Marketing High-Tech Products to Mainstream Consumers

How does a new high-tech product become popular and translate from a fad into a lasting trend? It is challenging for high-tech products to achieve widespread success among mainstream consumers. People are notoriously resistant to change and it takes time and a lot of coaxing to covert a new high-tech product used by gadget-obsessed geeks into a product that the masses are comfortable with. Geoffrey Moore, author of BusinessWeek bestseller, Crossing the Chasm, explains that in order for a cutting-edge product to become more than just a passing fad, it must cross the gap, or “chasm” between an early market and mainstream market. If done successfully, a high-tech product can make this transition to achieve great success and explosive sales. If the product fails to reach mainstream success, however, it may fade into obscurity.

Moore argues that a high-tech product shouldn’t be marketed the same way to tech enthusiasts and early adopters as it should be to the mainstream consumer. The early market for a high-tech product consists of people who love to be the first on their block to have a new gadget and who appreciate the benefits of new technology. Think of that friend, neighbor or family member who loves to show off new gadgets that nobody has heard of yet. They don’t mind dealing with a few bugs or inconveniences if they see a chance to get ahead of the competition with a new high-tech product and, often times, they are willing to pay a hefty price tag. Marketing messages that focus on the product and that pinpoint a technological advantage resonate with this early audience. However, the mainstream market needs a bit more convincing. These consumers are more practical and are hesitant to empty their wallets. For the mainstream market, company credibility is important and word-of-mouth recommendations are powerful.

One product that everyone is watching closely and which is emerging into the mainstream market is the Kindle. Up until now, electronic books have failed to “cross the chasm” to become a must-have item for mainstream consumers. Two weeks ago on the TriplePoint blog, Julia Roether explored the rise in Kindle 2’s popularity and noted that while it may seem like an “overnight sensation,” the Kindle has been around for over two years. Furthermore, Brad Stone, who covers consumer technology at the New York Times, pointed out that electronic book devices have been around for a decade but none have really taken off among consumers.

The Kindle seems to be breaking through as an electronic book that is reaching mainstream market success. The Kindle 2 came out with several improvements to the product but mainstream consumers are often less swayed by the promise of new product features. Specifically, consumers in the mainstream market, according to Moore, tend to value market leadership and wait for a high-tech product to prove they are better than the competition before buying. Unlike early market consumers who want to be the first on the block to have a new product, mainstream consumers wait for references from people they trust. The Kindle received recognition from Oprah, one of the most widely respected and trusted references around, which no doubt helped convince hesitant book-lovers to get on board. Furthermore, with sales skyrocketing this holiday season, the Kindle seems to be crossing the chasm.

However, time will tell how the Kindle evolves and if electronic books will become a must-have gadget. It seems that there are still adjustments to be made and more convincing of consumers before the product really takes hold. Moore reminds us that 1/3 of consumers are classified as “conservatives” who are the most resistant to change and who wait for the product to become a standard before adopting new technology. These people are the last to buy new technology, after tech enthusiasts, early adopters and the early majority of mainstream consumers. While the Kindle is becoming more popular, it still must establish credibility among users before capturing this piece of the market.

Will Kindle 2 Be The Next Overnight Sensation This Black Friday and Cyber Monday?

The Myth of the Overnight Sensation

Like weight loss, it takes time and hard work for most products and services to achieve critical mass, yet time and time again many products are perceived and billed as overnight sensations.  If history is any indication, the overnight sensation is generally a myth.    For instance, e-readers are being touted as one of the top “hot” holiday items for this holiday. Amazon.com states on its website that its Kindle e-reader device is “the #1 Bestselling, #1 Most Wished For, and #1 Most Gifted Item on Amazon” meaning Amazon expects to sell quite a lot of these devices this Black Friday and Cyber Monday.  The Kindle is also the second product featured in CNET’s  2009 Ultimate Holiday Tech Guide and yet Kindle, in its initial incarnation, debuted over two years ago on November 17, 2007.    This isn’t to say that Kindle and its like aren’t a great holiday gift; it just isn’t the “overnight” sensation that many will claim it to be as the device is on track to sell over 1 million units this year.

Twitter launched in 2006 and became a media darling in 2009.  Wikipedia’s (another overnight sensation) entry on Twitter references 142 media articles, all penned in 2009 and everyone from Barack Obama and CNN to you next door neighbor were not only tweeting but also talking about how they were tweeting. Quantcast, a measurement company, has estimated (Twitter does not disclose usage numbers) that roughly 30 million people were tweeting in  July 2009, quite a leap from  Twitter’s traffic in July 2007 and 2008 for which estimates were merely a blip on the radar screen. Again, not quite the overnight sensation it appears to be.

Then there’s one of the most recognizable consumer electronics products: Apple’s iPod. The first iPod launched in October 2001 and sold a whopping 125,000 units by the end of December 2001. It wasn’t until 2004 – three years later- that the iPod dominated digital music player sales and you saw more than two million consumers were walking around with those now-familiar white ear buds in their ears, bobbing their heads to their favorite tunes.  By April 9, 2007 Apple announced that it had sold the 100 millionth iPod.  That’s a lot of iPods, surely enough to circle the earth several times over.

iPod Sales Chart

So next time you hear about an overnight sensation, keep in mind that it took a not only a product or service that did something new and different, but a whole lot of hard work by many people over a sustained period of time to create that “instant” hit.