Innovators vs. Laggards: One and the Same

Over the past week, I have been reading several articles and academic papers regarding Dr. Everette Roger's Diffusion of Innovation theory. This theory describes diffusion as the process a new innovation has to go through in order to be introduced and accepted into an audience. In learning more about this topic and the way it relates to emerging media, it became very clear that we use this theory more often than we realize. 

For example, most consumers learn about new products, concepts, and ideas through different channels of communication like social media, television commercials, radio advertisements, etc. The consumers then take the knowledge of the innovation and decide whether to accept it or reject it. This decision is typically made by asking questions such as: "Is this worth my time/money?", "Will this improve my quality of life?", "Do I need this product?", or "Will others be okay with my decision to purchase this?".

Either way, they are subconsciously choosing the worth of the innovation and where they become categorized according to Dr. Roger's assigned user segments: innovators (2.5%), early adopters (13.5%), early majority (34%), late majority (34%), and laggards (16%) (Robinson, 2009). 

To describe each category as quickly and effectively as possible, here the categories are broken down:

• The Innovators: These consumers are the first to try the innovation. They are okay with being the "guinea pigs" to see if the innovation is worth everything it says it is. They tend to be the people describing their experience to the rest of the audience.

• The Early Adopters: These consumers are just a tad bit more cautious than the innovators, but they also are ahead of the curve. They want to experience the innovation quickly even if results haven't been proven yet. They also tend to have a great influence on the audience.

• The Early Majority: These consumers have seen the innovators and early adopters with the innovation and want to try it out. They are looking to be a part of a brand new experience while there is still buzz generating about the innovation.

• The Late Majority: These consumers want to be a part of this new thing, but they are more hesitant than the innovators, early adopters, and early majority. They want to see results before they decide to commit to accepting the product, concept, or idea.

• The Laggards: These consumers are overall hesitant of the entire innovation. People have already had it for a while and they are talking about their experiences with it, but they don't jump on board just because it's the newest thing. They want to wait until they KNOW the innovation is worth it.

While Dr. Roger's theory does cover this idea, I believe it is important for each of us to realize that as consumers we can fall in each of these categories daily when discussing innovation in the world around us.

Many consumers being presented with a new innovation tend to fall in the "extreme" areas of being an innovator or a laggard, myself included. The most recent large-scale example I can think of is the social distancing guidelines released by the CDC regarding the COVID-19 Pandemic. 

When wearing a mask and staying six feet apart was first suggested by the CDC to help prevent the spread of the novel Coronavirus, many people were a part of the innovator and early adopter segments. These people did not know for a fact that it was going to slow the spread, but they trusted the "seller" and decided to try the innovation for themselves. These people were not scared to be an activist for the guidelines placed for American citizens, and many of them quickly took to social media sharing their experiences with loved ones.

With this came a media expansion, where almost all in-person communication ceased and was replaced by virtual meetings, conference calls, and video platforms. These consumers were being innovators and early adopters to the new changes; however, these same consumers could also fall into the laggard segment from time to time. The constant hesitation that the masks weren't working, the desperate times where loved ones were missed, and the longing for normalcy was sometimes so high that even the earliest innovator could shift to a laggard in a nano-second and avoid the guidelines altogether.

In my own life, I have found this to be true in regard to many things. While the innovators and laggards are polar opposites, they can often be described as one and the same. The same people ready to wear the masks are also some of the same people unwilling to return to life as usual once this pandemic is over. The innovators of one situation tend to become the laggards of another based on political happenings, religious views, family beliefs, location, and rank. 

The trick to this theory is to define the segments for each innovation. Even though we live in a fast-paced society, we must take the time to discover our audience one day at a time and communicate effectively with them. If we know who our innovators are, we can thank them. If we know who our laggards are, we can answer questions they have and provide more information on our inventions. 

At the end of the day, Dr. Roger's theory is just in place for us to become better communicators by understanding our audience. Who is your audience? What are you trying to sell? How can you use this knowledge to grow your innovation? Let's talk about it, comment below!

References:

Robinson, L. (2009, January). A summary of Diffusions of Innovations [PDF].