Choose For Them, Not With Them

The Growth Insight 🌱

Choose For Them, Not With Them

Stop Giving Users Too Many Choices (They Secretly Hate It)

Ever wonder why some products feel effortless while others make you think too hard? The secret isn't better design – it's having the guts to make decisions for your users.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: Complete freedom of choice is overrated. Users don't want infinite options; they want confident guidance. Enter the power of "opinionated defaults."

The Art of Gentle Manipulation 

Think of it like a smart friend ordering for you at a restaurant they know well. Sure, you could spend 20 minutes studying the menu, but wouldn't you rather trust their recommendation? That's what great products do – they make smart choices on your behalf while letting you override them if needed.

The Proof Is Everywhere

• When Patreon subtly suggested $5 instead of $1 as a starting tier price, creator earnings skyrocketed

• When Airbnb pre-fills your potential earnings as a host, you're more likely to list your property

• When Zoom makes smart choices about your video settings, you actually get to your meeting on time

But Here's Where Most Products Get It Wrong 

They confuse flexibility with value. They throw every possible option at users and call it "powerful." In reality, they're just shifting the mental burden to their customers. It's not empowerment – it's laziness.

The Secret Sauce: Opinionated Defaults 

The best products are like good parents: They give you guardrails, not unlimited freedom. They say, "Here's our recommendation based on what works best, but you can change it if you really want to."

Key principles:

1. Make strong recommendations, not weak suggestions

2. Use data to back your opinions

3. Keep customization possible but not prominent

4. Focus on reducing friction for new users

5. Iterate based on how people actually use your product

The Million-Dollar Question 

Ask yourself: Are you giving users too many choices because you're afraid of making decisions for them? Are you calling it "flexibility" when it's really just indecision?

Remember: Users don't want options. They want outcomes.

Credit: Leveraging Opinionated Defaults to Power Growth, by Adam Fishman

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