Introduction
This blog post aims to inform the
reader about the adoption of digital marketing in a modern society. Today,
digital marketing is used as a means to promote products and services. The
development of digital marketing also enables customers to easily research
products and services before deciding on a purchase.
Rogers’ Bell Adoption Curve
As shown above there are 5 main
customer segments in the adoption curve. These 5 segments form the adoption
curve and help us understand how digital marketing influences businesses and
customers.
- Innovators - 2.5%
These are individuals who are the
very first to adopt an innovation. They are socially active, take heavy risks and
interact with other innovators. High financial flexibility enables them to
adapt products that may eventually fail.
- Early Adopters – 13.5%
This segment consists of “opinion
leaders” who are generally young in age. These individuals have financial
flexibility, proper education and a higher social status. They are also more
discrete with their adoption choices compared to Innovators.
- Early Majority – 34%
As shown in the curve, these
individuals adopt an innovation after a period of time. This category also
consists of less “opinion leaders” with an average social status. They also
have less contact with other adopters when compared to the two previous segments.
- Late Majority – 34%
This segment consists primarily
of “skeptics” who are less eager to adopt to a new innovation. They adopt
innovations after the average consumers in the market due to lower financial
flexibility and average social status.
- Laggards – 16%
These individuals are the last to
adopt to an innovation. They are traditional, have the lowest financial
flexibility, lowest social class and have little or no opinion on innovations.
They don’t take risks and are primarily in contact with family and friends
unlike other segments.
Conclusion
As shown above this adoption
process is common to both B2B and B2C contexts. This is primarily due to the
similarity in modern buyer behaviour. The constant developments in digital
media have changed the way modern buyers adapt to innovation.
