One of my readers pointed out that I used the term “willingness to pay” to describe desirability in the last post. 

In many ways, that’s a twist on the typical definition of desirability you see floating around. Usually, it’s framed as what gets your users excited or emotionally invested enough to engage. For a new product, it could mean reaching the so-called “aha moment” or simply wanting to use the product. It’s what creates magical experiences and desirable for users.

However, here’s where it didn’t sit right with the reader. If you use willingness to pay as the metric then it makes it feel like the experience becomes all about paying. 

But this assumes today’s landscape, where building software is cheaper, and more products compete for the same user segments. Add freemium models, trials, pilots, and pre-sales contracts, and it’s much harder to differentiate in a saturated market.

What I originally meant by “willingness to pay” was an alternative lens for evaluating desirability in this context. 

There’s a lot more to unpack here. I’ll expand on these thoughts in a future post. Stay tuned!