The pros and cons of early adopters

Anyone who’s studied startup marketing or is trying to grow a startup knows about the adoption cycle and the potential of ‘early adopters’. This blog post will share with you some of the key highlights of a recent LeanCoffeeTO meetup on how to maximize the value of your early adopters. It will also touch on the pitfalls to watch out for, since early adopters present both challenges and opportunities.

Here are 3 ways to maximize the value of early adopters:

• Allow Early Adopters to Guide Development Early adopters can often find new and unexpected ways to use your product. Attracting early adopters and being open to how early they interact with your offering will help guide your product or services development.

• Collect Feedback to Improve Your Offerings Early adopters can help identify or confirm why your solution offers value for end users. Early adopters may even offer ideas on what could be added, removed or changed to improve the value proposition. Be sure to put this valuable information to use to refine your offering and bolster its chances of success. For added insight, consider validating your sales and marketing plan by meeting potential customers.

• Target Specific Thought Leaders Getting thought leaders from your target industry onboard can be a great way to fuel your growth, add credibility, and quickly expand, as though leaders satisfied with your solution can be a great source of promotion. Consider popular posters on industry related forums, bloggers, and prominent social media users when deciding whose influence you’d like to leverage.

Here are 3 things to watch out for when attracting early adopters:

• Avoid Attracting People Who Will “Adopt Anything Early” It’s great to attract new users, but attracting the right early adopters is they key to success. You can promote your offerings to specific, well-suited groups or forums, or offer a closed beta to help control who is allowed to be an early adopter. Doing so can help you ensure the opportunity to collect meaningful feedback from the right demographics.

• Temper Early Adopter Feedback Early adopters may be overly excited by the idea of “new” and might provide you with an inaccurate evaluation of your solution. Temper the feedback of overzealous early adopters and, when possible, try to meet face to face in order to find the most meaningful feedback. Watch for early adopters that can identify both the positive and the negative qualities of your product or service. They are the ones most likely to offer some of the most valuable feedback.

• Be Mindful of the Implications of Big Users The idea to take on a big user is certainly an attractive one. However, it can often come with a few often overlooked pitfalls, as big users often have big demands. Whether their demands stem from specific requirements on your systems, time, production capacities, or whether they are based on special customization or development that they want to see, when considering going after big users make sure you have the resources in place to accommodate the size of their needs.

Attracting early adopters can be an exciting time for any startup. Apply these tips to grow with confidence by getting the most out of your early adopters while avoiding overlooked obstacles and easy-to-make mistakes.