Why your team stopped using that tool you were excited about.

In 2024, we spoke to dozens of companies about digital transformation and using technology to improve efficiency. One of the biggest challenges raised is product abandonment or lack of adoption. Having had a unique perspective of comparing those who succeeded and the ones who didn't, here are my thoughts:

Possible reasons for product abandonment

There are many reasons products don't just stick. After all, you are dealing with human beings with preferences, expectations, habits and ambitions. This means that things don't just work out. The most common reasons the adoption of new products fails are:

• Expected value was not realised
  In most organisations, marketing and sales do a better job than product teams. This means customers easily get taken in by an eloquent presentation and hope the product will deliver on its promise. This is the most sensible reason to stop using a product. Proper training can help prevent this.
  
• Changing needs
  Yet another valid reason to seek alternatives. No organisation uses just one tool. Every successful company has an ecosystem of tools to work together to maximize value. Sometimes alternatives have to be explored when the friction between these tools increases.
  
• Lack of managerial involvement
  We've seen many managers delegate the custody of an essential piece of technology to employees. This approach only works under certain circumstances, which I will get to later, but where we see mistakes is when the boss signs up/ purchases the tool, gives access to the team and calls it a day. This guarantees abandonment and usually, people just quiet-quit and slowly forget the tool ever existed.
  
• Not overcoming inertia
  Building the right momentum means overcoming the initial tendency to resist change. As alluded to above, it is possible to delegate the championship of technology, but not before you start seeing some momentum and hopefully reach escape velocity. Evidence that managers can delegate is when the team's behaviour makes it second nature to use said technology. When people don't need to be pushed or even incentivised because it just makes sense and they have overcome the friction.
  
• Resistance toward oppression
  Despite best intentions, management uses tools to monitor or shape behaviour. When done tastefully, people buy into this, but only if they understand the benefits to themselves and the organisation. For example, if people get hounded on not tracking their tasks, they will slowly develop resentment toward your task-tracking tool. They will come up with compelling reasons why it doesn't work or holds them back because they truly believe that. Culture plays a huge role in how you overcome this, but most bosses are too busy to put in the time, so they just fold.

Lacking the will or ability to tackle these issues will cause more problems in the future. Fortunately, there are some easy solutions.

The root cause

Putting aside the practical reasons (missing features, changing needs etc.), not achieving the required change in human behaviour is the root cause of most product abandonment cases we've come across. This means the product just doesn't align with how people do things.

Looking back at our task-tracking example, people often wonder why they have to do it. ie. why they have to spend time writing down tasks, and updating statuses if they can just get on with work. Remember, unlearning habits is the hardest thing. So if you have people who are comfortable with pen-and-paper, why should they have to download the app or log in to do the same thing? In the end, we all have our "non-selfless" desires, so what's in it for them?

Solutions

When pursuing or trialling a new technology, among your considerations should be how you will achieve the necessary behavioural change to make it successful. At the end of the day, buying a product is like hiring a human being. Do you have a culture fit?

My advice is to understand your internal stakeholders and ensure that you have the necessary buy-in. If you can't do this yourself, get the service provider to bake this into the deal. Rather spend a little more for a successful onboarding now than waste time, effort and money over a longer period. Consider the following when doing this:

• Make it personal
  On the individual level, make sure everyone sees what's in it for them. Can you prove to Aaron that his life will be made significantly better by adopting this product? Can you guarantee him that braving a little discomfort to change his behaviour will be worthwhile for him in the long run?
  
• Incentivise and create a pull factor
  Can you make the adoption of this tool an opportunity for individuals to create more value for themselves? An example would be to align the correct behaviour with incentivised KPIs or metrics. For instance, if you are already providing performance bonuses, you could tie product usage metrics to this.
  
• By all means, avoid coercion
  Instead of "you will do this because I said so", try "we will do this because it makes us better". You can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar; But you can catch even more with manure, so choose wisely 😃.
  
• Again, utilise the service provider
  Get answers to the following questions:
  • What is the typical behaviour change that has enabled their most successful customers to realise or maximize value?
  • How, and to what extent can they help you and your team succeed? For SaaS products, this might be tricky but speaking as a founder of one, I'm delighted when customers ask this question.
  • How can I install a product champion and what type of support can they get from them (service provider)?

Conclusion

Product/tool adoption is like a flywheel. You have to crank for dear life in the beginning making sure that all the parts of the machine are properly engaged to harness the energy. Once you've achieved sustainable momentum, your team will be hard to stop, so my advice is to spend the energy and resources getting your team to the desired state. Then you can delegate and move on to another mission, or risk paying for a product that won't deliver.