2 builders who never spoke to each other

Sell what they already want, not what they should

A product whose appeal depends on the buyer adopting your beliefs first does not sell, and neither does telling customers your approach is the correct one, so give people what they already want and let the values ride behind it. Target the people who already hold the belief the product needs rather than converting sceptics, since a belief tied to identity will not move. Watch what customers rely on day to day, because removing it reads as a step backwards however good the replacement is.

The method

1. 01

   Don't stock or build a product whose whole appeal requires customers to adopt your ideology first - the display and the moral framing will not sell it.

2. 02

   Holding values is fine as long as you give people what they already want first and let the values ride along behind that.

3. 03

   Suppress the instinct to tell customers your approach is the correct one; follow what they do rather than what you wish they did.

4. 04

   Watch how customers actually work day to day, because taking away something they rely on reads as a step backwards no matter how good the new thing is.

5. 05

   Target the people who already hold the belief your product depends on instead of trying to convert sceptics, because when a belief is tied up with someone's identity they will forgo the benefit rather than concede they were wrong.

What it returned

• 2016

  Apple's 2016 MacBook Pro dropped USB, the SD card slot, MagSafe and the physical escape key in favour of a thinner body and a Touch Bar; pro users publicly returned units or went back to 2013 and 2015 machines, among them Michael Hyatt and Amir Khella.

• The author ordered hundreds of pairs of sustainable, biodegradable Blackspot sneakers, built a feature display around joining an anti-Nike movement, and sold none.

• Ramit Sethi's line about not trying to change people's behaviour.

• Bourgoin's rule: selling to someone who already agrees with you is far cheaper than changing a mind, and any product that requires abandoning a long-held belief will meet resistance.

Sources

• Confirmation Bias - Why We Buy 🧠Katelyn Bourgoin · customercamp.co · Inside Your Buyer’s Mind · undated
• Don't swim upstreamJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · Don't swim upstream · undated
• When you're building a product, whose opinion should you listen to?Justin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · 3. Explore your customer's context · undated
• What the People of Wal-Mart wantJustin Jackson · justinjackson.ca · But people "should" do it my way! · undated