■ Early adopters share some traits that differentiate them from late adopters.
■ Efficient media exist for reaching early adopters.
■ Early adopters tend to be opinion leaders and helpful in “advertising” the new
product to other potential buyers.
The theory of innovation diffusion and consumer adoption helps marketers iden-
tify early adopters.
STAGES IN THE ADOPTION PROCESS
Aninnovationrefers to any good, service, or idea that is perceivedby someone as new.
The idea may have a long history, but it is an innovation to the person who sees it
as new. Innovations take time to spread through the social system. Rogers defines the
innovation diffusion processas “the spread of a new idea from its source of invention
or creation to its ultimate users or adopters.”^43 The consumer-adoption process fo-
cuses on the mental process through which an individual passes from first hearing
about an innovation to final adoption.
Adopters of new products have been observed to move through five stages:
- Awareness:The consumer becomes aware of the innovation but lacks informa-
tion about it. - Interest:The consumer is stimulated to seek information about the innova-
tion. - Evaluation:The consumer considers whether to try the innovation.
- Trial:The consumer tries the innovation to improve his or her estimate of its
value. - Adoption:The consumer decides to make full and regular use of the innova-
tion.
The new-product marketer should facilitate consumer movement through these
stages. A portable electric-dishwasher manufacturer might discover that many con-
sumers are stuck in the interest stage; they do not buy because of their uncertainty
and the large investment cost. But these same consumers would be willing to use an
electric dishwasher on a trial basis for a small monthly fee. The manufacturer should
consider offering a trial-use plan with option to buy. Developers of most general-in-
terest interactive CD-ROM titles found that consumers were stuck in the interest or
trial stage and moved less rapidly to adoption.
■ CD-ROMs In the early 1990s, there seemed to be room in the CD-ROM in-
dustry for everyone. Multimedia developers were producing action games and
educational software and moving into a hodgepodge of interactive products
that ranged from hypertext novels to multimedia music anthologies. Today,
few of these titles are selling well or even on the market. One of the main
causes of the poor sales is the ascendance of the Web. Most CD-ROMs, par-
ticularly reference titles, found a more cost-effective home on the Web, a
medium that also enables them to keep up-to-date and link to a community
of users. CD-ROMs also faced hundreds of competitors in an extremely frag-
mented entertainment market. Another problem was the glut of titles with
serious quality problems. Although consumers were willing to put up with
lower quality, they were not patient with technical glitches. When Disney
was beset by massive store returns of its defective Lion King CD-ROM, the
New York Times promptly claimed that CD-ROMs were dead.^44
FACTORS INFLUENCING THE ADOPTION PROCESS
Marketers recognize the following characteristics of the adoption process: differences
in individual readiness to try new products; the effect of personal influence; differing
rates of adoption; and differences in organizations’ readiness to try new products.
chapter 11
Developing
New Market
Offerings^355