Why Your Customers Don't Get Your Product—and Why That's Your Problem, Not Theirs

We've all been there. You launch a great product with amazing features, only to see customers scratching their heads, confused, or worse—simply walking away. It's easy to blame your customers, assuming they're not tech-savvy enough or don't see the obvious value. But here's the tough love truth: if your customers aren't getting it, it's probably not their fault.

Let's dive into why customers struggle with products—and how investing in smart customer education can turn things around for your business.

Customers Struggle Because Companies Misunderstand Learning

Many products, especially SaaS and complex tech solutions, have steep learning curves. Companies often mistakenly believe customers will "just get it" with a little onboarding. But this expectation clashes with real-world psychology. Customers rarely buy what they don't understand, especially if they can't visualize how your product fits into their existing workflows.

Common pitfalls include:

• Focusing too heavily on features, rather than showing clear, relatable use cases.
• Neglecting the value proposition, leaving customers unsure why they should care.
• Assuming exhaustive explanations are effective, when in reality, they're overwhelming.

Customers don't want more features; they want clear solutions to their actual problems.

Trust and Value—The Hidden Barriers

Even if your customers theoretically understand your product, trust issues and unclear value can still kill adoption:

• Trust is crucial—and it has to be intentionally built through transparency and customer-centric approaches.
• Unclear value propositions make it tough for customers to justify a purchase.
• Price vs. value—customers often default to the cheapest option if your product's unique value isn't obvious.

This becomes even more pronounced during economic downturns when budgets are tight, and every purchasing decision is scrutinized.

Moving Beyond Product Education to Customer Education

There's a huge difference between product education and customer education:

• Product education tends to focus purely on features—think tutorials and how-to guides.
• Customer education is about empowering users to apply your product effectively toward their goals. This goes way beyond onboarding and continues throughout the entire customer lifecycle.

A study from Intellum found companies that invest in formal customer education programs see an average increase of 7.6% in top-line revenue, along with higher customer retention and reduced support costs.

Effective customer education creates empowered users who become your best product ambassadors, actively improving retention, satisfaction, and ultimately, your bottom line.

Learner-First Design Makes All the Difference

Most product education today is content-first, meaning it focuses on what the product can do rather than what the user needs. This approach often:

• Neglects how customers actually use the product.
• Fails to answer the critical "Why would I use this?" question.
• Ignores customers' everyday responsibilities and pain points.

Switching to a learner-first model can radically shift customer comprehension by:

• Clearly demonstrating how your product adds value to everyday tasks.
• Highlighting realistic workflows and relatable use cases.
• Encouraging reflection on why specific features matter.

This isn't just theory—it's backed by educational design principles and user experience (UX) research, which together create what's known as Learning Experience Design (LX design).

Practical Strategies for Real-World Results

Here are four user-centered approaches you can immediately adopt:

1. "Explain it like I'm eight" Approach: Simplify without dumbing down. Clarity trumps complexity every time.
2. Magic of Metaphors: Use familiar analogies to illustrate unfamiliar concepts—think of Dropbox's "magic folder".
3. Multi-modal Learning: Different customers learn differently—videos, infographics, podcasts, and interactive walkthroughs all have their place.
4. Service Design Thinking: Consider the entire customer journey—not just isolated product interactions.

Designing Educational Content That Actually Works

Make sure your educational materials:

• Target specific user segments—one size doesn't fit all.
• Use varied formats—webinars for deeper dives, infographics for quick insights, quizzes for engagement.
• Clearly define the product's purpose in terms relevant to the user.
• Improve accessibility—consider disabilities and varying internet connectivity.

Actionable Recommendations for Learning Specialists

To truly level up your customer education:

• Conduct comprehensive customer research first—understand workflows, pain points, and real-life goals.
• Shift educational focus from features to customer goals and outcomes.
• Design educational materials specifically aligned with the stages of the customer journey (pre-purchase, onboarding, ongoing, advanced use).
• Embed empathy in your design—literally step into your customers' shoes.
• Create detailed user personas for targeted education.
• Integrate customer education directly into your product experience—don't isolate it.
• Always test your educational content with real users for validation.

Wrapping Up

The research is clear: customers who don't "get" your product aren't the problem—you are. Admitting this isn't easy, but it's the first step toward a powerful shift in your strategy. Focus on empowering customers through thoughtful, continuous education that meets them exactly where they are.

Your product might be great, but greatness means nothing if your customers can't see it.