Julie Meyer, chief executive of Ariadne Capital
Crossing the Chasm
Geoffrey Moore
Published in 1991, revised in 1999
In this book, Moore argues there is a chasm between the early adopters of the product (the technology enthusiasts and visionaries) and the early majority (the pragmatists). Moore believes visionaries and pragmatists have very different expectations. He attempts to explore these differences and suggests techniques to successfully cross this ‘chasm’.
This includes choosing a target market, understanding the whole product concept, positioning the product, building a marketing strategy, and selecting the most appropriate distribution channel and pricing.
According to Moore, the marketer should focus on one group of customers at a time, using each group as a base for marketing to the next. If a firm can create a bandwagon effect in which enough momentum builds, the product becomes a de facto standard.
What’s changed since this book was published, however, is that most technology is now being adopted by the individual. We saw this through our work with Skype in 2003 at Ariadne. Now people, for example, adopt their iPhone, and then bring it into the office environment, whereas it used to be the other way around.