Customers aren't using your product as intended? This is feedback!

As product developers, we spend months (often even years) imagining how customers will use the products we create. We develop features, write instructions and picture people enjoying a clean, well-planned experience. In our heads, everything is tidy. In the real world… not so much.

Once your product is out there on the market, people will use it in ways you never expected. They’ll tweak it, repurpose it, or combine it with something totally unrelated. At first, that can feel frustrating but here’s how our product developers see it: when customers repurpose your product, it’s not necessarily a sign of failure. In fact, it can be a sign of opportunity.

Some of the most successful pivots, improvements and category-creating product ideas emerge when teams embrace “misuse” as insight rather than noise.

What do we mean when we say that a product is used in a "wrong way"?

Unexpected use, or a product being used in a "wrong way" is when customers creatively adapt your product to solve a problem you didn't design it for. Listening to the feedback can create new opportunities for the business.

Why is it not always a bad thing when customers use the product in an unintended way?

Here’s what it often means when customers use your product in surprising ways:

1. They’re engaged. People rarely get creative with products they don’t care about.

2. You’ve built something flexible. Adaptability is a feature, not a bug.

3. You’re gaining user-driven insight. These behaviors reveal unmet needs and new use cases.

4. It opens up new markets. Unexpected use can hint at entirely new customer segments to serve.

   
   

Think of unexpected use as your customers telling you:

• “Your product can do more than you thought.”

• “We have real-world needs you haven’t thought about yet.”

• “There’s a new market here you never planned for.”

Customers don’t care about how you expected them to use your product, they care about solving their own problem in their own context.

How to benefit from a product being used in an unexpected way

Most companies write off misuse as “user error.” Smart companies treat it like free R&D. 

Instead of pushing customers back toward your “ideal” use case, try leaning in:

1. Observe without judgment. What are customers trying to achieve? What workarounds have they hacked together?

2. Talk to them. Ask why they’re using the product that way. Their answers may reveal new directions.

3. Iterate intentionally. Consider whether to build new features or versions tailored to these emerging behaviors.

4. Market the discovery. If a new use case resonates widely, you may have just found your next marketing campaign or product line.

A great example: A simple storage bin designed for cables suddenly becomes popular among home bakers who use it to store icing tips and decorating tools. Do you fight that trend… or explore it?

Patterns like that are free insight into product–market fit. Use it.

What should you or your product developers watch for?

If you or your product developers want to find hidden opportunities, you should keep an eye on:

• Customer photos and reviews

• Support questions that feel “odd”

• Search terms that don’t match your original use case

• Groups of customers using your product the same “strange” way

This is the kind of information product developers need when planning new versions or spinoffs of the product.

Famous examples of products used “incorrectly”

Some of the world’s most successful products gained traction precisely because users didn't use them as expected:

• Instagram began as a location check-in app until users flocked to its photo-sharing feature.

• Bubble wrap was invented as wallpaper.

• Listerine started as a surgical antiseptic before finding its role in oral care.

• Play-Doh began life as a wallpaper cleaner.

In each case, customers didn’t follow the “intended” product purpose but that led to explosive growth.

But… be careful with true misuse

Not every use is a good use — especially in physical products.

There is such a thing as true misuse — using a product in a way that’s unsafe or harmful (for example using a tool dangerously). That’s something we absolutely want to prevent.

If unintended use could cause injury or damage, step in. That might mean:

• Clearer instructions

• Better warnings

• A safer design

• Or changes to packaging and communication

The goal isn’t to control people — it’s to protect them and your brand, while staying open to learning.

Final thought

A successful product isn’t only one that fits your original vision — it’s one that people find genuinely useful, even in ways you didn’t plan for.

So when customers use your product differently, don’t jump to “user error.” Instead, ask: What are they trying to achieve? And what can we learn from it? Often, the next big opportunity is hiding right there.