Small businesses can use the concepts in "Crossing the Chasm" to improve their market reach by understanding the difference between early adopters and the early majority. They should focus on creating a product that not only appeals to the early adopters who are willing to tolerate glitches for the sake of innovation, but also to the early majority who seek productivity improvement and easy adoption. This can be achieved by ensuring the product is reliable, user-friendly, and has a strong support base. Additionally, they should build a reference base within the early majority market, as these customers rely heavily on references from other companies in the same group.

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Crossing the Chasm

How can the most cutting-edge start-ups fail? Start-ups fall to their death in the deep chasm that separates early tech adopters and the pragmatic mai...

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The most dangerous transition is the vast chasm between the early adopters and the early majority. Customer expectations are radically different. The visionary champions new technology to gain an advantage over his competition. They are willing to tolerate fresh products with glitches. The early majority, however, seeks productivity improvement and wants technology to be easy to adopt. To guarantee this, the early majority seeks references from other companies in the same group. Early adopter references don't work because they are seen as a disruptive influence. When a start-up transitions from visionary early adopters to the pragmatist early majority, they are operating without a reference base and a support base in a market that highly reliant on both.

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Crossing the Chasm" contributes to contemporary debates on start-up growth and market adoption by providing a framework for understanding the challenges start-ups face when transitioning from early adopters to the mainstream market. The book argues that this transition, referred to as "crossing the chasm", is the most dangerous phase for start-ups as it involves dealing with different customer expectations and operating without a reference and support base in a market that highly relies on both. This concept has been widely discussed and applied in the start-up world, influencing strategies for market adoption and growth.

Start-ups may face several obstacles when transitioning from early adopters to the early majority. Firstly, the expectations of these two groups are radically different. Early adopters are visionaries who are willing to tolerate new products with glitches, while the early majority seeks productivity improvement and wants technology to be easy to adopt. Secondly, the early majority often seeks references from other companies in the same group, which a start-up transitioning from early adopters may lack. To overcome these obstacles, start-ups need to ensure their product is polished and easy to use, and build a strong reference base within the early majority market.

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