Build what people want, not what they need
I recently received this question:
I’ve built a software product. There’s no demand for it in the market, but I’m sure people need it. How do I get people using it?
Here’s my response:
The only way for your product to be successful is to make something people already want.
Identifying a “need” isn’t enough:
- People need to lose weight for long-term health, but most don’t. (Over 68% of adults in the USA are overweight or obese).
- People need to switch to environmental transportation options to reduce air pollution, but most don’t. (Fuel emissions from private vehicles continue to rise)
However, there are successful products that help people lose weight and switch away from fossil fuels. Their secret? They’ve put their products in a package that people want.
Non-software examples
LA Weight Loss markets its program by promising customers something they want: a sexier body.
Elon Musk got more people driving electric cars by starting with something people wanted: a fast, luxurious vehicle. (The Model S can go from 0 to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds).
James’ theory
My friend James Clear has a theory: many positive habits (like a healthy diet) are painful in the short term but rewarding in the long term.
It’s difficult for people to do things they know are good for them. The benefit is too far in the future. Eating candy has an immediate reward (it tastes good) but a long-term detriment (weight gain, disease). Eating vegetables is the opposite: short-term pain but a healthier future.
James believes the secret to motivating people is aligning the long-term benefit with a short-term reward.
So if you’re going to sell an environmentally friendly vehicle, start by marketing it as a luxury sports car. Early in Tesla’s history, people wanted the status of owning the exclusive roadster. To help the world reduce greenhouse gas emissions, Elon Musk had to create a product that gave people a short-term reward (in this case, status and speed).
How does this apply to building a software product?
My favorite example is Dating Ring.
They launched with a bold premise: a dating site without profile photos. It’s a rational idea. If you’re looking for a lifelong partner, swiping left or right on a photo is too superficial. Through experimentation, they discovered that a blind date with a group of people was the best way to find a potential mate.
Single people needed their service, but it wasn’t what they wanted.
Signups suffered because users wanted to see photos of possible matches. Dating Ring was forced to relaunch with a site that allowed people to upload photos and control their preferences.
Build a solution that people are already searching for
Many purchases start with a Google search:
- “gift ideas for my wife”
- “how to start a podcast”
- “top indie games for teens”
While some purchases are impulse-driven (like seeing something cool on Instagram and buying right away), most sales come from intent-based searches. People already know they want to buy something and go out looking for it.
One approach for building profitable products is to determine what people are already searching for and then build a solution that meets that desire.
This is also a powerful marketing insight. While I was at the barbershop, someone asked: “Where do you guys get gifts for your girlfriends/wives?” Multiple people mentioned a store called Wildflower here in Vernon.
If I were the owner, I’d be optimizing search results for “gift ideas for women vernon”.
Minimum Path to Awesome
To succeed, build something that gives users a quick win, and then continues to provide value over time.
Rob Walling calls this the “Minimum Path to Awesome.” In onboarding, help your customer do something that excites them about your product.
If you have invoicing software, maybe it’s when they send their first invoice, maybe it’s when they get paid, we don’t know yet, we just have to take a guess. If you have proposal software, maybe it’s when they send that first proposal. If you have email marketing software it’s going to be either when they get their first subscriber, maybe when they send their first email. — Rob Walling (Source)
Final thoughts
People might not want the progress your product provides.
Customers don’t make purchasing decisions rationally. They buy emotionally and then rationalize their purchase with logic.
Too many smart people are trying to sell products that people need, instead of building something people want.
Cheers,
Justin Jackson
PS: I’ve updated Marketing for Developers, my best-selling book, with a bigger section on product validation. Get a free chapter here. 👈
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Designed for SaaS, software, and digital product businesses.
👏 Thanks for your claps! 👏
Originally published at justinjackson.ca on July 6, 2017.
