The Secret to Making Innovations Adopted
Getting a new idea or product adopted in B2B is rarely easy. You can have a great product, strong marketing, and even early interest, and still struggle to achieve wider adoption. So what really makes innovation stick?
In this episode of B2B Marketing Futures, Joaquin Dominguez hosted a conversation with three experienced marketing leaders to find out. Each brought a different perspective from SaaS, consulting, and enterprise software. Together, they shared practical lessons on what helps new ideas succeed and where many teams go wrong.
Host
Joaquin Dominguez, Head of Marketing at Adzact
Guests
Barney O’Kelly, Head of Solutions and Product Marketing at AlixPartners
Henrique Dutra, Product Marketing Lead at LeadSquared
Lara McCaskill, Product Marketing Manager at Atlassian
Five Classic Drivers of Adoption and What Often Gets Missed
The group began by exploring the five well-known factors that support adoption: relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, trialability, and observability. These are often used to assess whether an idea is likely to take off.
Henrique Dutra shared that, at Unbabel, their product only gained real traction when they built direct integrations into popular platforms like Salesforce and Zendesk. People did not want another separate tool. They wanted something that fit naturally into the tools they were already using. Compatibility reduced friction and made adoption feel simple.
Lara McCaskill added that Atlassian has the same mindset. Their marketplace of apps is built around integration and usability. Customers are more likely to adopt something if it works smoothly with their existing setup, rather than requiring a change in how they work.
Barney O’Kelly brought in a different angle from the world of professional services. He explained that pilots often fail to provide reliable insight. If a new product is only being used in parallel with the current way of doing things, it may never get proper attention. As a result, pilots can produce misleading feedback. Teams assume an idea will not work when, in fact, it just was not tested properly.
Barney also introduced an important point. Many good ideas do not land the first time. What makes a difference is persistence. Teams that keep refining, reframing, and promoting an idea over time often succeed, even if the early response is underwhelming.
“We often overestimate the power of a new feature and underestimate the power of a good fit. Adoption really takes off when your product works quietly in the background — when it plugs into existing systems, feels familiar to the user, and removes friction instead of adding it.” — Henrique Dutra
Two Audiences, Two Stories: The Buyer and the User
The group also explored a common B2B challenge. You are often selling to two separate groups. One group will use the product. The other, often in procurement or leadership, will approve the purchase.
Lara explained that this affects how you need to communicate. End users care about how a product helps them work better. Buyers focus on risk, cost, and return. If your champion inside the business cannot explain those benefits clearly, the deal may stall — even if everyone likes the product.
Henrique agreed, saying that buyers often care most about practical details such as pricing, time to value, and how it compares with alternatives. Helping your internal contact speak confidently to those points is essential.
Everyone agreed that understanding both groups is key. A single message is rarely enough. Teams need to tailor their story depending on who they are speaking to and what they value most.
"“Customers don’t just want to use a product — they want to be part of something they believe in. If we bring them into the process early, show them their feedback matters, and build trust through real partnership, that’s when adoption becomes something deeper and longer-lasting.” — Lara McCaskill
Real Adoption Happens Through Real People
The conversation then turned to how innovation spreads after early adoption. The answer was clear: it spreads through people.
Lara described how Atlassian puts customer advocacy at the heart of its approach. Real stories, told by real users, often do more than any ad. They create credibility and spark interest from peers in similar roles.
Henrique shared how, in industries like education and healthcare, LeadSquared has found that ecosystem partners are often the most effective path to growth. Customers trust the platforms and vendors they already know. Being part of that network builds trust faster than any outbound campaign.
Barney added that success is not always about having the best features. Often, adoption comes down to fit, timing, and ease. The products that get picked are usually the ones that are already familiar or easier to roll out. This is especially true in large organisations, where change is often seen as risky.
The group also discussed early adopters. While they are vital for getting started, they are not always loyal. They enjoy trying new things and may quickly move on to the next product. That is why building strong relationships matters. When users feel involved and heard, they are more likely to stick around and recommend the product to others.
“Many innovations fail not because they don’t work, but because they’re dropped too soon. If we treated rollout more like a campaign than a launch — listening, adjusting, and staying the course — we’d see more ideas succeed. Persistence and timing are just as important as having the right solution.” — Barney O’Kelly
From Early Success to Widespread Adoption
Early success is one thing. Reaching the mainstream is something else. The panellists offered useful guidance on how to bridge that gap.
Henrique emphasised the importance of listening to early users. Their feedback helps shape the product into something that solves real problems. Teams should resist the urge to chase new trends or grow too quickly. Staying focused is often the smarter move.
Lara explained how Atlassian uses Lighthouse programmes to involve a small group of customers before launching something more widely. These customers test real scenarios, give input, and help shape the final product. This builds confidence and loyalty while also improving the product.
Barney added that sometimes the right thing to do is simplify. New features can be exciting, but they can also make a product more confusing. In many cases, what buyers want is something that solves one specific problem clearly and reliably. Teams should know when to stop adding and start refining.
Final Thoughts: What Makes Innovation Stick?
At the end of the episode, each guest shared one key takeaway for driving adoption in B2B:
Henrique: Involve your early users and treat them like partners. Their trust and support are hard to replace.
Lara: Focus on solving real problems. If you are not addressing a real need, the rest does not matter.
Barney: Keep going. Most good ideas do not work the first time. That does not mean they cannot succeed with the right support and framing.
Conclusion: Fit, Trust and Patience Matter Most
Innovation does not succeed just because it is new. It succeeds when it fits into people’s work, solves problems they care about, and earns their trust. It spreads when users see value and share their experiences with others. And it requires patience. Most real adoption takes time, refinement, and commitment.
As this conversation showed, the secret to making innovation stick is not about hype. It is about staying close to your users, helping them succeed, and being ready to keep improving along the way.
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