People Don’t Fear Change. They Fear Loss
This simple reframing can 10x your tech marketing
“It’s obvious what the problem is: people are afraid of new things.”
I was consulting with an AI startup, and their CTO took it upon himself to explain why the brand wasn’t gaining traction.
They had a unique product, built on (his) stellar tech, and every business they had sold it to was blown away by the results.
But they just couldn’t get enough people to take the leap.
And it was all down to that pesky, irrational fear of change.
Beware self-flattering “flaws”
Plenty of people assume my job as a marketer is to give clients what they want.
But the reality is often the exact reverse.
One of the most valuable thing I can do for my clients is challenge their assumptions and tell them hard truths.
So that’s exactly what I did.
I told him that his theory was rubbish.
It might be nice to think the problem is your product’s just ahead of its time, but doesn’t that seem a tad convenient?
Of course people don’t fear change — take a look at your local bookstore’s self-help section.
What people fear is loss, and that means your job as a tech business is to assuage them of that concern.
Reframing the problem
The problem with the “fear of change” diagnosis is it’s too broad.
You can’t find a solution, because the problem isn’t sufficiently concrete.
So let’s try drilling down on it a little.
The idea that people are “afraid of change” is almost universally accepted, but think about it for a minute and the entire thing falls apart.
Of course people don’t fear change — take a look at your local bookstore’s self-help section.
The concept of change is neutral; it can be good or bad.
People obviously aren’t hesitant to adopt new technology because they’re afraid it will improve things.
Which means what they’re really afraid of isn’t “change” — it’s negative change.
Specific fears produce specific solutions
Once we’ve established this, the question becomes: what possible negative changes could your product present?
These could be deep anxieties, like the loss of control or human connection.
They could be seemingly-superficial, like the loss of an excuse to talk to colleagues or embarrassment about their technological competence.
95% of the time though, the negative change they fear will be some form of loss.
Loss is a uniquely powerful motivator for human beings, and we tend to discount any potential gain in order to avoid giving something up.
So once you understand what loss your prospective customers fear, you need to figure out how to assuage it — and I believe that’s best done by addressing it directly.
Get in front of the fear
A lot of marketers will tell you to avoid talking about potential downsides to your product.
Because why put ideas in people’s heads, right?
But the reality is, customers are going to have their concerns regardless of whether you address them.
And by talking about them, you can get in front of them — and reassure buyers that you’ve got it covered.
Loss is a uniquely powerful motivator for human beings, and we tend to discount any potential gain in order to avoid giving something up.
Through my consultation with the AI startup, it became clear that prospective buyers feared their product — which was designed to help build a more effective “digital workplace” — might lead them to lose vital cultural factors.
So we amended their messaging to address that fact.
“Change how you work”, became “Change how you work, not who you are”.
A simple change, and unfortunately more words.
But that message immediately resonated with their customers, and positioned them as not just another futuristic tech business — but a brand that actually understands its audience.
Being “benefit-led” is good advice for most marketing.
But focusing exclusively on benefits can keep you from understanding your audience.
Because buyers don’t want benefits — they want the truth.
And if you fail to address something they’re concerned about, they will assume you’ve got something to hide.
