Early Adopters: What They Are, and What They Mean for Your Business

Early Adopters: What They Are, and What They Mean for Your Business As a business owner, launching your new product or project is one of the most exciting (and stressful) things you’ll ever do.

A lot of planning goes into the process, and in the early stages of development, you’ll need all hands on deck. This is where early adopters come in.

This demographic can have an enormous influence on the development and potential of your product - but who exactly are early adopters, and what do they mean for your business?

What’s an Early Adopter?

An early adopter is a person who uses a product or technology the minute it’s released. In a sense, they’re the ‘guinea pig’ of your product or technology, and they’re often called ‘lighthouse customers’ because they serve as a shining light for the rest of society to follow. This is what will take your product or technology to the big leagues.

In the 1960s, a pretty popular theory emerged that sought to explain how new products or services gain momentum with time, are adopted by society, and can eventually become big hits. It’s called ‘The Diffusion of Innovation’ theory, and it’s still popular today.

This is the theory that birthed the term ‘early adopter’, and it also uncovered four more categories of adopter: Innovators: These are the first people that want to try an innovation. They tend to take more risks and may be more likely to adopt technologies or products that fail.

Early Majority: This demographic are the ones that make the decision to adopt an innovation after the innovators and early adopters have taken it up.

Late Majority: These people adopt a product or technology long after the rest of society has. They’re usually more sceptical.

Laggards: Laggards are the last to adopt a product or technology.

Contact Us Address:- Soho Works, 2, Television Centre, 101 Wood Lane, London UK- W12 7FR hello@thisisselfhood.com https://www.thisisselfhood.com/ 020 3195 5250