How do we know whether a product is broken and beyond fixing? Did it perform its job? Should I get a new model or keep this one?
Take a car for example. In a sample size of one, you think that you are going to get an understanding of how well or how poorly something performs. Most often, you base your entire idea of a brand based on that one sample size. This is the problem that Ford and the other American automotive companies are facing now. Too many people have had bad experiences with previous cars that they never will get the idea or memory of their old car breaking out of their head.
My laptop broke last week, so I was recently in the market for another one. The old Dell machine has served me well, but how do I know if lasting three years of daily use is enough? I only have one example of their product on which to base my opinion.
So where should we look? Maybe consumer reports are the answer, but I have heard they have become a little biased. I might turn to one of my friends, but he only has one example of his own. Should I just ask Twitter about the best brand? If I followed their advice, I would have then had to have gone with a MacBook for twice the price.
Maybe I should talk with someone who repairs computers. I followed the last piece of advice and went to the repair shop to make my final purchase.
A powerful force in getting people to keep using a product is the inertia of not wanting to change. Most people talk about inertia as a bad thing, but it can sometimes be used for good. Changing is hard to do and most people don’t like it.
Some people are early adopters that like to have the newest things all of the time. But I would argue that most customers will have the inertia to not switch away from your product right away, especially if they are having a good product experience. Who wants to go to a new place to get your haircut when you have an old place that does it exactly how you want?
In the end, inertia won out for me. I went to a great computer repair shop and store and ended up buying a new Dell laptop. What do you all think, was it inertia that kept me with Dell? Something else? I’d be interested to hear in the comments.
