What’s your go-to move when users aren’t engaging with new features?
You’ve built something new. It solves a real problem. The team’s excited, you’ve shipped it, the feature’s live...
And then – crickets.
Adoption is slow. Usage is low. Feedback is minimal or nonexistent.
At first, it’s frustrating.
Especially if you know the feature is genuinely useful. But it happens all the time, even to great teams. And the reasons are rarely simple: wrong timing, unclear value, poor discoverability, or just user inertia.
So here’s what I’d love to hear: when this happens, what do you do?
Do you rethink how it’s framed in the product? Go back to users and dig into the “why”? Trigger an email campaign showing real-world examples?
Create a walkthrough video? Leave it be and wait for the right moment?
I’m curious not just about tactics but the thinking behind them.
How do you decide whether the problem is messaging, UX, timing, or just user fatigue?
How do you avoid overcorrecting too soon or, worse, abandoning something with potential?
This is something we think about a lot at Clueso. How do you bridge the gap between building a great feature and communicating it clearly enough for users to care, engage, and adopt it?
I’d love to hear stories from the trenches. Whether you work in product, marketing, customer education, or enablement – what’s your go-to move when new features don’t land the way you hoped?
Let’s build a playbook together.
Replies
When a new feature flops, I don’t assume it’s a UX problem, I assume it’s a context problem. Most users aren’t sitting around waiting to explore what’s new; they’re trying to finish something. So if the feature doesn’t show up at the right moment inside their existing workflow, it doesn’t exist to them. We’ve had more success on my team at Equally AI tying new web accessibility features to real triggers, like a compliance deadline, an error state, or a common bottleneck, than pushing walkthroughs or tooltips. If the feature solves something urgent and you surface it right when the pain hits, then adoption becomes frictionless.
Clueso
@a11yexpert This is gold – totally agree that most users aren’t looking for new features, they’re just trying to get something done. And if your feature doesn’t show up at that exact moment of need, it might as well not exist.
We’ve seen this play out too.
Love the idea of tying it to real triggers like deadlines or errors. That’s where relevance beats visibility every time.
@ashutosh_raj Haha yep, relevance eats visibility for breakfast. Learned that one in the wild.
Phygital+
For me main steps in such situation:
1. Check if my audience is relevant
2. Run some UX interviews and see in real life how people use the product
3. Run some UX interviews on competitors website to see what I can do better
Clueso
@olga_zueva Love how practical this is – especially the part about watching how people actually use the product in real life. So much gets revealed in those little moments that analytics alone just can’t show.
Also, running interviews on competitors? 👏 That’s next-level proactive.
Curious to know if those ever led to a big “aha” moment or shift in how you positioned a feature?
Lyssna
For me always is to work really hard and organise in the distribution of the content of the new features:
Banners in the website.
Banners in the app.
Newsletter.
Social Media posts:
Announcement.
Videos.
Webinar.
Workshop.
Influencers.
Paid Advertising:
Boost content for our own users (retargeting).
Create content on the website and other places.
Clueso
@rubenlozanome Love how structured this is. You’re covering all the key surfaces, not just announcing but really distributing the value. Too often teams ship a feature and hope people stumble on it.
We’ve seen that video plays a big role in this mix, especially when it’s embedded directly into those touch points (like in-app banners or triggered emails). That’s actually a big reason we built Clueso: to help teams go from launch to clear, contextual video content fast – so you can plug it right into your distribution flow without the usual friction.
Great question! When this happens, I try to talk to a few users directly to understand what’s missing do they even notice the feature? Do they understand the value?
Sometimes it's just a messaging tweak or a better intro in the UI. Other times, a short email or in-app guide helps a lot. If we still believe in the feature, we don’t give up fast we test small changes, see what clicks, and go from there.
It’s all about listening, learning, and adjusting bit by bit.
Clueso
@jolden_cox Yes to all of this – especially the part about not giving up too fast. So many teams ship a feature, don’t see instant traction, and move on. But like you said, a simple UI nudge or well-timed email can completely change how it lands.
We’ve seen short, contextual videos work really well too, especially when users aren’t “getting” the value right away. That’s a big focus for us at Clueso: helping teams nudge users in the right direction.
Love your iterative approach, that’s what actually builds real adoption.
Clueso
@johny_d Yes, this is a perfect strategy to know the pulse. Listening to customers is always a winning strategy!