First, they are the genesis for word-of-mouth messaging for the rest of the market. Innovation is absorbed into markets partly because people imitate those before them, creating a domino effect. Geoffrey Moore famously wrote about the difficulty of moving from the early adopter group to the early majority group in a book called Crossing the Chasm (1991). Similarly, Malcolm Gladwell, in his book The Tipping Point (2000), wrote about how ideas and product spread once they hit a point of critical mass.

And, second, they’ve grown into a market unto themselves. When Rogers wrote his book in 1962, early adopters represented 24 million Americans. Forrester Research, in a Marketing News article November 1, 2007, reported they represent 77 million Americans now, or a third of all adults (at least for consumer electronics and high tech). The article also cites an Apple veteran as saying that the company allocated 100% of its marketing budget to this segment.

So, maybe in the near future, you won’t have to worry about crossing the chasm at all. But for sure, it’s the first group to always target.