On Software Adoption…

For a couple years, I’ve been tossing around a theory/model for why organizations don’t use post-publish optimization tools – things like personalization, experimentation, etc.

Some do, of course. But let’s be honest – most don’t, even though they buy them all the time. Vendors are constantly selling MarTech capabilities that tend to sit on a shelf.

So, here’s the model – it’s cumulative; it builds from the bottom up. You have to “complete” each level to get to the next level, until you “drop out.”

⚠️ Lack of AWARENESS. The org just doesn’t know what tools are available and what they can do. No one has explained what’s possible.

⚠️ Lack of SKILL. The org has Awareness, but doesn’t think it has the strategic or operational skill to make the tools work. Either they don’t think they can work the tools, or they don’t think they can assemble a coherent strategy that avoids a string of half-hearted, one-off attempts. (Oftentimes, management thinks THEY have the skill, but they don’t think that skill flows down through the frontlines of the marketing org. They think the org as a whole is lacking, while they themselves are wildly qualified.)

⚠️ Lack of CAPACITY. The org has Awareness and Skill, but doesn’t think it has the headcount, because they suspect (often rightly) that these tools will create more work, and it just can’t be staffed. This is either a pure staffing problem, or no one has packaged the tools and process in a way they think will be manageable in the long-term. It’s a chronic coordination and management problem.

⚠️ Lack of BELIEF. The org has everything else, but it just doesn’t think the current tools apply to their business model, and that they wouldn’t receive enough upside to cover the costs. They don’t buy into the vision.

This is kind of a funnel, starting at Awareness. Orgs “drop out” at some point. They might have the Awareness and the Skill, but not the Capacity. Or they might have everything leading up to Belief, but they drop out there.

(…or maybe that’s wrong? I presented it to an org this week who said they have Awareness and Belief – #1 and #4 – but nothing else. So maybe Belief should be second in the list? Or maybe the “funnel” metaphor just doesn’t fit here?)

I think the subtext is that user adoption is a (the?) real problem in MarTech. Of all things we need to work out in this industry, I feel like adoption is the linchpin that people don’t talk about enough.

Sure, you bought all the best tools, but how are you going to get your staff to use them? What’s actually stopping you? I don’t doubt it’s something, but we need to do a much better job of figuring out what that is.