Catalyst - Jonah Berger Page 0,78
be true: the free version is too generous, or the premium version isn’t clearly differentiated enough to make upgrading seem worthwhile.
Beyond how much to give away, though, another important question is what dimension to limit.
The New York Times and Dropbox limit capacity, providing a certain number of free articles a month or a certain amount of free storage. Gyms and classes limit time, offering a thirty-day free trial or the first class free. And video chat clients, Pandora, and games like Candy Crush limit features (e.g., who can present, the presence of ads, or what level users can access), making some but not all of the capabilities available right away.
When deciding which dimension to limit, the solution comes back to uncertainty. What experience will provide enough certainty that it is worth paying to upgrade?
If users don’t discover the value of certain aspects or dimensions right away, limiting features makes the most sense. Alternatively, if users get the best experience from having access to all the features right away, then limiting time or capacity may be a better option.
Appendix: Force Field Analysis
Parking brakes, or barriers, come in many forms. But one of the biggest challenges in removing roadblocks is identifying them in the first place.
Take a new travel app that promises to save time and money. Typically the pitch would focus on how great the app is. How it can cut planning time in half or save you 25 percent on hotels and flights.
But there are various hurdles that might hinder adoption. Some consumers may not realize they have a problem. Others might not understand the solution (i.e., how it will save money) or believe that it’s true (i.e., that the app will actually do what it promises). Still more might be worried that it will have limited options or be difficult to use.
Just like a doctor prescribing medicine, without understanding the problem, it’s hard to suggest the right solution. If people don’t understand how the app saves money, then walking them through that pitch may be helpful. But if the barrier is that they think it will have limited options or will be difficult to use, a different approach is needed. Claiming the app saves money won’t address these concerns. It’s like prescribing a finger splint for a toothache.
Is it easier to carpet-bomb all potential clients with the same email? Certainly. Is it faster to use the same pitch when trying to change different departments in an organization? Without a doubt.
But while those one-size-fits-all approaches might seem like they save time, they’re much less effective. Which means returning again and again with new appeals.
Instead, we need to find the root. Identify the core issue or barrier that’s preventing action.
One technique experts often use is called a force field analysis. It’s a framework for analyzing the various factors, or forces, at work in a given situation and using that analysis to facilitate change.
The first step in any force field analysis is defining the change. Identify the goal, desired state, or thing you are hoping will happen. The client signs a long-term contract. Management funds that new initiative. Your spouse stops complaining about their in-laws.
Then identify the driving forces or existing factors that are encouraging change. Some may be internal, or things within the person or organization: the client liked our work so far or the project fits with management’s broader vision. Others may be external, or things outside the person or organization: the client’s company tends to prefer long-term deals, or if the project goes well, the experience can be used across the organization.
Finally, and most importantly, start to identify the restrainers. The barriers or hurdles preventing change from happening. Just as with drivers, restraining forces can be internal or external. In the case of clients, they may be uncertain about what their own businesses will look like in a year or two. In the case of a new initiative, there may be concerns about staffing.I
One way to spot barriers is to think about the past and present rather than the future. As we’ve discussed, instead of asking what would encourage change, ask why things haven’t changed already. Why hasn’t the desired shift already occurred. What’s preventing it? What existing factors have prevented it from happening by now?
Asking questions, like who is against the change, and identifying the costs and risks involved is also useful. What does the client seem worried about? What concerns or motivations might keep management from supporting the new initiative?
* * *
Say you’re trying to get your teenage son to eat healthier. Rather than just nagging him more or reminding him that he should lay off the chips and eat more vegetables, a force field analysis highlights some more effective solutions.
The desired change is clear: he starts eating healthier. In addition to your constant reminders that he should eat more vegetables (external), drivers might include things like he’s trying to lose weight (internal) and that he wants to get faster so he can make the soccer team (internal).
Given all those positive forces for change, why hasn’t he started eating healthier already? Maybe he thinks healthy food tastes bad (internal). Or he’s always rushing from school to after-school activities and junk food is easy to grab (external). Or he’s trying to express his independence, so whatever you ask, he does the opposite.
Given these restrainers, or barriers to change, it’s no surprise that nagging him isn’t working. Or that reminding him to lay off chips has backfired. Pushing harder won’t reduce these barriers or make them disappear.
Laying out the situation this way makes it easier to catalyze change. Because it highlights alternate paths to the same goal. Not by being more convincing, but by removing roadblocks. Lowering the taste barrier by making cauliflower mac and cheese. Solving the time crunch by putting things like bags of baby carrots in the fridge that he can easily grab and go.
Recognizing restrainers helps find the roots(s). And identify the parking brakes. Facilitating the path to change.
I. An optional step is to assign weights. For each driving or restraining force you’ve identified, think about how weak or strong it is. Things that have greater influence should get larger numbers, and things with weaker influence should have smaller numbers.