product adoption process

Five-stage mental process all prospective customers go through from learning of a new product to becoming loyal customers or rejecting it. These stages are (1) Awareness: prospects come to know about a product but lack sufficient information about it; (2) Interest: they try to get more information; (3) Evaluation: they consider whether the product is beneficial; (4) Trial: they make the first purchase to determine its worth or usefulness; (5) Adoption/Rejection: they decide to adopt it, or look for something else. Another explanation is that the customer moves from a cognitive state (being aware and informed) to the emotional state (liking and preference) and finally to the behavioral or conative state (deciding and purchasing). Also called adoption process. See also adopter categories.