If you’ve been keeping track (and I’m sure you have!), the remaining 16% of the population are Laggards. Don’t even bother trying to sell to this category: Every fiber of their being resists change!
Geoffrey Moore used the phrase, “No compelling reason to change” but it’s stronger than that. Laggards resent every software update, no matter the size or importance. They hate new technologies that threaten to replace their existing tools and habits. One of their favorite phrases in defense of their choices to remain motionless is, “It works just fine.”
Here’s a real-life story of an oxymoronic combination of Innovator and Laggard:
Buck’s of Woodside restaurant is renowned as a place where many Silicon Valley startups were founded. Stories of “cocktail-napkin” drawings sketched at Buck’s that resulted in new and disruptive products and new market categories abound. When you were greeted at the reception station, the employee would not ask, “How many are in your party?” but rather, “Who are you meeting?” Truly a fabulous place! (Check out their website…!)
Imagine my surprise when I happened to glance behind the counter at Buck’s cash register machine (today we’d call this a Point-of-Sale device) and noted that it was running DOS (yes, DOS).
Amazed, on my way out I asked the proprietor, “Tell me, why are you still using a DOS-based payment system?” He said, “It works. No compelling reason to change…”
Crossing the Chasm
Lengthy languishing in the Chasm can kill a new product and cripple a company. An inability to identify and effectively engage the Majority categories can precipitate a rocky downhill run into the Chasm. Failing to recognize that you are in the Chasm will place your organization in the ever-growing graveyard of technology organizations and products.
Discovery, demos, and the degree of proof required all need to change as you move from Innovator to Early Adopter, to engaging the Early Majority and working through the Late Majority. And if you see someone still happily running Windows 95, run!
Resources:
Buck’s of Woodside
https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=k6RtWhrenma
Doing Discovery
https://www.amazon.com/Doing-Discovery-Important-Enablement-Processes/dp/B0B8RJK4C2/
The entire article in one place!
https://greatdemo.com/discovery-and-demos-across-technology-adoption-curve/
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