Published on | Prototyping: From UX to Front End — Medium Eugen Eşanu

Why I Can’t Switch To a Better Product?

Or the science of effort in design.

How many times did you invest in a product ton of time to learn the ins and outs, only to find out about a better one but could not make the switch? Or you bought an iPhone and found yourself buying a MacBook and Apple Watch afterwards? We would like to think that we are free to choose, but our past actions are a strong indicator of our future actions. This powerful social influence is called commitment and consistency. We have a desire to be, or appear to be, consistent with what we have already done.

Committing or investing in a product is where the customers are asked to do a bit of work. Once people give something of value (personal information, time, effort) to a product, it increases the chances that it will be used again in the future.

For example, a research shows that if someone asks us to watch their belongings, we’re more likely to try to catch the thief who tries to steal them than if we had not been asked.

Consistency is a powerful motivator for action because it’s generally valued as a character trait, and is the basis of logic, rationality, stability, and honesty. An inconsistent person, is often seen as confused, difficult, erratic or undisciplined.

“It’s easier to resist at the beginning than at the end.” — Leonardo Da Vinci

How can a product keep users committed until it becomes a habit?

Commitment is the key element which reinforces the behaviour of consistency. Once you take a stand, there is a natural tendency to behave in ways that are consistent with the stand. For example, when I bought a Sony TV, I found myself buying Sony speakers and a Sony PlayStation to be consistent with the brand and buying decisions. Even though Sony’s competitors had better speakers, I went for the branded ones. Also, that’s why people who own an iPhone are more likely to own a MacBook or Apple Watch. We want to stay consistent in our actions.

The buying habits is a part of consistency. We would want the same products from the same brand if the experience was great. But there also comes the element of investment of effort into something. For example, Photoshop. Do you remember how hard it was for you to learn all its ins and outs? People take courses, do projects and ask for advice on how to use it. Thus we invest a lot of time and effort into it. And whenever there is a better software on the market, you can’t make the switch that easily. Because this means relearning everything and throwing away all your time that you spent on Photoshop.

The IKEA effect

It is a cognitive bias in which consumers place a high value on products they created. The IKEA effect was identified and named by Michael I. Norton of Harvard Business School, Daniel Mochon, and Dan Ariely who published the results of three studies in 2011.

They described the IKEA effect as “labor alone can be enough to induce greater liking for the fruits of one’s labor: even constructing a standardised bureau, an arduous, solitary task, can lead people to overvalue their creations.”

The Swedish furniture manufacturer has an innovative way for its packaging process. It allows the company to decrease the labour costs and increase efficiency in their stores. In comparison with their competitors, IKEA lets people assemble their furniture. Later they found out that it has hidden benefits. People who built something with their own hands are more likely to value it than buying something already assembled. So businesses can leverage that. The work customers put in their products increases the value of the product. For example, I have a lot of friends who can’t switch from IKEA even though they can afford more luxurious brands. Reason? They are already invested. They value the process of building something with their own hands more than buying something already assembled. So making a switch will be hard for them on a subconscious level.

Can you give some other examples from different companies?

Instagram

The app itself is free, and there are no entry costs. Download, register and use it. The investment stage starts when they ask you to follow someone. This action itself gives nothing, but they know you will come back to see what those people posted. And this creates a cycle.

Another example with Instagram is their collections. With every photo you save in your collection, harder for you it will be to leave the app or make a switch. This feature works great for Pinterest too. The gatherer syndrome. You hunt for new stuff, you save them in a collection, and it’s a reward in itself. That’s why it is also hard for other companies like Instagram to break into the market. Even though they are better. People already invested in one app.

Every time we add experiences to a collection or invest personal information or effort, over time, the product becomes more valuable, and the service becomes harder to leave.

Spotify

Again, the app is free. But every time you save a song into a playlist, like Instagram, you commit to the brand. It strengthens your ties with the service. The songs on a playlist are an example of how content increases the value of a service. Even though Spotify does not produce any of those songs.

Let me give you an example. Before switching to iPhone I had an Android phone, and Spotify was the most appealing app at that time for Android. After two years, I decided to make a switch to an iPhone, but Spotify remained. I tried to use Apple Music, but it was hard to adapt to a new interface, recreate my playlists and listening habits. Take into account that I had over 300 songs, which already was hard for me to decide on, leave it or not. When they introduced “Discover Weekly”, a personalised playlist based on your listening history, it was already sealed for me that I am not going to leave the app for another one.

eBay

Here a different form of investment comes, and it is the reputation. On an e-commerce platform like eBay, reputation is very important for people to buy from you something. Sometimes it is a critical differentiator between you and the competitors. So merchants invest a lot into their reputation and trying to give the best customer service as possible. This way they earn badges, as a trustworthy seller, good ratings and reviews. Reputation makes users, more likely to stick to the service. One people invest an effort in creating and maintaining their status, or a high-quality score, it becomes hard to leave the service.

The more people invest in a product and store value into through the form of following and collecting stuff increases the likelihood they will use it again in the future and comes in a variety of ways.

How can you apply this to your product?

Investment and consistency is something that can be used for your product too. Giving your customers the ability to collect experiences, build stuff or invest personal information will increase the likelihood of them using your service in the future. The more they invest, harder it will be for them to leave your product. So you have to always add new features that strengthen the ties between you and them.

I would also recommend reading Hooked by Nir Eyal and Influence by Robert Cialdini to understand better how human psychology works when using certain apps or products and what other principles you can apply to your product or service.

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Why I Can’t Break Up With a Bad Product? was originally published in Prototypr on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Why I Can’t Break Up With a Bad Product?

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