Chasm Crossing - was Good Manuals - Why Rare.

[Jim Shaeffer <jims -at- spsi -dot- com>]

Thomas Murrell mused: 
It would seem that some of the software providers are looking at the same
need: to be able to meet the needs of the non-technical market that will
only buy their products if they
come either pre-loaded or very easy to install.

If this is an actual trend, and not a segment idiosyncrasy or temporary
market exigency, wouldn't that bode well for the writer who can understand
complicated systems and software enough to explain them more simply? 
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Jim Shaeffer comments: 
The trend you have spotted is nothing new. Geoffrey A. Moore described it in
his 1991 book, _Crossing the Chasm_. Although specific examples from the
book are dated, the patterns it exposes are not. 

From the Chasm Group's web site (http://www.chasmgroup.com): 
"_Crossing the Chasm_ demonstrated the existence of distinct marketing
challenges for each market segment in the life cycle of new technology-based
products. A significant gulf, the "chasm", exists between the market made up
of early adopters, and the markets of more pragmatic buyers. To cross the
chasm, a product team must identify the needs of pragmatic buyers and
deliver a "whole product" that more than meets those needs." 

Early adopters put up with a lot of hassle because they are buying a change
agent and forsee a big payoff because it will give them the lead on the
competition. 
Later customers will buy the same product only when they see it as a
productivity tool with a reasonable cost/benefit trade-off that also has
good support. 
There is another gap, not a chasm though, that must be crossed when a
technology based product becomes a mass consumer item. 

Moore's book is about marketing the same product to these different types of
user, not about technology, but it can sure give us techies a perspective on
things. 

Jim Shaeffer
jims -at- spsi -dot- com