It’s much easier to get an early adopter to try a product than someone from the early majority. That’s because early adopters are hardwired to try new products, and the early majority aren’t. The early majority may like new products but they are nowhere near as ravenous about trying new products as the innovators and early adopters.
The early majority, while interested in new products, find comfort being part of the herd. Yes, they are more trendy than the late majority, but they are still part of the majority. And that’s what makes them so valuable when creating a Brand. They are vast in numbers and they stick with a product. And once they find a product they like, they buy it over, and over, and over again.
So how do you make the jump from the early adopters to the more lucrative early majority, where the big money is? It has everything to do with the product. Think of the Promotional mix: price, product, place and promotion. If the product doesn’t have sufficient value, the early majority may try it because they see the early adopters using it, but they won’t repurchase. Price doesn’t change that, place doesn’t change that and promotion doesn’t either. If the product doesn’t satisfy a sufficient ongoing need, they won’t keep buying it. If it does, you’re golden.
Contrast that with early adopters. Early adopters love, love, love to try new things. The experience of new can be more important than whatever benefit the product promises to deliver. And their quick attraction to the new can fool marketers into thinking they have hit on a winner. We see this all the time because we promote lots of new products.
Just remember this: The early adopter was never going to repurchase in the first place. They are always going to be on to whatever is next. They’re great for helping introduce a product to the early majority, but impossible when it comes to brand loyalty.
Having a working knowledge of basic marketing terms such as the innovator adopter curve and the marketing mix will help you tremendously as you navigate building high-value brands. If you feel you could use a marketing term refresher, you should buy a copy of The CEO’s Guide to Marketing. It’s a wealth of marketing advice you can be putting to work next week.
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