Crossing the Chasm : Marketing and Selling Disruptive Products to Mainstream Customers Revised Edition

A radically effective guide to marketing high tech products, Geoffrey Moore provides an innovative model that will help in establishing and maintaining high tech entrepreneurship through his book, Crossing the Chasm.

Summary Of The Book

To call Geoffrey Moore’s Crossing the Chasm a marketing book would be undermining its value. The book focuses on specific marketing tactics for high tech products. This is especially necessary for increasing the profitability of any new company.

Moore starts with the theory of diffusion of innovations, which tries to establish the distinction between the early adopters of technological products and the early majority of pragmatists. This theory is taken from Everett Rogers' conception of the same theory. The book tries to show the various differences between visionaries and pragmatists and the set of expectations that also vary.

Crossing the Chasm attempts to unify and take the best of both worlds to achieve maximum results. It helps its readers achieve some form of harmony while selecting a target market, positioning the product, production, and packaging concept, framing the marketing and selling strategy, and the product’s pricing and distribution.

Crossing the Chasm is all about flexibility when trying to sell technology. It tries to incorporate the technology adoption lifecycle. This deals with five crucial aspects such as early adopters, innovators, early and later majority as well as laggards. The book explains how the focus of the marketer should be towards one target market and not every section of the market. Crossing the Chasm underlines the fact that creating a market base for any product is crucial for its marketing and selling.

Transitioning from early adopters to an early majority can be difficult, however, this book deals with the ways through which this can be done along with radical innovations. With the help of Moore’s strategies, disruption during the innovative process can be avoided. Adopting a model of continuous innovation is necessary and procures the best results.

Moore provides a simplistic overview of the complex theories and provides an easy guideline on how to avoid discontinuous innovation and failure for high tech goods.

Right since when it was first published, it has sold over 300,000 copies from 2002 to 2012. Various venture capitalists, high tech managers, and business schools highly recommend this book.

About Geoffrey Moore

Geoffrey Moore is a high technology consultant based in Silicon Valley. His works are all derived from experiences while working at The Chasm Group and The McKenna Group.

Moore has also written the book Inside The Tornado and escape velocity.

Moore has previously worked as a corporate trainer, English professor, and Executive Assistant. He has a degree in English Literature from the University of Washington and a degree in American Literature from Stanford University. He lives with his kids Anna, Michael, and Margaret, and his wife Marie.