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Here is a synopsis of the stages of innovation

Innovators: Adventuresome

Innovators account for roughly the first 3% of the people to adopt an innovation. In general, Innovators:

• Eagerly pursue new ideas.

• Love new ideas for the new idea’s sake. Where they come from isn’t important.

• Want the latest and greatest.

• Accept reasonable risks and uncertainty.

• Understand and can apply complex concepts and ideas.

• Are willing to tolerate glitches, bugs, missed ship dates, unplanned features, screw-ups, etc.

• Define their peer group as fellow “cognoscenti.”

• Look for information outside the group – especially from mass communication channels, user groups, bulletin boards, etc.

• Want it cheap, but they’ll give you lots of feedback.

• Innovators, because they live outside the mainstream, are not always readily accepted by the mainstream (company, division, etc.). Having said that, Innovators are the key entry point for introducing an innovation.

Early Adopters: Visionaries

Early Adopters account for roughly the next 13% of the people to adopt an innovation. They differ from Innovators in the following ways:

• Much better integrated into the mainstream.

• Don’t tend to move in as diverse and dispersed a world.

• They are:

• Interested in radical change to their business model; big leaps; mold breaking. They see new ideas and/or technology as a way of getting there.

• Looking for big returns in exchange for big risks.

• Willing to integrate the solution themselves (or pay to have it integrated).

• Define their peer group broadly (cross industry).

• Motivated by personal recognition and rewards.

• Willing to serve as visible references.

• In a hurry.

The Early Adopter looks to the Innovator for information but adopts new ideas more selectively.

Early Majority: Intentional

The Early Majority accounts for the next 34% of the people to adopt an innovation. They differ from Early Adopters in the following ways. They:

• Are very practical. Want incremental, predictable performance improvements, not radical leaps.

• Define their peer group within their industry.

• Want to back a winner; an industry leader.

• Don’t like to disrupt their organization.

• Want to think about it. Want to take their time. Won’t rush into anything.

• Seek information mostly inside the group (as opposed to the Innovator who looks outside).

• Like lots of options (choice). It creates competition. On the other hand, they don’t want to have to deal with lots of vendors.

• Want fully integrated solutions.

• Care about the company they buy from, the product, and the service and support they’ll get.

One of the biggest problems many firms face when a market moves to this phase is that they make great stalking horses to help customers give the eventual winner a workout. The early majority loves the idea that there are other players they can use as leverage, even though they really want to buy the safe choice. They send nice letters afterwards thanking the chimps for their terrific showing during the pursuit stage, but they like to buy the market leader.

Late Majority: Doubting

The Late Majority accounts for the next 34% of the people to adopt an innovation. They:

• Adopt out of necessity. Failure to do so will cause economic or social harm.

• View new ideas with skepticism and trepidation.

• Don’t like complexity. Won’t pay for it.

• Tend to like single-function solutions, products, and technologies.

• Won’t adopt until almost everyone else has done so.

• Want safe solutions. Want to make safe decisions.

• Buy standards.

• Can’t/won’t tolerate risk or uncertainty.

• Won’t decide based simply on utility.

• Decide based on peer pressure.

• Define their group in terms of their industry.

Laggards: Resistant

Laggards account for the final 16% of the people to adopt an innovation. They:

• Have virtually no contact in cosmopolite circles.

• Look to the past.

• Decide based on what was done by their predecessors.

• Interact with people just like themselves.

• Adopt long after the innovation is no longer innovative.

• Are suspicious of change and change agents.

• Are generally unaware of innovations.

• Adopt at a snail’s pace.

• Would rather not have to decide and/or adopt.

• Generally command limited resources.

• Will fight you every chance they get.

. . . back to CRM Musings

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Last modified: 05/03/06