When a new product or innovation is launched, there must be a handful of people who have tried the product before others. These people are called early adopters. Even though you can use it first, it doesn’t mean it can be used without cost. In fact, for early adopters, the costs incurred are not small.
The term early adopter, one of the five stages of technology adoption as reported by Investopedia, refers to individuals or business groups who are willing to pay a certain amount of money to try the product if it is estimated that the product can increase effectiveness, reduce costs in the long term, increase productivity, or can improve the user’s social status.
In general, the products used by these early adopters are not 100% perfect. There are still many developments here and there for developers to do. Therefore, companies often rely on early adopters to provide them with feedback on product deficiencies and also to finance companies to carry out further product research and development processes.
From here, you can see how important the role of early adopters is for companies, because the experience of early adopters when using the product is an illustration of how the majority of people will respond when using the same product. In addition to providing support, promotions carried out by early adopters can also increase the reputation and public awareness of the product brand.
Examples of Early Adopters
In this sophisticated world, an example of an early adopter can be seen in Tesla, a company engaged in the electric car industry. At the beginning of the launch of his electric car, everyone saw Elon Musk as a genius who succeeded in creating these innovations. At that time, many people flocked to buy and own the car, trying to become early adopters of the latest technology, even though the price was expensive and the product was not one hundred percent perfect. Moreover, at that time, there were not many electric car batteries charging stations.
By owning a newly launched Tesla, early adopters feel that ownership is prestigious enough in terms of price and technology, can increase their effectiveness and productivity in life. Gradually, the price of Tesla cars began to decline due to more and more products being produced, better quality due to improvements and technological developments, and the increasing number of electric car battery charging stations.
The Advantages and Disadvantages of Early Adopters
Being an early adopter looks cool and up-to-date, but being an early adopter isn’t always as good as it seems. Even though they can adopt the latest technology, there are also risks that must be carried by early adopters even though they have paid a lot of money. The risks that could occur are products that fail to compete in the market, or products that may even fail in the production process.
On the other hand, being an early adopter can also have an advantage when his suggestions and input on products are heard and used as a reference for further product research and development. If the suggestions and inputs succeed in having a significant impact on the product, it is possible that people who are early adopters will be seen as leaders of the renewable technology.
To be clearer, here are some points that can be considered as advantages and disadvantages of being an early adopter.
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Advantages –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Prestigious –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Impact on technology development –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Gain a competitive advantage –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Become a leader in the technology industry |
Disadvantages –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Loss of product value in a short period of time –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The risk of using defective/imperfect items –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The use of products that are still limited in features –Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Use of products that can be immediately replaced with newer ones
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#GenerasiPenemu, now you know that in the start-up and technology industry, the people who play a role in it don’t just have to be investors or start-up inventors. There are many other important roles, one of which is early adopter. If you are a #GenerasiPenemu who likes to take risks and likes to be a trendsetter, and you even like to follow news developments about the successes and failures of a product from the latest technology, then this early adopter role might be suitable for you.
Look forward to more articles about the world of start-ups, business, innovation, and technology from Ideanation at www.ideanation.id. Don’t forget to follow the journey of the 2021 Ideanation Competition finalists on Instagram Ideanation @in.ideanation.
