What's the catch?

Let’s say you’re shopping for a new washing machine. As you compare options, there’s one model that is the most energy efficient, has a wide arrange of advanced features, is made Germany, claims to get your clothes cleaner than ever, lasts longer than the competitors, breaks less frequently and also is the absolute cheapest.

Would you buy it? I might, because I can sometimes be a stingy bastard and I’ve been known to make really bad buying decisions as a result. But even so… I would assume that the washing machine manufacturers were lying to me. You probably would too. Here’s the thing:

— If you compare two (or more) options, and one is presented as having absolutely no drawbacks, most people will call BS. We want to know what the catch is, because we know there has to be one.

— Cheap = crappy in everyone’s mind. This is true in business decisions, this is true in personal buying decisions. When you buy a $1 plastic toy, you do not expect it to be handed down to your great-grandchildren. I’ve talked about this extensively before, but it’s worth talking about again.

How do you get around this? Be honest about the situations where your project and product do not shine. Tell people what the catch is. Then it’s just information, not an unknown that will likely come back to bite us.

The fastest way to show that you are not full of shit is to be clear that your project is not right for “all developers” and your product is not the best option in the competitive landscape in all scenarios. This has 3 benefits: 1) People trust you much faster; 2) People who would never be that happy fo away faster; and 3) It’s obvious to those who are good fit customers that your project/product is right for them, so they convert at a higher rate, and faster.

And a quick note: If you genuinely think your project/product is the best option in all scenarios, I have a challenge for you. Make a list of the competitive alternatives to your project and product, and then write down when each alternative would make more sense for a user/customer to choose. And if you’re feeling really bold, publish what you come up with on your website.