How can you ensure paying customers don't worsen the new user experience?

"But how is a new user supposed to use this? In a previous B2B Design role, I felt like a broken record. The PM would tell me to design something for one of our paying customers, which felt like it was only for them. A network map that only supports a defunct format. An import spreadsheet function for 500 items that seems impossible for new users to figure out."

"The problem is that this request would come from a paying customer with specific, customized needs. This is one of the biggest challenges in B2B Design: How do you balance designing for new users and paying customers, when their needs are fundamentally different? How do you push back when the business is motivated to keep paying customers happy? Here's how this typically unfolds, and what you can do about it."

Design teams in B2B contexts often face tension between accommodating paying customers' customized needs and preserving usability for new users. Customer-driven requests — such as legacy-format network maps or bulk-import spreadsheets for hundreds of items — can produce specialized workflows that confuse newcomers. Product and business stakeholders commonly prioritize short-term, tangible outcomes tied to revenue and retention. Designers should negotiate priorities, propose scalable or configurable solutions, and create dual-path interfaces that serve both advanced customers and new users. Measuring impact and aligning incentives enables justified trade-offs and more sustainable product decisions.

Read at Medium