The Technology Adoption Curve & Why it matters

Why is consistency in change management and leadership is essential for new technology deployment? Because it’s a process and people are not the same.

The Technology Adoption Curve (also known as the Diffusion of Innovations model) articulates this in a great way.

Innovators (2.5%): Tech-savvy individuals eager to try the latest thing. They enjoy being on the cutting edge and tolerate potential glitches in pursuit of novelty.

Early Adopters (13.5%): Visionaries who grasp the potential benefits of the app early on. They influence others, provide valuable feedback, and help shape the app's development.

Early Majority (34%): Pragmatic users who wait for established apps with proven benefits. They value reliability and positive reviews before fully committing.

Late Majority (34%): Conservative users who adopt only when the app becomes a necessity or social norm. They want minimal disruption and well-documented success before they try.

Laggards (16%): Skeptical of change and often adopt only when there's no alternative. They might feel overwhelmed by tech advancements or have strong preferences for traditional methods.

Applying This Model to Mobile App Adoption

Understanding where your target users fall on the curve helps tailor your marketing strategy and app development:

Innovators and Early Adopters:

·  Highlight the app's unique features and potential impact.

·  Invite them to beta testing and actively gather feedback.

·  Encourage promotion and sharing through social media channels.

Early and Late Majority:

·  Emphasize problem-solving capabilities and clear usability.

·  Address any concerns about security and functionality.

·  Utilize social proof via well-ranked reviews and case studies.

Laggards:

·  Focus on simplicity and making the transition to the app easy.

·  Provide excellent customer support and tutorials.

·  Consider creating partnerships where the app becomes integrated into existing workflows.

Important Notes:

Individuals can belong to different groups for different technologies. Your usually tech-resistant manager might be an early adopter for new fitness tracking apps.

The curve is fluid. An app initially appealing only to innovators can become mainstream based on marketing, improvements, and social factors.

We often hear “I tried to roll out product X before and people stopped using it / didn’t have much uptake.” This can be explained using this curve.

When the cycle gets to “The CHASM” this is an essential part of pushing through and keeping up momentum. If leadership or support from leadership stops, this is when we start to see failure, even though they were moments from success.

In industries with high contractor numbers and transient workforces we see failure of new technology, as they are either not at the workplace long enough to be impacted by change, or unlikely to use it again.

This can often be why internally built software fails in these workplaces or software only used in one environment, as it lacks familiarity with a high number of its users.

This is why Co Connect is a product that can be used across multiple sites & companies from the same App, and is more cost effective for businesses as familiarity and use is often already achieved by another company (which is often why job adds that use software state familiarity in key systems.