The Law of Diffusion of Innovation

Neilson Gilbert
LAW DIFFUSION
Área de conocimiento
Contexto educativo
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There are five types of consumers when it comes to technology. 

  1. Innovators.
  2. Early Adopters.
  3. Early Majority.
  4. Late Majority.
  5. Laggards.

This is classified as 'The Law of Diffusion of Innovation'. And if you don't know the term, that's okay. Because you'll certainly understand the concept.

The Law of Diffusion of Innovation

When Do You Adopt Technology?

Think about when Apple released the first iphone for example. There were those who queued up for 12 hours outside a store to buy the product, because they wanted to be the first people to have it. There were those who bought the product when it had been out a little while (but was still considered 'the hot new product to own'). Then there were the majority of people who bought iPhones only when smartphones as a whole had gained a significant amount of market share, so they felt safe in the knowledge that the product worked as advertised. And finally there were those people who only ended up buying an iphone when their favorite mobile finally gave up the ghost and was no longer available.

But there comes a point, when the technology has been around long enough that someone not having it makes more of a statement about them than having it does.

Google Search Now Reaches Everybody

Back in the 60s / 70s and 80s, newspaper advertising and DM (Direct Marketing) and DR (Direct Response) was the best way to reach the most clients for the least amount of money. Then in the late 80s and early 90s, call centers came into their own. (Why have hundreds of salesmen on the road, when you could just have a team of people selling over the phone from one central office?) Then in the mid to late 90s, the internet started to become ubiquitous, and online search (through Yahoo , Alta Vista, Excite, Web Crawler and later Google) became de rigueur.

And as with all innovations, it took a long time to not only perfect the technology, but also to get people to trust it. I'm sure you remember a time when you'd happily search online, but God forbid you typed in your credit card into a website form for fear of someone making off with all your money! During these times there were the people who were all over the web and happily used search to find products or services (the Innovators and the Early Adopters). Then there were the (Early and Late) Majority who started trusting it, only because other people were trusting and using it. And lastly there were the Laggards. Those raised in an earlier era where going to the Yellow Pages or opening a newspaper was how you found a local product or service.

Fast forward to 2014 and we find ourselves living in a world where practically EVERYONE is searching for the products and services they want, online (via Google). And as 92% of all the people searching do not go past the first page of their Google search, it is now more important than at any time in history, to ensure your website appears on the first page of your relevant Google search. Because, as I always say, 'It is easier to take the boat to where the fish are, and drop a big, big net over the side. Than to try to get the fish to come to you'.

Where once the web and internet search was only used by those hip-cats who were ahead of the bell-curve. Now it is used by everyone. Young, middle aged and old alike. You, your children, your parents and your grandparents, all find what they want, online, via Google. It's just the way of the world now. And if everyone is searching for what you do and where you do it online, but can't find you on the first page. Then you might as well shut up shop and close the business. Because if you're not using the world's largest ever free lead funnel for your benefit, then you are officially a 'Laggard' in the technology stakes. And in an evolving business landscape, it is the Laggards who are the first to become extinct.

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