Products that pass the deprivation test

Paul VanZandt
3 replies
The deprivation test is an informal measure of how much you need a certain product/service. Aka, if it's taken away, how much do you feel the absence. All products want to be vital to their users, so how can you create this need? Let me know if you have any good examples of products meeting the deprivation test or if you can think of ways to increase the necessity of your product to the customer!

Replies

Dylan Merideth
Definitely logic, my music production software. As far a productivity goes, notion is so smooth for me since I know it so well, however I made the switch to notion from microsoft onenote, which was a product I was content with and would go back to if notion lost me (either lose my data or something unforeseen) Creating this need is all about solving a problem. If you solve the end-user problem in style, and there isnt friction surrounding payment, then I think the product passes the deprivation test in theory. High switching costs, whether in $ terms or in learning curve (like with my music production software, learning a new one is annoying and time consuming) also make for a passing deprivation test result.
Paul VanZandt
@dylan_merideth You're definitely right about the cost of switching (whether that be time, effort, or both) being a factor in the deprivation test. I appreciate the feedback!