When marketing new products, it is important for the marketing strategist to recognize where consumers are in the diffusion of innovation process and to recognize that different consumers, different proportions of consumers, and different segments of consumers will be in differing stages at any given time. Which category of consumers. tend to be individualistic and highly involved in the product category but are often less important to accelerating the diffusion of the product? Innovators Early adopters Early majority Late majority Laggards