Understanding Product Adoption and Ways to Improve It

Key takeaways

Product adoption is a process companies use to help new and existing customers discover a product, see its value, and start using it.

• The product adoption process consists of five stages: awareness, interest, evaluation, trial, and adoption.

• To increase product adoption, show customers what makes your product unique and how it solves their problem in a way competitors do not. 

• You can use analytics to measure the effectiveness of your product adoption strategies.

Discover the importance of product adoption and the factors contributing to whether a user accepts or rejects a product. Explore the details of the adoption process for new products to help you determine if this might be a career area that interests you. Then consider enrolling in the IBM IT Project Manager Professional Certificate program to learn Agile concepts such as adaptive planning, iterative development, and continuous improvement, which can lead to early deliveries and high customer value. 

What is product adoption?

Product adoption is an essential process that companies use to help new and existing customers discover a product, see its value, and start using it. No matter how good a product is, it can succeed only if customers embrace it. The product adoption process aims to transform people into product users, helping to grow the business's customer base and increase brand recognition

When designing a product, you want people to love it, buy it, and continue to use it. Customers like what they know, and getting them to adopt a new product instead of one that they are familiar with and already fit into their routine can be trickier than it seems. Product adoption can refer to getting new customers to buy into the product or getting existing customers on board with a product’s updated features. 

Importance of the product adoption process and of product adoption metrics

Product adoption is essential for companies to build a customer base and become competitive within the marketplace. Various techniques can be used to measure the effectiveness of product adoption strategies. For example, you may count downloads or users who signed up, but ideally, you’ll use analytics to build a bigger picture. When a user is willing to use your product regularly and stick with it, and the change is worth their cost and time, you can consider this an adoption of your product. 

Knowing and tracking this is essential. Awareness of how and why people adopt (or don’t adopt) your product supports marketing efforts, and product improvements can help boost success now and provide insights to increase adoption rates in the future. Even small increases can add long-term value, impacting revenue and metrics like customer retention and cost per lead.

Who uses product adoption?

Product management teams working for brands and businesses across all sectors may use this essential process. The product adoption process for new or updated products is vital for any company, organization, or individual that designs and produces products and services. It’s a vital part of launching a product.

What are the 5 steps of product adoption?

Users go through five key stages in the product adoption process. From awareness to adoption, the customer’s journey relies on several actions on your part. Let’s examine each in more detail.

Stage 1: Awareness

This first stage is simply customers becoming aware of your product. For example, they may find it on your website or in an ad when looking for a solution to a problem. Big companies can create awareness more easily than lesser-known companies simply through their reputation for the problems they solve. 

Stage 2: Interest

Next, customers who have found your product and are starting to see the potential value begin collecting information. You can use this stage to gain customers by ensuring you have an informative website, excellent customer service, and a strong brand. Providing easy access to information about features, costs, and how your product solves a problem is essential to moving customers onto the next step. 

Stage 3: Evaluation

At this stage, customers take in all the information they’ve gained and decide whether your product is worth trying. They evaluate the pros and cons, making it critical to that you communicate the benefits here, including how your product solves their problem, beats competitors, and contains distinguishing features.

Stage 4: Trial

After completing the evaluation stage, the customer decides to try your product. This stage is crucial because the outcome influences the fifth and final stage. If possible, offer a free trial to help propel customers to this point. Offering a money-back guarantee is also effective. 

Stage 5: Adoption (or rejection)

The fifth and final stage is when a customer adopts your product or rejects it. For full adoption, a customer becomes loyal and invests in your product as a monthly payment or intends to use it for an extended period. At this stage, it's in your interest to reiterate and highlight the product’s value. 

Factors that affect product adoption

Many considerations can affect customers’ decisions to adopt a product. You can group these as factors that lead customers to change to your product (adoption) versus factors that keep customers from changing products and trying something new (rejection). 

How to increase product adoption: Factors that lead customers to change products

For customers to reject an old product they know well and are loyal to takes considerable work. If you want customers to adopt your product in place of a former choice, it usually comes down to a few points:

• Issues with the current product: If the product customers use is lacking in some way and no longer solves their problem or meets their needs, they’ll look for an alternative. Take this opportunity to show customers what your product does that the competition does not. 

• Appeal of the new product: Even if a customer is happy with a product they are loyal to, you can win them over if you have an amazing product that offers something their current one lacks. Think about improving your onboarding and using your marketing to show customers how your product solves their challenges while highlighting its best features. 

• Ease of use: Customers might love your product, but if they habitually use another solution, it may be difficult to change their minds. Conversely, if you can get customers to use your product, they will be more likely to remain loyal. 

Read more: What Is Customer Lifetime Value (CLV)?

Product adoption curve: Factors that keep customers from changing products

Conversely, you’ll need to address issues that stop customers from switching to a new product. The product lifecycle reveals a standard pattern, called the product adoption curve, for how customers adopt products. On average, the novelty and anticipation of new features excite approximately 2.5 percent of the market right away, sparking their interest and leading them to embrace the new product quickly. In comparison, 13.5 percent of customers qualify as early adopters, showing interest in new products but expecting innovation and good customer support should any problems arise [1]. 

The majority of customers (the early majority at 34 percent and the late majority also at 34 percent) are more cautious and risk-averse. They will be loyal to your product if you convince them of its benefits. Lastly, laggers account for the final 16 percent of customers and are reluctant to change products at all [1]. They are more challenging to convince.

Reasons some customers are challenging to onboard to your product include the following:

• Habit: Humans have set patterns that they would often prefer not to break, and they tend to like products that fit conveniently into their routines. Consumers may reject those that require us to change how we live and work. 

• Loyalty: Risk-averse customers remain loyal by default because they don’t like change. If you can persuade customers like this to adopt your product, they will stick with you unless they have to change to a different product. 

• Fear of change: Being creatures of habit comes hand in hand with a fear of change. Humans don’t necessarily like change and may fear the unknown. As a result, some consumers stick with what they know, the safe option, or drift back to what is familiar.

What is an example of product adoption?

For a real-world example of the product adoption process, consider the video conferencing and collaboration tool, Zoom. As people were forced to stay home during the COVID-19 pandemic, they became aware of Zoom as a possible communication tool. When it became clear that remote communication strategies were necessary, interest increased, and businesses and individuals set out to learn more about the tool, eventually testing and evaluating its capabilities. Many found Zoom easy to use and began to rely on the platform to stay connected. Zoom soon became a widely used platform for online meetings and virtual meetups. 

How to start building product adoption strategies

To build a product adoption strategy, you must first understand your customers and analyze their needs. Familiarizing yourself with buyer behavior and the user journey is equally essential. Doing so can help you build a product that meets their needs and solves a specific problem. Document your plan by considering your actions at each point of the product adoption stages (outlined above). 

Product adoption has a multi-team approach with input from product management, marketing, sales, and customer service. If product adoption interests you, you’ll find different entry requirements for roles in each of these departments, but a degree in business is a good start. 

Stay current with trends in product management

Subscribe to our weekly LinkedIn newsletter, Career Chat, for industry updates, tips, and trends. Then, explore free marketing and product management resources to optimize your professional growth:

• Hear from industry leaders: ‘A Game Changer’: How a Product Analyst Strengthened His Learning with the AI Tool Coursera Coach

• Watch on YouTube: Career Spotlight: Product Marketing Manager

• Find a learning path: Product Management Learning Roadmap: From Beginner to Expert

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