advanced theory and practice in sport marketing - Marshalls University

The Adoption Process
The adoption process is made up of the stages that the sport consumer passes
through when making a decision to try/continue or not to try/not continue
using a sport product. The diagram below illustrates these stages:
Awareness Interest
Evaluation
Trial
Adoption
The sport
consumer is first
exposed to the
sport product
innovation
The sport
consumer is
interested in the
sport product and
searches for
additional
information
34.0%
16.0%
The sport
consumer
decides whether
or not to believe
that this sport
product or
service will
satisfy the need
Now that we see what the adoption process is, where does the general population
fall? The illustration below diagrams the five categories of adopters:
Sport product adopter categories
2.5% 13.5%
34.0%
The sport
consumer used
the sport product
on a limited basis
Innovators
Early adopters
Early majority
Late majority
Laggards
124 ADVANCED THEORY AND PRACTICE IN SPORT MARKETING
If the trial is
favorable, the
sport consumer
decides to use the
sport product on
a full-time basis
If the trial is
unfavorable, the
sport consumer
rejects the sport
product
Innovators, who represent 2.5% of the overall population, are venturesome
individuals who are willing to try new products. These consumers are usually
highly educated, will use multiple information sources to make decisions, and
are more willing to take risks. These consumers tend to stay within their own
adoption category, and hence rarely communicate about products outside their
adopter category.
Early adopters represent 13.5% of the overall population, and are usually the
leaders in social settings. These individuals tend to be more integrated within
local social systems, and hence tend to earn more respect than any other adopter
category. Hence, the early adopter tends to be the most influential over people,
which results in them being the ideal opinion leader and role model.
The early majority represents 34% of the overall population. These consumers
tend to be extremely deliberate in their decision making and adopt new ideas/