In politics, technology and life in general; there are clingers, leapers and floaters.
Clingers are slow adopters who like things the way they are (or were) and hold tightly to customs, traditions and methods. They are probably still using Windows 98 (if they use a computer at all) because it still gets the job done for them and they are familiar with it. Change upsets clingers. As a result, they resist it as long as possible.
Leapers are early adopters who look for opportunities to evolve their technology and their life. They start new traditions, welcome new ideas and seek out new products and services. Leapers are open to change and might even feel uneasy if it doesn’t come fast enough. They may appreciate tradition, but they are keen to move forward and blaze new trails.
Floaters go with the flow and wait for new ideas and concepts to gain mainstream acceptance before jumping in. They are cautious, but not scared about change. They are much slower to adapt than leapers, but will accept change long before clingers will. They aren’t necessarily opposed to new ideas and concepts, but may be wary of them during the early stages. They generally like to play it safe until things are proved effective, safe and beneficial or accepted by others before them.
Most of us are floaters.
As a marketer or a product or service developer; you can respond to all of these groups.
How?
- Offer clingers an archive version of your products and services, a phone number to call and a person to talk to.
- Allow floaters to test new features before committing, keep up-to-date with changes via email with links to your blog and other new media content and provide support to guide them along the way (and a person to talk to).
- Invite leapers to alpha or beta test new interfaces, features and products, monitor real time changes on your twitter account and the opportunity to engage in interactive ways with your efforts along the way.
