The Adoption Curve (or Technology Diffusion Process) is one of the most fundamental concepts used by those attempting to position/market a new technology or product. Its concept is simple.

In order to be successful at driving widespread adoption, a company must first seek to win over the “innovators” and “early adopters” who care about the technology specifications and the novelty that it may provide. These early adopters and innovators are analogous to the line of people that wait outside an Apple store when a new technology is released. This “early market” helps to validate that the technology works and establishes an installed base of users from which to capture feedback, establish testimonials and seek out additional product testing.

However, this technology curve has a very precipitous and deep chasm between the early adopters and the large “early majority”. This early majority are slower to make purchasing decisions and the kinds of information they seek is very different from the kinds of information that motivate the early market to buy. These buyers shift their focus from technical specifications to functionality and selling to this early majority poses a significant challenge for many technology companies as they struggle to pivot and reposition in an effort to capture the majority.

Winning the early majority operates as a tipping point for ensuring wide-scale adoption of the late majority and the laggards.

While the most noticeable chasm that is often discussed is the one between the early majority and the early adopters – similar albeit, narrower, less difficult chasms exist between each type of adopter.