The Law of Diffusion of Innovation: Part 2
In the previous blog, we covered the specifics of each group in the chasm, such as their personalities and what strategies a marketing team needs to do to get them on board. In this blog, I’ll cover how these groups are intertwined and how this affects the marketing world!
In the marketing world, you primarily require connections and promotions. Networking is your best friend, and if you’re selling a product or an idea, you most definitely want it to spread. This is where the law of diffusion of innovation comes in! Using help from specific groups, such as innovators and early adopters, will aid in a faster diffusion of a product you are trying to introduce into society.
How Can Earlier Groups Get Later Groups on Board?
Social media is the main component that connects everyone today, whether you embrace change or shun it. When anything new comes out, you will hear it first on social media than anywhere else.
Thus, social media influencers and celebrities use social media to promote other companies' products and show their adoption. Influencers can be used as early adopters who post about innovations and normalize their usage for the mainstream audience, which causes their diffusion.
Suppose businesses and marketing teams collaborate with influencers to promote their products. In that case, the product will likely reach a broader, more engaged, and trustful audience that businesses would need help reaching on their own.
How do Influencers Feel Safe Enough to Promote a New Product?
Like anyone, influencers must feel safe enough to test an innovation and be guaranteed no risks will occur. Early adopters are driven by intrinsic motivation. In this case, it would be useful to present the product to influencers as an opportunity for them to be the first to implement a change in the industry. The key is to showcase the product as a comparable business advantage.
As early adopters, influencers will need to be sold on the idea that this product will put them ahead of the curve, and using some of the excitement initially created by innovators can help push that narrative.
Testimonials are crucial because they:
Reduce the perceived risk that one has initially on a product that has yet to be tried and tested.
Assure the other groups that it is safe to promote and use since it was tested and no risks were found.
Why is the Law of Diffusion of Innovation Theory Crucial to the Marketing World?
The law of diffusion of innovation theory allows market teams to look at adopting new products in a more complex and vast social system instead of just one broad audience. While only two groups need barely any convincing to welcome change into their lives, it is up to the marketing teams to convince the rest of the groups. It is up to the marketing teams and businesses to decide if they want to utilize aspects of this theory so their business is built to last.