To provide end-to-end solutions across the customer journey, a building systems company had developed a new planning tool for complex renovation projects. The tool helped technical planners compare options faster, avoid coordination errors, and prepare cleaner documentation for contractors.
The pilot users liked the tool. Planners said it saved time, and technical teams liked having fewer back-and-forth loops with contractors.
The product lead brought the comments into the meeting with visible relief. Then the regional sales pointed at the user feedback slide and said: “The people who love this tool are not the full buying center. We need green lights from the Chief Digital Officers and the Business Transformation Officers inside the customer organization as well.” The comment landed because it exposed a gap the user feedback had not answered.
I asked the team to pause the discussion and map two things on the board. On one side: the value points for the pilot users. On the other side: the full buying center, their jobs-to-be-done, and the pain points and gain points that would shape their decision.
Then I wrote one sentence below both: “For this solution to scale, the value seen by pilot users connects to the jobs, pains, gains, and decision criteria of the buying center.”
The room became quieter. Until then, the discussion had been about user adoption: better features, more use cases, stronger pilot stories. All sensible. None of this answered the key assumption.
The team had validated user value. But strong pilot feedback had revealed only one side of the picture. It did not show buying center readiness. The users had spoken clearly. The buying center had not.
Questions senior managers often ask in this context:
Why do products that pilot users like still fail to get bought?
Products that users like still fail to get bought when the people who value the product are not the people who approve the purchase. Pilot users may see practical benefits, but budget owners, digital leaders, transformation leaders, or business sponsors need their own reasons to support the decision.
How do we know whether the buying center supports a new solution?
The full buying center supports a new solution when each important stakeholder sees how the solution helps them do their job, reduce risk, improve performance, or justify the investment. Strong user feedback is not enough if economic buyers and senior decision-makers have not validated the business case.
What should we check before scaling a solution that pilot users like?
Before scaling, check whether the pilot-user value connects to the buying center’s priorities and decision criteria. The key question is whether decision-makers can justify the purchase, not only whether users enjoy or appreciate the tool.