Our adoption of an innovation resembles the decision – making sequence we discussed in Chapter 8. We move through the stages of awareness, information search, evaluation, trial, and adoption. The relative importance of each stage differs, however, depending on how much we already know about an innovation as well as on cultural factors that affect our willingness to try new things.
A study of 11 European countries found that consumers in individualistic cultures are more innovative than consumers in collective cultures (see Chapter 4). However, even within the same culture, not all people adopt an innovation at the same rate. Some do so quite rapidly, and others never do at all. We place consumers into approximate categories based on the likelihood that they will adopt something new.
As Figure 14.3 shows, roughly one – sixth of the population (innovators and early adopters) are very quick to adopt new products, and one – sixth (laggards) are very slow. The other two – thirds, so – called late adopters, are somewhere in the middle. These consumers are the mainstream public. They are interested in new things, but they do not want them to be too new. In some cases, people deliberately wait to adopt an innovation because they assume that the company will improve its technology or that its price will fall after it has been on the market awhile (have you been holding off on that iPhone purchase to see what Apple will come up with next?). Keep in mind that the proportion of consumers who fall into each category is an estimate; the actual size of each depends on such factors as the complexity of the product, its cost, and how much risk people as sociate with it. Even though innovators represent only about 2.5 percent of the population, marketers are eager to identify them. These are the brave souls who are always on the lookout for novel products or services and who are first to try something new. Lust as generalized opinion leaders do not appear to exist (see Chapter 11), innovators tend to be category specific as well. A clotheshorse who prides himself on being at the cutting edge of fashion may have no conception of new developments in recording technology – he may still stubbornly cling to his antique phonograph albums even as he searches for the latest avant – garde clothing styles in trendy boutiques. Despite this qualification, we can summarize the profile of someone who’s a good candidate to be an innovator. Not surprisingly, for example, he or she tends to be a risk – taker. He or she also is likely to have a relatively high educational and income level and to be socially active.
How do we locate innovators? Ad agencies and market research companies are always on the prowl for people who stay on top of developing trends. One ad agency surveys taxi drivers about what they see on the streets every day. Others get more sophisticated and sue the internet and their global networks to monitor what “people in the know” do. The agency DDB runs a service it calls SignBank, which collects thousands of snippets of information form its 13,000 employees around the world about cultural change in order to advise its clients on what it all means for them. For example, sign spotters in several markets noticed that dinner – party guests tended to bring their hosts flowers instead of chocolate because of concerns about health and obesity – that’s valuable information for a client that makes chocolates.
Our adoption of an innovation resembles the decision – making sequence we discussed in Chapter 8. We move through the stages of awareness, information search, evaluation, trial, and adoption. The relative importance of each stage differs, however, depending on how much we already know about an innovation as well as on cultural factors that affect our willingness to try new things.
A study of 11 European countries found that consumers in individualistic cultures are more innovative than consumers in collective cultures (see Chapter 4). However, even within the same culture, not all people adopt an innovation at the same rate. Some do so quite rapidly, and others never do at all. We place consumers into approximate categories based on the likelihood that they will adopt something new.
As Figure 14.3 shows, roughly one – sixth of the population (innovators and early adopters) are very quick to adopt new products, and one – sixth (laggards) are very slow. The other two – thirds, so – called late adopters, are somewhere in the middle. These consumers are the mainstream public. They are interested in new things, but they do not want them to be too new. In some cases, people deliberately wait to adopt an innovation because they assume that the company will improve its technology or that its price will fall after it has been on the market awhile (have you been holding off on that iPhone purchase to see what Apple will come up with next?). Keep in mind that the proportion of consumers who fall into each category is an estimate; the actual size of each depends on such factors as the complexity of the product, its cost, and how much risk people as sociate with it. Even though innovators represent only about 2.5 percent of the population, marketers are eager to identify them. These are the brave souls who are always on the lookout for novel products or services and who are first to try something new. Lust as generalized opinion leaders do not appear to exist (see Chapter 11), innovators tend to be category specific as well. A clotheshorse who prides himself on being at the cutting edge of fashion may have no conception of new developments in recording technology – he may still stubbornly cling to his antique phonograph albums even as he searches for the latest avant – garde clothing styles in trendy boutiques. Despite this qualification, we can summarize the profile of someone who’s a good candidate to be an innovator. Not surprisingly, for example, he or she tends to be a risk – taker. He or she also is likely to have a relatively high educational and income level and to be socially active.
How do we locate innovators? Ad agencies and market research companies are always on the prowl for people who stay on top of developing trends. One ad agency surveys taxi drivers about what they see on the streets every day. Others get more sophisticated and sue the internet and their global networks to monitor what “people in the know” do. The agency DDB runs a service it calls SignBank, which collects thousands of snippets of information form its 13,000 employees around the world about cultural change in order to advise its clients on what it all means for them. For example, sign spotters in several markets noticed that dinner – party guests tended to bring their hosts flowers instead of chocolate because of concerns about health and obesity – that’s valuable information for a client that makes chocolates.
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