People do not want something really new - they want something they’ve done, but they’ve done differently.

From the translator: this is a rather old article of 2015, however, to my modest taste, it is still relevant, like many other materials from Nir Eyal.

If your new product or service is not gaining popularity, ask yourself: how can I find my California roll?

I have to admit that bento lunch is hardly a source of serious business lessons. However, let's take a look at the California roll - understanding the effects of this iconic Japanese dish can help lead your product to success and avoid failure.

If you have ever been disappointed that users are not interested in what you offer, you will understand the feelings of the owners of Japanese restaurants in America in the 1970s. Sushi in those days did not eat anyone. Apparently, the Americans simply feared them. Eating raw fish looked completely insane, and tofu and seaweed seemed like a misunderstanding, not a delicacy.

And there was a roll "California". Although the origin of this famous dish is still under discussion , it was precisely this moment that was the turning point. Roll "California" was invented in the States, having prepared an unusual new dish from the usual ingredients. Rice, avocado, cucumber, sesame seeds and crab meat - the only stranger for the average American was a barely perceptible leaf of nori, connecting everything together.

Habitual, done otherwise

Roll "California" became a guide to the world of Japanese cuisine, and demand jumped with incredible force. Over the following decades, sushi restaurants, which previously existed only in large coastal cities and served mainly Japanese, suddenly became commonplace. Today, sushi is sold in small towns, airports, mini-malls and in the departments of finished products in supermarkets. Americans spend on sushi $ 2.25 billion annually .
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The California roll incident clearly showed that people don’t want something really new, they want something they’ve done, but they’ve done differently. Curiously, this experience applies to both food and the introduction of new technologies.

For example, the graphical user interface — an important milestone in popularizing personal computers — was built on familiar visual images of folders, notebooks, windows, and trash cans to attract a wide audience that was afraid of the command line (perhaps much more than eating raw fish). By itself, the computer remained the same, but the appearance of familiar things immediately made it more accessible and understandable.

Unnecessarily detailed images of familiar things have become the hallmark of Apple products. Claire Evans, in her Motherboard article, wrote: “In the later years of the leadership of Steve Jobs, the design of Apple products led to skeuomorphism. Desk calendar with carefully traced details of Corinthian skin; polished to a shine bookcase, polished chrome, slightly frayed bindings, freshly painted table top ”.

Now Apple is making products for a generation of people who are familiar with their technology, and therefore can offer them sashimi instead of “California” roll, if you will. Joni Ive explained in an interview with USA today : “We can safely say that people are used to touch devices. Their advantages are obvious today, so the physical buttons are no longer needed. ”

However, Apple still uses its time-tested methods when it wants to create new user habits. For example, the updated Apple Wallet helps users feel comfortable because payments are made using small credit cards shown on the screen. And although this is not a technical necessity, Apple is well aware of the power of familiar images.

The unusual breeds contempt

As I wrote in my book , On the Hook , unusual products and interfaces are harder to use, and this may prevent their adoption by the user. Due to various psychological characteristics, we resist unfamiliar things.

According to the research B.J. Fogg at Stanford University's Laboratory of Behavioral Technologies, “non-routine,” is one of six “Elements of Simplicity,” factors that affect the likelihood that a particular person will perform an action. Fogg writes: “When a person is confronted with a non-standard situation, he may find it difficult. In search of simplicity, people often turn to familiar things, for example, refueling at the same gas station, even if gas prices are higher there than on others. ”

Of course, we all love “new and improved”, but to a relatively modest degree. “New and improved” works great for things that we are familiar with (for example, breakfast cereals or dishwashing detergents), but not for products that we still don’t know how to evaluate.

Unfortunately, our rejection of things that go beyond the norm, greatly hinders companies offering radically new technologies - regardless of their potential benefits. Lack of familiar sensations when using a new product is a serious obstacle. According to Fogg, “people often resist learning and training because it takes effort. This conflicts with the nature of adults: we are lazy. As a result, products requiring the study of something new, for the most part, fail. ”

How to find your California roll?

In a conversation about the Apple Watch, Joni Ive noted that his goal was to create something “surprisingly familiar.” Smart watches are just the type of innovation that is still too unusual for all but the earliest followers. And Ive still meticulously treats details like the wheel of the Digital Crown, borrowed from traditional watches. Apparently, he knows what he is doing: analysts predict that the company will sell 19 million hours this year (now we can say that the prediction did not come true , but for the 4th quarter of 2017 the company sold 8 million Apple Watch . In any case, the results impressive. - Approx. per.)

With the growth rate of innovation is not technological limitations, namely, human behavior will be the decisive factor in whether the product is accepted or rejected. If new products and services have a positive effect on our lives, they should find a loophole in our daily affairs. The habitual, done differently is the path to the user's heart and mind. And sometimes - to the stomach.

Let's sum up

• Roll "California" introduced Americans to sushi using familiar ingredients gathered together in a new format.
• The "California" roll rule: people do not want something really new - they want something familiar, but done differently.
• Truly new products need images that are familiar to the brain, so that users can easily get used to them (for example: Apple's skeuomorphic design).
• Unusual user interfaces may not accept.
• If your new product or service is not well received by users, ask yourself: how do I find my California roll?