The model
explains how innovation is adopted by the purchasing consumer, and proposes
that sales success to innovators and early adopters is a prerequisite to sales
success with the early and late majority.
New thinking on this model proposes that selling to
Innovators and Early Adopters requires different messages and positioning than
selling to the Majority – that Early Adopters want to know “why” they should
invest their time and energy with a new business model, and that satisfying
this need requires messages that inspire. A terrific example is the iPhone - “innovators” standing in line overnight to be the first
users, when they could purchase the product off the shelves 3 days later. They
don’t care what the phone does. They are a motivated army of Apple promoters
because they are inspired by Apple messages of disruption, against the status
quo, and elegant design.
Companies introducing innovative solutions to the marketplace need to consider this dynamic and create brand messages and
positioning that inspire early Adopters to champion their products. Many companies introduce innovation by describing “what” their product does but that message doesn’t resonate with the Early Majority because it’s too early for them.
