3. 3. 2  Patterns of technology adoption and the "chasm"

Detecting a market niche and creating a good product that meets the needs of the group of potential users is not enough to obtain acceptance. To introduce a new product or service, it is essential to take into account the patterns of technology adoption in a group of individuals.

Marketing books traditionally outline a model of adoption based on a Gaussian curve with four groups of users:

The curve represents two key ideas: the two intermediate categories cover the vast majority of potential customers, and we can only attract the groups in order from left to right (early adopters will adopt it if the innovators have already done so, the early majorities if the innovators have, the late majorities if the early majorities have, and the laggards if the late majorities have).

Geoffrey Moore in his Crossing the Chasm renames these groups, calling them technology enthusiasts, visionaries, pragmatists, conservatives and skeptics, and argues that the theory is flawed because the transition between the enthusiasts and pragmatic majorities is not continuous and difficult to achieve. The early majorities will not adopt solutions that have not been extensively tested but they will adopt those that obtain good references from other pragmatists, so reaching them may sometimes seem like an impossible task. For Moore, there is a chasm between the two groups, so he redraws the curve as shown:

Innovators and technology enthusiasts have a high tolerance for risk and the flaws of the new technology because they already have significant technical skills. These users will adopt a technology on the basis of the pure functionality they reveal when seeking innovation. The early and late majorities (pragmatists and conservatives) have a low risk tolerance and will be interested in purchasing a product if it increases their productivity but only if it is highly stable and mature.

Thus, an innovative product can be a major success among innovators and technology enthusiasts, but if the creator wants to expand its customer base, it will need to launch a separate marketing campaign, focusing not on the specific features and enhancements of the product, but on generating confidence in it, describing success stories and previous implementations, and indicating numbers of users.

Gaining our first customers in the group of pragmatists and keeping them happy is essential but very difficult, given the vicious circle created: none will adopt a solution not previously tried by other pragmatists.

Confidence can be built by offering integral solutions, which include maintenance, support and training, to attract customers that are sensitive to the stability and user-friendliness of the product. The first customers in this group must be treated with care, with no time or money spared, as they will be the benchmark for the rest. Once we have gained a few benchmark pragmatists, attracting the rest will be a much easier task, and once the pragmatists have adopted the solution, the conservatives will follow without the need for great marketing efforts.

Concentrating on innovators and enthusiasts – on the assumption that, despite being a small potential market, it will be sufficient for a small business – can be dangerous because this group is inherently unstable and will abandon a product as soon as it ceases to be new.

This adoption curve will also mark the life cycle of the product, together with its dynamics of development and marketing practices. The marketing company needs to be clear on the stage it is at and who its customers are at that time, since each group is attracted by very different factors. While adding many new features and maintaining an evolving product will attract innovators, conservatives need the product simply to work in specific scenarios and for it to always do so in the same way. Every change will be a hurdle that they will only be prepared to face if it solves a problem they have.