The concept of technology adoption life cycle needs to be understood by any technology related organization in order to survive in the industry in the long term. In this post I will be explaining a model for understanding the acceptance of new products.
Innovators
These are the people who pursue new technology aggressively. You can associate people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to understand the characteristics of this category. They seek out new technology even before a formal marketing plan is being launched. Technology plays a significant role in their life and they would purchase technology simply for pleasure. However winning innovators for your organization is key because they will reassure other players in the market place that your product actually works.
Early majority
The early majority shares some enthusiasm to new technology as early adopters, however they are driven by practicality. They require well established references prior to any investment decision. This segment comprise of one-third of the whole adoption life cycle, thus winning this segment is key to any substantial profits.
Laggards
This segment simply doesn't want to take part in any technology due to personal and economic reasons. The only time they buy a technological product is when it is buried so deep inside another product. For example a microprocessor is embedded in a breaking system. They will not even know that such a product exists. This segment however is not worth pursuing.
These are the people who pursue new technology aggressively. You can associate people like Steve Jobs and Bill Gates to understand the characteristics of this category. They seek out new technology even before a formal marketing plan is being launched. Technology plays a significant role in their life and they would purchase technology simply for pleasure. However winning innovators for your organization is key because they will reassure other players in the market place that your product actually works.
Early adopters
People who belong to this category are not technologists as innovators. They understand and appreciate the benefits of new technology and relate these benefits to their organizational concerns. Whenever there is a strong match between these two aspects early adopters would base their buying decision upon it. However they do not place significant importance on references, thus base the buying decision on their own vision. Early adopters are the key to opening up the high tech market segment.Early majority
The early majority shares some enthusiasm to new technology as early adopters, however they are driven by practicality. They require well established references prior to any investment decision. This segment comprise of one-third of the whole adoption life cycle, thus winning this segment is key to any substantial profits.
Late majority
As the book says "shares all the concerns of the early majority, plus one major additional one". This additional concern is because unlike the early adopters, people in this category are not comfortable is using technology. Thus, they wait till until the particular technology becomes an established standard. Also they require a lot of support and prefer to buy only from established companies. This group comprises about one-third of the total buying population in any given segment and winning this segment will be highly profitable for the companyLaggards
This segment simply doesn't want to take part in any technology due to personal and economic reasons. The only time they buy a technological product is when it is buried so deep inside another product. For example a microprocessor is embedded in a breaking system. They will not even know that such a product exists. This segment however is not worth pursuing.
No comments:
Post a Comment