Buyers want modular software
Buyers want modular software
Have you tried software where you like a few of the features, but not all of it? Attract more buyers by making it possible to be modular. Read: "Everything Starts Out Looking Like a Toy" #216
Hi, I’m Greg 👋! I write weekly product essays, including system “handshakes”, the expectations for workflow, and the jobs to be done for data. What is Data Operations? was the first post in the series.
This week’s toy: a chemical in the dye Yellow #5, also found in Doritos, has an unexpected effect. Scientists used a high concentration of this chemical to turn the skin of lab rats temporarily transparent. Maybe the idea of using refractive light to create a Harry Potter invisibility cloak is not so crazy after all.
Edition 216 of this newsletter is here - it’s September 16, 2024.
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The Big Idea
A short long-form essay about data things
⚙️ Buyers want modular software
As a software seller, it’s pretty advantageous to sell either a system of truth – a system where users spend most of their time and can’t live without – or a valuable utility – software that makes other software so easy that it’s indispensable – so that means you need to lean one way or the other.
Both a system of truth and a valuable utility check the boxes for usability and benefit:
they are “sticky” because you don’t want to give them up
you use them because they improve your business so much (or make it possible)
they tend to crowd out other software over time
But most software doesn’t land squarely in either camp right at the beginning of the customer journey, unless the customer is starting a brand new business or aligned 100% with the vision of your software and all of the pieces fit into place immediately.
A more common outcome is to find a puzzle piece that looks like it matches, and it’s hard to know whether you found the right answer is to build out more of the system. When a customer really likes part of your software and dislikes (or is distracted by) other parts, you had better be able to hide the stuff they don’t like.
Is your software modular?
What do we mean when we talk about software being “modular”? The core of the idea is the ability to turn features on and off without disabling the utility the customer is trying to use. You might have certain features that are bundled, but they can all be toggled on or off as a group.
Modularity implies that when pieces of the software are used separately, they can be combined into a bigger whole that delivers more value. The initial dopamine hit of using a feature builds when you use features are similarly designed and interconnected. Instead of seeing them all at once, you get introduced to the software in small bites.
What does this mean in practice?
A control panel to hide “apps” that aren’t frequently used
An underlying structure of platform that supports a variety of configurations based on a common data schema
The ability to import (and export) data
Adopting software is a leap of faith - you want it to be easy for your customers to make small jumps before they take a big one.
What do customers want from your software?
Custmers want the optionality to use as much of the software as they want without having to commit, and then to commit when it becomes a valuable part of their business. They might only want a way to improve their current systems, or be open to the idea of using something completely new if their data and customers come along for the ride.
How can you attract those prospects? Turn off the complexity (or hide it) in your software. Mimic or improve their current process. Make it so easy for them to try out the new thing that they are open to making a bigger change, while demonstrating value with their existing data so it feels familiar.
What’s the takeaway? Buyers want optionality. Configuring your software so that it allows them to try a little or a lot of it at a time, while letting them add on features later is a great strategy to demonstrate improvements to their current system. It also gives you a path to sell them on building a new system of record where they can compound the value for their business.
Links for Reading and Sharing
These are links that caught my 👀
1/ A really cool piece of animation history - you will recognize the films of Norman McLaren if you spent some time looking at animated films (and Looney Tunes) of the 1950s and 1960s.
2/ Predicting the future - It’s really hard to look at today’s technology and know what future technology will look at with high fidelity. Ben Evans says, “we don't so much get our predictions wrong as make predictions about the wrong things.”
3/ Will we have free* TVs? - With the news that the Trade Desk is building a smart-tv platform, how long will it be until ad purveyors are providing free, ad-supported televisions that provide lots and lots of data? I think a lot of people would take a free TV in exchange for very detailed observations on what they watch.
What to do next
Hit reply if you’ve got links to share, data stories, or want to say hello.
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The next big thing always starts out being dismissed as a “toy.” - Chris Dixon