Crossing the Chasm
What is Crossing the Chasm?
Crossing the chasm is Geoffrey Moore's term for the hardest step in selling new technology: moving from enthusiastic early adopters to mainstream buyers who want proven, complete solutions. The company picks one mainstream segment, supplies everything that segment needs to succeed and uses its customers as references to win the next.
How Crossing the Chasm works
Early adopters accept a product with missing pieces because they want an advantage first. Pragmatists buy only what their peers have proven and what they can put into production without assembling it themselves. Moore's answer is to pick one pragmatist segment, supply everything that segment needs to succeed, and use its customers as references for the next segment. In his own example, Documentum focused on regulatory affairs departments at large pharmaceutical companies, completing the solution for drug approval submissions before expanding to other uses.
Crossing the Chasm vs. Monopolize a Small Market First and Lighthouse Customers
| What it is | How to tell it apart | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crossing the Chasm | Winning mainstream buyers by supplying the whole product and peer references they need | Mainstream buyers needed different things than early adopters, and got them | Documentum completing the solution for pharma regulatory affairs |
| Monopolize a Small Market First | Dominating a tightly defined first market, then expanding outward | No early-adopter to mainstream gap is required | Facebook starting at Harvard before other colleges |
| Lighthouse Customers | Winning the industry's largest names first so others follow | About prestige references, whatever the adopter type | Top drug makers choosing a CRM, then others citing them |
How to tell if a company has it
- Mainstream buyers needed something differentA defined pragmatist segment whose requirements differed from those of the early adopters.
- Missing pieces suppliedIntegrations, support, services or partner products added so the segment could use it in production.
- References that segment trustsCustomers similar to the target buyers willing to vouch for the product.
- Adoption followed the fixesMainstream buying rose once the missing pieces and references were in place.
Examples
- Illustrative application: a tool used by enthusiasts wins a pragmatist segment after adding the integrations, support and comparable-customer references needed for production use.
Who names it
| Author | What they call it / where it appears |
|---|---|
| Moore + | Crossing the chasm; beachhead; bowling alley; whole product |