Go-to-Market Strategy
Geoffrey Moore's framework for how new technology products move from early adopters to mainstream pragmatic buyers — and the chasm in between that kills most startups. The concept, the playbook, and how it shows up in 2026.
Moore built on Rogers' five-segment adoption curve: Innovators, Early Adopters, Early Majority, Late Majority, and Laggards. The shape is roughly normal — most buyers sit in the two middle groups.
Moore's key addition: there's a chasm between Early Adopters and the Early Majority. Early Adopters buy on vision and tolerate rough edges. The Early Majority buys on references and proven outcomes. Moving from one to the other is not gradual — it's a discontinuity that kills companies.
Early Adopters and the Early Majority want different things from a vendor:
The marketing and product that win Early Adopters do not work on the Early Majority. The Early Majority asks "who else like me is using this?" and Early Adopter references don't qualify.
Moore's recommendation: pick a single beachhead market — a narrow vertical or use case — and dominate it before expanding. Get reference customers in that beachhead. Build the complete solution (the "whole product") for that specific buyer. Once that beachhead is won, use it as a credibility platform for the next adjacent market.
The trap is trying to be all things to all customers in the chasm phase. Spread too thin, you serve no one well, references stay weak, and Early Majority buyers stay away.
AI products are right in the middle of the chasm. Early Adopters bought aggressively in 2023–2024. The Early Majority is starting to evaluate. The vendors that will win the next phase are the ones that pick a beachhead vertical, build complete reference customer stories, and resist the pull to chase every horizontal opportunity.
This is also why PMF collapse often happens at the chasm. Early Adopter PMF can be real but narrow. When the Early Majority shows up with different needs, the apparent PMF evaporates.
Some critics argue the chasm is less pronounced for consumer products with viral mechanics — the adoption curve there can be smoother because Early Adopters bring their friends. Moore himself updated the framework across editions to address consumer and platform dynamics.
Still, for B2B technology products with multi-stakeholder buying committees, the chasm framework remains one of the most-cited models in GTM strategy.