Inside The Tornado

Inside the Tornado: Marketing Strategies from Silicon Valley's Cutting Edge by GeoffreyMoore ISBN 0887308244

The sequel to CrossingTheChasm, it deals with how to market a technology after it has crossed the chasm. What I like about these two books is the extensive use of metaphors and memorable names, and the fact that it is all tied together by the TechnologyAdoptionLifecycle?. For instance, the 'chasm' is the often-unrecognized discontinuity in the TechnologyAdoptionCurve? between the innovators and the early mainstream market. The 'bowling alley' is the early phase of the early market where you use one successful customer to 'bowl over' your next customers. The 'tornado' is the period where demand skyrockets and seemingly everybody wants your new technology all at once (WhenItRainsItPours?). And 'Main Street' is where your technology has been commoditized, margins narrow, and demand suddenly drops off to more normal levels.