The Challenges of Consumer Product Metrics and the Power of Scout Mindset

The Challenges of Consumer Product Metrics and the Power of Scout Mindset

Introduction:

Consumer product metrics play a crucial role in evaluating the success of a product or service. However, these metrics often fall short in capturing the true engagement and satisfaction of users. This article explores why consumer product metrics are often deemed as terrible and delves into the concept of scout mindset, which can help us overcome our biases and improve judgment.

Consumer Product Metrics: A Flawed Picture

When analyzing consumer product metrics, it becomes evident that the numbers can be misleading. For instance, a typical product may witness a staggering 90% refusal to sign up, and even among those who do sign up, over 90% eventually become disengaged and inactive. Mobile apps, on the other hand, may have better engagement metrics but struggle with lower upfront conversion rates. This discrepancy highlights the challenges in accurately measuring user engagement and retention.

Engagement and Frequency: A Struggle for Success

Engagement and frequency of usage are crucial factors in determining the success of a product. However, it is disheartening to realize that often, more than 90% of users are not engaged on a daily basis. In fact, anything more than 10% of users returning every day is considered a success. This highlights the need to align a product with users' pre-existing behaviors instead of introducing something entirely new. By understanding users' habits and preferences, product creators can increase engagement and frequency.

The Power of Social Connections

Another significant hurdle in creating a healthy, dynamic news feed is the lack of social connections among users. Surprisingly, over 50% of users may not know anyone else in the service, leading to a need for content that compensates for this gap. Instagram, one of the most successful viral products in recent history, had 65% of their users disconnected from anyone else. This underscores the challenge of cultivating a vibrant user community and maintaining active participation.

The 1% Rule and Content Creation

The 1% rule, which suggests that only a few percentages of users will actively author content, poses a significant obstacle in creating a thriving user experience. With a limited number of users contributing content, it becomes increasingly challenging to curate a diverse and engaging news feed. This emphasizes the importance of finding innovative ways to encourage user-generated content and ensure the overall quality of the user experience.

Understanding Scout Mindset: Overcoming Bias

While analyzing consumer product metrics, it is essential to consider our own biases and cognitive tendencies. The concept of scout mindset, as opposed to soldier mindset, can help us approach information with curiosity and a desire for accurate understanding. Scout mindset is characterized by the pleasure of learning new information and the drive to solve puzzles. By adopting scout mindset, we can transcend our unconscious motivations and make more objective judgments.

The Ubiquity of Motivated Reasoning

Motivated reasoning, also known as soldier mindset, is a pervasive phenomenon that influences our judgment based on our unconscious desires and fears. It shapes our views on health, relationships, political decisions, and ethical considerations. What is particularly alarming is how unconscious motivated reasoning can be, leading us to believe we are objective and fair-minded when, in reality, our biases are clouding our judgment.

The Power of Scout Mindset in Improving Judgment

To improve our judgment as individuals and societies, we must prioritize the development of scout mindset. While instruction in logic, rhetoric, probability, and economics is valuable, the true power lies in cultivating a mindset that seeks to understand reality as honestly and accurately as possible, regardless of convenience or personal preferences. By adopting scout mindset, we can overcome biases and make better-informed decisions.

Actionable Advice:

• 1. Focus on aligning your product with users' pre-existing behaviors to increase engagement and frequency of usage. Understand your target audience's habits and preferences to create a seamless user experience.

• 2. Foster social connections among users by encouraging interaction and community-building. Actively work to bridge the gap between users who may not know each other to create a vibrant and engaging environment.

• 3. Embrace scout mindset in your personal and professional life. Cultivate curiosity, enjoy the process of learning, and strive for an accurate understanding of information. Be aware of your unconscious biases and work towards objectivity in decision-making.

Conclusion:

Consumer product metrics often fail to capture the true engagement and satisfaction of users. By acknowledging the limitations of these metrics and adopting scout mindset, we can overcome biases and improve our judgment. Aligning products with users' pre-existing behaviors, fostering social connections, and embracing curiosity are actionable steps towards creating successful products and making informed decisions.