of your target’s software
Changing the behavior of users requires a lot of time and effort, even when it is to their own good. Thus, it is essential that targets that offer great software solutions are also good at communication.
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There is probably not a single German person unfamiliar with the story of how the potato came to Germany. As popular as it is today, it was spurned when first being introduced. In a nutshell: Like his ancestors, Frederick the Great wanted to counteract famines and poor harvests of the Prussians with the introduction of the potato. And just as it was for his ancestors, it was also a Herculean task for him. Information and constraints could hardly convince the skeptical population to give the new plant a chance. It was considered poisonous, pagan or simply too banal. Yet it was actually easier to store and more nutritious than the widespread grain.
What can we learn from this story? Man is a creature of habit. New solutions, changes in the status quo tend to be exhausting, uncomfortable or even threatening. Even if they would in principle bring about a significant improvement.
This should be kept in mind when evaluating targets that sell good solutions but require users to make fundamental changes in behavior. The mere existence of good alternatives does not mean that they will be used. Office grapevine, personal exchange and unbureaucratic communication shortcuts cannot be pressed into a new project management tool overnight. People won’t suddenly discuss requirements planning and deployment times digitally on a platform, if they’ve always done this via team meetings and a few phone calls.
The transition from analog processes to the use of software, a significant change in behavior, can be very lengthy. It requires patience, comprehensive coaching of the users and extremely clear communication of the benefits of the new solution to successfully establish such new processes. If your target is not good at that, this is a warning signal and puts a question mark behind the future success of this company. If it doesn’t ensure the customers’ team uses the software (correctly), the customer will have no added value from it and may rather sooner than later replace it with other solutions.
Johannes is a digital expert, transaction consultant, passionate entrepreneur and triathlete in his private life. As Senior Manager Transaction Services at wdp, he is the team lead for the commercial assessment, evaluation and development of digital companies. In his previous positions, he advised numerous clients from the digital and finance space at PwC and helped building a fintech-startup for a Cologne-based company builder.
