What Is an Early Adopter?
Let me tell you directly: an early adopter is that individual or business who jumps on a new product, innovation, or technology before everyone else does. You're likely to shell out more for it than those who come later, but you accept that if it boosts your efficiency, cuts costs, expands your market reach, or elevates your social standing.
Companies count on you early adopters to give feedback on what's wrong with the product and to help offset the expenses of research and development.
Key Takeaways
In the business realm, you as an early adopter deal with significant risk since you're using something that might not be fully refined. You often pay a premium just to be first in line. You might get some prestige from owning cutting-edge tech early, but there's a real chance it'll become outdated soon. As one of the first users, you can become an opinion leader and influence the technology through your feedback. Remember, early adopter is just one of five stages in technology adoption, alongside innovators, early majority, late majority, and laggards.
How an Early Adopter Works
The speed at which a new product spreads through the market depends on the product type and its price. As an early adopter in business, you're taking on high risk with potentially imperfect tech that might not integrate with what your suppliers, customers, or your own existing products use.
The concept comes from Everett M. Rogers' book Diffusion of Innovations from 1962, where he breaks down five adopter stages: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority, and laggards.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Being an Early Adopter
If you're an early adopter of hardware that depends on content, you might find limited ways to use it until producers ramp up. For example, early buyers of media players had few titles available at launch, with no guarantee more would come.
Take high-definition TV: early adopters waited for broadcasters to offer more content in the new format. Then there was the format war between Blu-ray and HD DVD. You, as an early adopter, bet on one format winning, but in the early days, content was split or limited. Eventually, Blu-ray won, leaving HD DVD owners with obsolete gear that needed replacing.
You get prestige from being first with new tech, but you risk it becoming obsolete. The high initial price means you lose value as better versions emerge, and you're more likely to encounter defects since it's not fully tested. On the flip side, your feedback can shape improvements, positioning you as a thought leader and giving you competitive edges if you play it right.
Pros
- Prestige
- Some influence on developing the technology
- Gaining a competitive advantage
- Becoming a thought leader on the tech
Cons
- Limitations in applicability
- Risk of utilizing soon to be obsolete product
- High price for new technology
- Loss of value
- Higher risk of defects
Special Considerations
Here are the five stages of technology adoption as I see them.
Innovators
Innovators grab new tech first. They're usually younger, risk-tolerant, from higher social classes, wealthier, and connected to scientific resources and other innovators.
Early Adopters
Right after innovators, early adopters like you have wealth access, are younger, highly educated, selective, and become opinion leaders on innovations.
Early Majority
The early majority adopts well after the first two groups, leading to widespread use once they do, driven by practicality and utility.
Late Majority
Late majority folks adopt after the average person, being cautious and skeptical, often needing help to understand it, and only when it's unavoidable.
Laggards
Laggards are last, adopting only when forced, typically older and sticking to what they knew in their youth.
Example of Early Adopter
With climate change pushing for lower emissions, electric cars entered the spotlight. Elon Musk's Tesla broke into the tough auto industry with cars powered by electricity and batteries, not combustion engines.
Musk succeeded in introducing and disrupting with this tech. Early buyers chose Tesla over traditional cars, becoming early adopters. It was risky: untested products, high prices that persist, and scarce charging stations since the infrastructure wasn't built yet.
These adopters gained prestige from owning groundbreaking tech few had. Now, prices are lower, quality is up, and charging is widespread.
Early Adopter FAQs
What Is the Early Adopter Tax? The early adopter tax is the extra you pay for new tech at launch, plus dealing with bugs, defects, and missing features that later versions fix.
How Do You Market to Early Adopters? Target what they need, meet them personally, give usable products immediately, focus on specific people and firms, address alternatives, and tell a compelling story.
What Percentage of People Are Early Adopters? About 13.5% of people fall into the early adopter category.
The Bottom Line
Early adopters like you use new products before the crowd. You're risk-takers and trendsetters, heavily influencing a product's success or failure. Businesses chase your approval for that reason. You can lead opinions on tech but face higher costs and risks if it doesn't catch on widely.
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