Early Adopter - Definition & Importance
What is Early Adopter?
Early adopter is a consumer who buys or adopts a product very early since the product launch. Early adopter, or lighthouse consumer, of a product, service or technology is a consumer who is an early consumer of the product as far as the acceptability timeline of the product in the market is concerned.
Importance of Early Adopters
Early adopters are customers who accept products earlier than most of the other consumers. These adopter categories classifications are done as per the customer journey based on the diffusion of innovation theory. As per the diffusion or product adoption curve, first the innovators buy the product as soon as it is launched. Then the early adopters accept the product, followed by early majority, late majority and laggards. Hence, if a customer is an early adopter, it shows that there is good acceptance of the product or service in the early days of its launch.
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Characteristics of Early Adopters
Some characteristics of early adopters are:
1. Adopters are the consumers who actually listen to the marketing by a marketer. So the marketing has to be chiefly designed keeping them in mind.
2. They are the ever-searching class of consumers who always seek new opportunities. They get bored easily and are ready to experiment new products.
3. However, this entails both great reward and great risk. Adopters are the main source of spreading word of mouth and product display at use. If satisfied, they can yield golden eggs for the marketer, automatically increasing product penetration. The downside is the negative impression of the adopter on the product. This adversely affects the future products as well as reputation of the current product.
Marketing Strategy for Early Adopters
A few pointers for marketing successfully to early adopters are:
1. Make most out of the new product release through adopters, albeit cautiously.
2. Avoid mass marketing immediately after launch; instead focus on direct marketing to adopters.
3. Emphasise on product differentiation through unique packaging and mention of unique features.
4. Occupy the whole merchandising space with latest products.
5. Sponsor attractive events featuring new products.
Hence, this concludes the definition of Early Adopter along with its overview.
This article has been researched & authored by the Business Concepts Team. It has been reviewed & published by the MBA Skool Team. The content on MBA Skool has been created for educational & academic purpose only.
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