People differ greatly in their readiness to try new products. People can be classified into 5 adopter categories.
- Innovators.
- Early Adopters.
- Early Majority.
- Late Majority.
- Laggards.
Let’s look at the diagram to understand how each type of adopters adopts a new product over time.
1. Innovators
Innovators are venturesome – They are willing to try new products at some risk.
2. Early Adopters
Early adopters are guided by respect – They are opinion leaders in their communities and adopt new product early but carefully.
Read more: 5 Stages of Consumer Adoption Process
3. Early Majority
Early majority are deliberated. Although they are rarely leaders, they adopt a new product before the average person.
4. Late Majority
Late majority are skeptical – They adopt an innovation only after a majority of people have tried it.
5. Laggards
Laggards are tradition-bound. They are suspicious only when it has become something of a tradition itself.