The adopter profile is a tool that helps you understand how different companies approach buying decisions based on their culture and values. By knowing the adopter profile of your prospects, you can design more effective and persuasive campaigns that speak to their needs and motivations. There are five main types of adopters: innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and sceptics. Each of them has different characteristics, preferences, and challenges that you need to address in your campaigns.
Innovators are the first to adopt new products or services that offer a significant competitive advantage or market disruption. They are willing to take risks, experiment, and invest in unproven solutions. They are often leaders in their industry and have a strong vision for the future. They are looking for strategic partners who can help them achieve their goals and stay ahead of the curve.
• Structure: Use fewer touch points and be innovative with your communications. These buyers are more likely to want to speak with you, see how your strategy aligns with theirs, and then decide how valuable you could be to them. You should think of these prospects as potential collaborators who will challenge you and demand customization and flexibility. They will also need intensive nurturing and support to ensure a successful implementation and adoption.
• Messaging strategy: Focus on the strategic benefits of your solution, such as disrupting markets, gaining competitive advantage, creating barriers for competitors, and leading the pack. Use case studies and testimonials from other innovators who have achieved success with your solution. Emphasize how your solution is unique, cutting-edge, and ahead of the trends.
• Language: Use strategic, visionary, and ambitious language that appeals to their desire to be market makers and pioneers. Avoid generic or vague statements and focus on concrete and measurable outcomes.
Early adopters are the second to adopt new products or services that offer a clear improvement over existing solutions. They are more pragmatic and cautious than innovators, but still open to change and innovation. They are often influencers and opinion leaders in their industry and have a high reputation and credibility. They are looking for proven solutions that can help them solve their problems and improve their performance.
• Structure: Use more touch points than innovators, but still keep them concise and relevant. Personal references from innovators are powerful and can help you build trust and credibility. These buyers are more likely to do their own research and compare different options before making a decision. You should provide them with enough information and evidence to show them how your solution is superior and different from others.
• Messaging strategy: Focus on the practical benefits of your solution, such as solving pain points, increasing efficiency, enhancing quality, and saving time and money. Use case studies and testimonials from other early adopters who have experienced positive results with your solution. Emphasize how your solution is reliable, tested, and validated by experts and peers.
• Language: Use pragmatic, confident, and professional language that appeals to their desire to be problem solvers and performance improvers. Avoid hype or exaggeration and focus on facts and figures.
Early majority adopters are those who adopt new products or services once they have been tried and tested by early adopters. They are more risk-averse and prefer to see evidence of success before committing. They are pragmatic and look for solutions that have demonstrated reliability and value. They often rely on recommendations and reviews from trusted sources within their industry. They are seeking dependable solutions that can enhance their productivity and efficiency without significant risks.
• Structure: Use more touch points than early adopters, but less than innovators. Storytelling is important to show how your solution can help them achieve their goals and overcome their challenges. Use social proof and endorsements from trusted sources, such as industry leaders, influencers, or reputable media outlets. These buyers are more likely to follow the trends and opinions of others than to take risks or experiment with new solutions.
• Messaging strategy: Focus on how your solution can help them gain a competitive edge and stay ahead of the curve. Show them how your solution is widely adopted, proven, and reliable. Highlight the features and functionalities that differentiate your solution from others and address their specific needs and pain points. Use clear and compelling value propositions and calls to action that motivate them to act.
• Language: Use persuasive, optimistic, and proactive language that appeals to their desire to be successful and innovative. Avoid jargon or technical terms that might confuse or intimidate them. Use simple and direct language that conveys the benefits and advantages of your solution.
Late majority adopters are cautious and sceptical about new products or services. They tend to wait until the majority of their peers have adopted a solution before they consider it. They are driven by a need for stability and are less comfortable with change. They require substantial reassurance, evidence of widespread adoption, and clear benefits before making a decision. They seek established solutions that have become industry standards and offer guaranteed performance and support.
• Structure: Use the same number of touch points as the early majority, but make them more detailed and informative. Provide them with more guidance and support throughout the buying process. Use multiple channels and formats, such as email, phone, webinars, demos, white papers, etc. These buyers are more likely to be skeptical and cautious about new solutions and need more reassurance and trust-building before making a decision.
• Messaging strategy: Focus on how your solution can help them solve their current problems, improve their efficiency, and save their resources. Show them how your solution is cost-effective, easy to use, and compatible with their existing systems and processes. Provide them with strong and tangible evidence, such as data, statistics, case studies, testimonials, etc. that demonstrate the return on investment and customer satisfaction of your solution. Emphasize how your solution is safe, well-established, and widely used by others in their industry or niche.
• Language: Use conservative, rational, and factual language that appeals to their desire to be prudent and practical. Avoid hype or pressure and focus on credibility and reliability. Use language that conveys the urgency and necessity of your solution and how it can help them avoid being left behind or losing to their competitors.
Sceptics are the last to adopt new products or services, if they adopt at all. They are highly resistant to change and prefer to stick with familiar solutions. They often question the need for new technologies and require extensive proof of significant benefits and minimal risks. Sceptics need compelling reasons to switch, including clear, quantifiable improvements and overwhelming endorsements from within their industry. They prioritise reliability and proven performance above all else.
• Structure: Use fewer touch points than the late majority, but make them more personalized and tailored to their specific concerns and objections. Use one-on-one communication, such as phone calls, emails, or meetings, rather than mass marketing or generic messages. These buyers are more likely to be resistant and hostile to new solutions and need more convincing and persuasion before making a decision.
• Messaging strategy: Focus on how your solution can help them overcome their biggest challenges and pain points, and how it can deliver immediate and measurable results. Show them how your solution is superior and different from other alternatives and how it can address their unique needs and preferences. Provide them with clear and realistic expectations and guarantees, such as free trials, warranties, refunds, etc. that reduce their risk and uncertainty. Emphasise how your solution is innovative, cutting-edge, and future-proof and how it can help them gain a competitive advantage and increase their market share.
• Language: Use assertive, confident, and authoritative language that appeals to their desire to be smart and informed. Avoid being too aggressive or confrontational and focus on building rapport and trust. Use language that challenges their assumptions and status quo and shows them the benefits and opportunities of your solution.
For an example of how to build marketing campaigns using adopter profiles please see our guide for Tailoring Marketing Campaigns for Technology Resellers. Learn more
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