Audience patterns, segmentation models, and category maturity
When we created the first illustrations for T2D3, our goal was to simplify complex go-to-market topics into lite frameworks.
Visualizing each concept in the book was a great first step. But many of the ideas are connected (and influenced) by each other—and most valuable when paired with supporting concepts.
After we published the book, I started exploring more detailed canvases that merge multiple concepts—shown above is the first.
Canvas 001 - Main takeaways:
Geoffrey Moore's adoption curve applies not only to entire markets but also to product categories and subcategories. To use a current example, the people willing to line up for Apple's newly-unveiled Vision Pro are Innovators in their newly-minted 'Spatial Computing' subcategory of AR/VR. I work with someone who stans Apple and is guaranteed to buy this as soon as it's available. He would love to help Apple build the next version of the product and be part of a user group if they opened that door—purely out of his excitement for the tech.
Some segmentation models are more practical at specific points in a product category's maturity stage. For example: psychographics (why they care) and JTBD segmentation are most helpful in nascent categories where the problem you're solving (and the WAY you're solving it) is novel. As the category matures, demographic and firmographic segmentation becomes more valuable as competition enters and begins settling into specializations based on industry verticals or other company or technographic patterns.
Your GTM approach and marketing priorities change depending on the audience cohort you're trying to attract. For example: Early adopters are motivated by the competitive edge your product gives them—and they can sometimes be reluctant to share it with their peers. Here, the priority is to capture, publish, and leverage their praise to win the trust of the next cohort (Early Majority), who tolerate less risk and need clear proof that others have successfully gone before them.