Enable People to Try on Green by Reducing Initial Investment (Trialability)

In analyzing which factors predispose people to adopt a new technology, Rogers identifies resources as the most important. If people had unlimited income and time, they would try every idea that interested them. Since they don’t, it’s absolutely essential that people get the opportunity to try out new innovations before investing – what he calls “trialability.” Here again, Zipcar offers a strong case. Limited-use trials are a good way for people to figure out how a new product or service works within their personal lives, and that’s why Zipcar charges just $25 to join and bills based on usage. The risk is incredibly low – less than dinner for two at a TGIFriday’s. The high fixed cost of owning a car encourages driving because it costs the same no matter whether it’s parked or in use. Zipcar is a pay-per-use system which alters driving behavior and decreases driving, showing people that they don’t really need a car.

Increase Visibility by Spreading Green in Shared Spaces (Observability)

The results of some innovations are easy to observe and describe to other people. And many designers are great at crafting products to emphasize their innovation – consider the iconic Nike Air sneakers that had a visible air pocket in the sole. For people to adopt a green innovation, they need to be able to see it in action. There are very good reasons why people who buy carbon offsets like to put stickers on their car advertising the fact. Observability is how apparent and visible the results of a new product or service are to other people. This was a challenge in the early years of Zipcar, which had small, disparate fleets scattered across a few cities. In order to increase its visibility, the company decided to instead concentrate its entire New York metro fleet into the neighborhood of Chelsea. With a dense and youthful population, it was exactly the kind of place where people would need a car for just a few hours. The cars themselves were emblazoned with enormous logos and quirky names, and suddenly it seemed, at least to local residents, that Zipcars were everywhere. Once people started seeing the cars on the streets and hearing about them from friends, the company began to take off. Zipcar then expanded from neighborhood to neighborhood, to the point where it was then observable enough to go national.

Five Factors for Speeding the Adoption of Genuinely New Ideas

No idea ever succeeds all at once. Every product, service, and business goes through the patterns of the adoption curve. For entrepreneurs and internal corporate venture groups launching new-to-the-world green innovations, it’s most important to accelerate through the early phases of adoption in order to reach the lucrative early majority. Doing that is all about reducing drag. By focusing on relative advantage, compatibility, trialability, observability, and complexity mitigation, companies can make sure that their great green ideas survive long enough to thrive.

Two Approaches for Driving the Adoption of Green Technologies

Instead of simply trying to educate people about the value of sustainability, designers, marketers, and managers can apply insights about how innovations are spread to help green solutions reach larger audiences and achieve lasting impact. For the different phases of the green adoption curve, there are distinct strategies for design, messaging, and marketing that dramatically improve the success of new products and businesses. Companies can follow two discrete approaches to make their green innovations more successful. They can select a sweet spot on the green adoption curve that best leverages their culture, brand, and capabilities. Or, they can use green adoption principles to design strategies that overcome hurdles between adoption phases and accelerate the spread of a green innovation to a wider audience. The organization’s strengths, the maturity of the category, and direct and indirect competitive activity will determine the best approach.

Related posts:

1. Design Strategies for Technology Adoption
2. On Air: Design Strategies for Technology Adoption
3. Sustainability as a Tool for Reinvention