Crossing The Chasm

1. What is the book about as a whole?

A practical book about growing the market of a technology company. The main premise is that there are 5 segments in the technology adoption life cycle - and each segment has completely different requirements. The book gives tips on how to cross the chasm between key segments.

2. What is being said in detail, and how?

The stages of development are in accordance to the target market:

1. Tech enthusiasists (innovators) 2. Visionaries (early adopters) - people who will pay extra to explore a competitive advantage 3. Pragmatists (early majority) - people who use the tech to solve a particular business problem 4. Conservatives (late majority) - people who use the tech when it's established and polished 5. Skeptics - people who won't buy the tech unless it's forced on them

The "chasm" is the deep gap between the stages - what worked for early adopters does not translate to winning over pragmatists. There is a "catch-22" situation - pragmatists won't buy without references from other pragmatists - but you can't get reference until someone buys.

1. Tech enthusiasts

• tech enthusiasts can tolerate rough edges
• tech must be genuinely novel
• price must be kept low
• it's okay not to make money at that stage

2. Breaking into the early market

• it must solve an actual pressing issue
• price can be much higher
• personal relationship is key
• customization is needed

3. Breaking into the main market

• pragmatists like to have "whole product" - integration, training, customer support, third-party support
• beachhead analogy - focus on a narrow niche market
• expand market - one niche at a time
• pragmatists like to think in terms of comparing products to what is familiar
• create user scenarios - and focus on them
• compare with the competition - encompassing all ways to achieve a stated goal. Honesty is key

4. Established market leader

• it must be accepted as widespread truth that your company is the leader in that market

The goal is to become the market leader.

It's important to choose an appropriate sales channel:

• direct sales is expensive but most effective. It establishes a direct connection with the customer
• value-added-reseller (VAR) is cheaper but loses the connection with the customer
• retail is even cheaper, but there is no connection with the customer

Marketing is choosing a market to sell. The "elevator pitch" is a great test - focus on who the target customer is, what the product solves and where is the competition.

3. Is the book true, in whole or part?

The book provides a sound framework and focuses on crossing the chasm between stages 2 and 3 (visionaries and pragmatists). I immediately identified with the "pragmatists" and fully agree about the points of comparison and honesty - that's similar to the way I think about tech.

The tip about focusing on a narrow segment and expanding one market at a time sounds reasonable in theory and I can think of examples of companies that have grown that way.

4. What of it?

If I ever work in a startup, I will be sure to remember the "chasm". I like the idea of having a mental model of a market - and knowing how to approach the user of a software product. The advice about user scenarios/cards also seems valuable - creating a scenario that solves a concrete problem for a concrete user; juxtaposing it with the existing solution.

Also, the elevator pitch is a great test that I usually fail for all my projects. I should practice it with all the projects I'm currently undertaking.