Then there is no mountain,
Then there is."
-- Zen proverbWhat is it about California? How can any state seem so weird an yet be so successful economically? I myself am originally from Iowa, a perfectly normal state with a normal kind of economy that normal states are supposed to be having today.
Here in the valley of the heart's delight,2 we celebrate change and growth, but that does not make either one the less demanding or painful. The ethical lines framing business and public issues appear particularly well-etched in Silicon Valley. The rampant materialism, the unanticipated negative effects of technological innovation ... these are presenting temptations and ethical challenges. Nevertheless, from this valley of the good and the bad, there is something new emerging that could favorably impact business everywhere. (I wonder, is anything of benefit here for the chiropractic community?)
Out of the need to survive in a highly competitive and global market, a new high-tech marketing model has been invented. It is a strategy of marketing that could dramatically force a new business standard: a shift in focus from selling a product towards creating a relationship, from product promotion to consumer education, with the goal being to communicate rather than manipulate; the mechanism being dialogue, not monologue.
In philosophy, the new model encourages a new kind of partnership between business and customer, so that when the fickle market winds shift and the company looks up over the dust, the customer is still there: supportive, loyal, and willing to adjust to the company's new challenges. This new approach to company/customer relationships cannot be supported by traditional forms of advertising. Two particular reasons stand out. First, advertising's credibility as a means of communication as deteriorated as it has become more and more manipulative. Second, the problem with today's type of advertising is that it is a one-way mechanism of communication, and as emphasis increasingly shifts from selling a product to creating a relationship, the demand for a two-way means of communication increases. (The Internet, with its characteristic interactivity, offers one solution to this.) Marketing Enlightenment3
If you accept that today's health care delivery system is essentially driven by a fragmented and competitive market that demands continual adaptation, and if you elect to proactively meet the challenges of this fast-paced changing environment, might you do well to reassess "the way you think" about marketing and market relationships? If so, this transplanted Iowan thinks the following Silicon Valley proverb is as good a place to begin as any:
First there is a market ...
The market is made up of innovators and early adopters. It is an early market, flush with enthusiasm and vision and often as not funded by a potful of dollars earmarked for accomplishing some grand strategic goal.
Then there is no market ...
This is the "chasm period."4 During this time, the early market is still trying to digest its ambitious projects, and the mainstream market waits to see if anything good comes of them.
Then there is ...
If all goes well, and the company and its product (or service) pass through the chasm period intact, then a mainstream market emerges, and with it will come real opportunity for growth and wealth.
According to Geoffrey Moore, president of The Chasm Group in Palo Alto, California, "To reap the rewards of the mainstream market, your marketing strategy must successfully respond to all three of these stages. To not recognize any one of them is dangerous. The key to success is to focus in on the consumer who dominates the current market, learn to appreciate that person's 'psychographics,'5 and adjust your marketing strategy and tactics accordingly."
Much Can Be Learned from the Resister
In the language of high-tech psychographics, the resister is the one driven by a strong sense of practicality, needs well-established references and standards (before investing money, time and reputation), and is extremely service-oriented (and unwilling to pay for all the services they require). Whereas the early adopter appreciates the product for its own sake and asks: "How does this work?", the resister asks the pragmatic, "What can this do for me?"
Consider the following: General Motors has just introduced an electric car, and Ford and Chrysler immediately follow. The cars work like any other, except that they are quieter and better for the environment. Now the question is, when are you going to buy one?
Your answer to this question will tell a lot about how you relate to the "technology adoption life cycle."6 If your answer is, "When I have seen electric cars prove themselves and when there are enough service stations on the road," you are a middle-of-the-road adopter (of the early majority). If you answer, "Not until most people have made the switch and it becomes really inconvenient to drive a gasoline car," you're more of a follower (of the late majority). If you want to be the first one on your block with an electric car, you're apt to be an early adopter. If your answer, "Not until hell freezes over," you're most like a resister.
Much can be learned from resisters. They can teach us a lot about what we are doing wrong: the patient who, even with excellent results, resists telling others about chiropractic; the practicing chiropractor who resists participation in chiropractic organizations; and the mainstream Americans who resist the administration's resolution: "a computer in every home."
From several directions, we're advised that to "think in new ways" is to prepare for today's fast-paced change. Even though this article offers a very brief introduction to a very complex marketing concept, perhaps it is influence enough to cause some new thinking about the "business" of chiropractic.
Consider the language of the Silicon Valley marketing model to see chiropractic from a different perspective. For instance, can we assign a psychographic profile to the chiropractic patient? If so, what is the psychographic profile of the patient who "currently dominates" the chiropractic market? On the flip side, what is the psychographic profile of the "resister to chiropractic?" And what can the resister teach us? It's time to take a break, and perhaps do a little thinking.
(Note: the next article in this series will focus on "FUD" (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and how it's become a fine art in the 1990s: aggressively used by the computer industry and others to manipulate the competitive market.)
References
- This attitude is borrowed from Geoffrey A. Moore, president of The Chasm Group, Palo Alto, CA.
- The valley of the heart's delight. In California's early history, this affectionate name was given to the Santa Clara Valley. From its rich soil came bountiful crops of cherries, peaches, prunes, persimmons, olives, and wine grapes. It was among the valley's fruit blossoms that the California honeybee was first successfully introduced in 1853, laying the foundation for the state's modern beekeeping industry. Today, one finds little remaining of the valley's early beauty. This land is now called Silicon Valley -- and is known as the world's first high-technology region.
- Moore G.A. Crossing the Chasm. New York, Harper Collins Publishers, 1995.
- The "chasm period" of the high-tech marketing model represents the deep, dividing gulf between two distinct marketplaces: the early market, which is dominated by early adopters, and the mainstream market, which represents the early majority. The transition between these two markets is not smooth. The company that is in the act of "crossing the chasm" must not hesitate. It must behave like the hermit crab that has outgrown its shell, for until it finds a new home, it will be prey to all kinds of predators.
- Psychographics: a combination of psychology and demographics. In the high-tech marketing model, consumer groups are distinguished from each other by their progressive characteristic response to a new product or service. In the language of psychographics, the "early adopter" is one who's quick to appreciate the nature and benefits of a new product. The "resister" is one who wants well-established references and standards before spending money, time and reputation. The "early and late majority" are the rest of us who want the benefits of a new product, but who do not want to experience it in all its gory details of development. Understanding the characteristics of each group and the group's relationship to its neighbors is critical to the successful use of this marketing strategy.
- The technology adoption life cycle. This is the foundation of the high-tech marketing model. The adoption cycle is presented as a graphic bell curve and illustrates the market penetration of any new product by the progression of types of consumers that the product attracts throughout its useful life. To the extreme left of the bell are the early adopters. In the larger center are the early and late majority (mainstream). To the extreme right are the resisters and laggards. Note: the original research that gave rise to this model was done on the adoption of new strains of seed potatoes among American farmers. Despite these agrarian roots, however, the model has thoroughly transplanted itself into the soil of Silicon Valley.
Marlene Miller
Los Gatos, California
Phone: (800) 637-6753
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Website: www.chirolink.com
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