crossing-the-chasm

name	crossing-the-chasm
description	Navigate the technology adoption lifecycle from early adopters to mainstream market. Use when the user mentions "crossing the chasm", "beachhead segment", "whole product", "early adopters vs. mainstream", or "tech go-to-market". Covers D-Day analogy, bowling-pin strategy, and positioning against incumbents. For product positioning, see obviously-awesome. For new market creation, see blue-ocean-strategy. Trigger with 'crossing', 'the', 'chasm'.
allowed-tools	Read, Glob, Grep
license	MIT
author	Wondelai <[e-mail]>
version	1.0.1
compatible-with	claude-code, codex, openclaw
tags	["business","crossing-chasm"]

Crossing the Chasm Framework

Strategic framework for marketing and selling disruptive technology products, particularly for transitioning from early adopters to mainstream customers.

Core Principle

There is a chasm between early adopters and the mainstream market. Most tech companies fail not because they can't build great products, but because they can't cross from visionaries who love new technology to pragmatists who just want solutions that work.

The foundation: Early adopters and mainstream customers want fundamentally different things. What wins over innovators actively repels the early majority. You must change your strategy—and your whole product—to cross the chasm.

Scoring

Goal: 10/10. When evaluating go-to-market strategy for tech products, rate 0-10 based on alignment with chasm-crossing principles. A 10/10 means proper beachhead selection, whole product strategy, and positioning for pragmatist buyers; lower scores indicate early-market tactics applied to mainstream market. Always provide current score and improvements needed to reach 10/10.

The Technology Adoption Life Cycle

Innovators → Early Adopters → [CHASM] → Early Majority → Late Majority → Laggards
   2.5%         13.5%                      34%             34%            16%

The Chasm: The gap between early adopters (13.5%) and early majority (34%). This is where most tech products die.

The Five Buyer Groups

Segment	% Market	Psychology	What They Buy	What They Need
Innovators	2.5%	Technology enthusiasts	The newest, coolest tech	Product exists, technical specs
Early Adopters	13.5%	Visionaries seeking advantage	Change, revolution, competitive edge	Vision, big potential, strategic value
[THE CHASM]	—	—	—	—
Early Majority	34%	Pragmatists	Productivity improvements	Whole product, references, de-risked
Late Majority	34%	Conservatives	Avoid being left behind	Commodity, support, low risk
Laggards