Module I- Consumer Adoption

Process
Dr.Kishan.Singh.Rathore
ABS
[email protected]
9926486860
 Consumer Adoption Process

• The Adoption Process (also known as the Diffusion of

Innovation) tries to explain how the consumers will
behave as they purchase new products and services. It
is useful for the management if it knows this behavior
to achieve success with new products.
• The adoption process is the set of con decisions an
individual person or organization makes before
accepting an innovation. Diffusion of a new product is
the process by which an innovation spreads throughout
a social system over time
Stages in the Consumer Adoption
Process

• A prospective buyer typically goes through the

following phases in the adoption process.
• 1. Awareness: The consumer becomes aware that a new
product exists but it unsure about its information.
• 2. Interest: The consumer becomes interested in knowing
more about the product and seeks information.
• 3. Evaluation: the consumer evaluates if he would like to
try the product.
• 4. Trial: the consumer makes the decision to try the
product to experience it and judge its value
• 5. Adoption: the consumer becomes fully convinced
about the benefits of the product and starts using it fully.
• When a company produces a product or service and announces
it to the market. At that point the consumer adoption process
begins. This is where the consumer decides to become a new
customer and purchase or reject the product. Another stage
commonly not identified in marketing research is the
internalization stage.
• The first stage, Awareness, is most important and is also where
marketers put a lot of effort and money. If consumers are not
aware that the product or service exists, how can the company
expect the consumers to buy it? Advertising the product to
consumers is hard work to make sure the correct image is
developed and the product is desired. Examples of advertising
may include media or print ads.
• The second stage is Interest. This stage is when the
consumer becomes aware of the product and searches
out information. A popular method of searching out
information is the internet.
• A company’s website tells a potential customer what it
looks like, its specifications, its price, ways to purchase
and much more. Technology has played a big role in
today’s website advertising, guaranteeing interactive
information and data collection.
• Next are the stages of Evaluation and Trial, where the
consumer thinks if this product or service is good, and more
importantly, how this product can be beneficial to them.
When consumers believe the product is good and it can
benefit them by buying it they are more likely to purchase.
The consumer decides if it suits their needs or wants. To
entice consumers, sometimes marketers will provide samples
or trials of their product. This gives consumers a “taste” of
what the product really is, how it works and shows them its
benefits. Also coupons or introductory sale prices are given
as motivation to try the product out for a reduced price
Finally is the adoption stage. The business dictionary
best describes this stage by explaining, “the
customer moves from a cognitive state (being aware
and informed) to an emotional state (liking and
preference) and finally to the behavioral or cognitive
state (deciding and purchasing)
 Consumer Adoption Process/
Diffusion of Innovation Process

• A consumer will differ in his eagerness to adopt a

new product than another. This behavior is
categorized into the following innovation adopter
categories, based on when in the life of a product,
individuals will adopt the innovation. If the total
population of all consumers who adopt a given
product is divided into five basic categories as
shown below, we get a curve which is similar to a
normal bell shaped curve.
Product Adoption Curve
1.Innovators
• In the diagram, the percentages of people are plotted
as a function of time and the distribution is normally
distributed. The first category is called the innovators,
about 2.5% to 3% of the entire population.
• They are generally more
venturesome(daring),educated, financially stable, and
willing to take risks associated with new product
purchase and adoption. Innovators are generally are
the first consumers to adopt new products, but they
may not be best at convincing others to try new
products like early adopters.
 2.Early Adopters
• They are generally characterized as curious, adventurous
consumers who buy first, talk fast and spread the word to others
about the experience of the product they have tried. This
category consists of roughly 13% to 15% of all adopters of the
product.
• The consumers in this category are opinion leaders and have
substantial influence over the adoption of new products by other
individuals in their social group. The influence of opinion leaders
can determine a new product's success or failure in the market
place.
• As a result, marketers are particularly interested in identifying
these individuals and strive to influence their decisions positively.
 3.Early Majority
• : The next two categories are about equal in size and
constitute "the mass market." Each consists of about 34% of
the adopter population.
• The early majority tends to be more deliberate and more
cautious than innovators and early adopters. Members of the
early majority category are characterized as "solidly middle
class consumers."
• They are somewhat average in socio-economic status.
Successfully targeting the early majority determines whether
a new product will eventually succeed in general use or will
remain a product that serves primarily a narrower niche
market.
 4. Late majority
• The late majority category is quite similar to the
early majority with respect to its members'
characteristics and propensity to take risks.
• The late majority typically adopt when the
product is approaching or has reached the mature
phase of the product life cycle. Thus, the product
has already been extensively accepted, which
serves to encourage the risk averse consumer in
this classification of the product’s advantages.
 5. Laggards
• The final category of adopters is the laggards. Because
laggards are significantly slow in accepting a new product, the
product is often outmoded by the time this group of
consumers enters the market. Other new products, often
based on new technologies, have started to take this
product’s place.
• They will adopt only after the product has become obsolete
and is in imminent danger of replacement by new products,
often based on new technologies.
• These consumers tend to be older in age and lower in socio-
economic status than members of other adopter categories.
• Thanks