Screen Printing - December 2017/January 2018 - 18

special issue: InnovatIon

change; it inspired another excellent book by Geoffrey A.
Moore, "Crossing the Chasm." Both explain which parts of
the population adopt technology and at what rate.
Adoption falls into five distinct groups. Let's take a look
at each so you can determine where you currently reside and
what this means for you.

Innovators

These are the geeks,
nerds, eggheads, and
academics. They typically
don't interact well with
the general population.
They're considered "way
out there" by their friends
and colleagues, until their
inventions catch on. (Then
they are thought of as
visionaries.) They are so intently interested in the technology that they could not care less about what everyone else is
doing. Innovators represent 2.5 percent of the population.
This group is also known as "alpha adaptors." They are the
first in and often are more interested in tearing apart the new
thing than using it or making it work. Generally, they have
minimal, if any, interest in the commercial elements or the
economic justification of the invention. They fully expect the
invention to break and they further expect that they will fix
and improve it.
Many members of this group are engineers and frustrated
inventors. They enjoy tinkering and tweaking. They embrace
the possibilities of the innovation, but fully recognize the
current version is nowhere near capable of reaching its full
potential. They are all about proof of concept. We often refer
to them as the pioneers with the arrows in their backs.
Innovators are very useful to the creators of the idea or
technology. They speak the same language and can provide
highly technical feedback that results in the evolution of the
invention to the next level.

Early adoptErs

Representing 13.5 percent of the population, early adopters
can be thought of as the more advanced beta testers. At the
beta stage, the idea or technology is ready to be field tested,
but still not ready for prime time. It's not stable and hasn't
been fully vetted across all possible conditions.
Early adopters are a very interesting group. In high school,
they were the cool kids, the ones who had the newest gadgets,
wore the latest fashions, and listened to the hippest music.
They hung around in cliques and had a certain sense of
superiority bordering on arrogance. In short, they were "in the
know" on everything.
In the real world, early adopters are the influencers -
thought leaders that peers look up to. They have a reputation
for being out in front, understanding what they are doing, and
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most importantly, being able to explain to others what the new
technology is all about.
Early adopters expect the technology to work most of the
time. If it breaks, they'll appeal to one of their nerd friends
to fix it. They'll complain about reliability, but will be satisfied or placated with a discount as the price of access to the
new technology.
These first two phases typically take one to two years
before reaching a holding pattern known as the "chasm."
This is the term Moore used to describe the 9 to 18-month
period before the next level begins buying. Gartner, Inc., a
well-known consultancy and analytics group, has termed this
stage the trough of disillusionment. It's where the technology
either engages or dies.

Early MaInstrEaM

This is where the technology
reaches escape velocity. It
is characterized by multiple
entrants into the market
introducing bigger, faster,
better, or cheaper options -
in other words, the extension
phase. The early mainstream
represents 34 percent of the
market. Growth at this stage
is characterized by the classic hockey stick curve.
The early mainstream has taken a wait-and-see approach.
They have justified to themselves that the technology is
worth investing in. They also know they can sell it to their
customers with little resistance. This is largely because the
customers have heard of the technology, but haven't experienced it personally. They trust their vendor and go for it.
Early mainstream adopters are also the companies that
have waited for the price to come down along with the risk.
They fully expect the offering to work right out of the box,
and they have little tolerance for startup difficulties. They
are very vocal and upset when the product doesn't work, and
they're not afraid to let everyone know about it.
During this phase, the technology is growing rapidly,
maturing, and being extended by well-funded competitors
who are in it for the long haul. When mainstream corporations
begin marketing heavily, you know you're in the growth phase
trending to the maturation of the technology.
With everything considered, the buyers in the early mainstream
are only marginally profitable. This is due primarily to the
capital costs, adoption and training expense, competition, and
inefficiencies of use. Well-run companies in this segment can be
very profitable. Marginal companies will have marginal results.

latE MaInstrEaM

The late mainstream represents the peak of adoption, the
place in the development cycle when substitution begins.
These adopters are late to the game but still represent 34

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Screen Printing - December 2017/January 2018