What Drives Technology Adoption?

A long discussion in a business meeting today prompts me to ask: "What drives adoption of technology in the local Lutheran Sunday School?" That answer to that question will obviously vary by location. It will also change depending on whether you talking about technology that serves the Sunday School leader, the teacher, or the student.

But here is the central issue: is it better for Concordia Publishing House to meet the customer's current preferences in terms of technology? Or should we work to move the customer to new levels of accepting and using technology, knowing that it is in the customers best interests?

Should we push our customers into using technology?
It is likely that we can provide better resources for less cost to the customer through technology: by offering product in downloadable form rather than print, or on CD, or on DVD. We can, and occasionally do, point the customer to resources available from Internet sources that enrich the educational process. But much of that is not cost-effective until there is a certain level of acceptance is reached within our customer base.

For example, in 2011, CPH offered our annual children's Christmas service products as "download only" resources. Sales fell below the previous year's, and we have numerous customers who complained of inability to access the services through the Internet; we even wound up duplicating CDs by hand of the "downloadable" product and mailing them to some customers. A sizable percentage of our annual sales of this product still come from people who order CDs rather than download the files from our Web site.

Should we wait until all our customers are ready?
One thought is that if the customer really likes and wants the product, and we offer it as downloadable only, the customers will eventually come around. They will learn the technology and processes that allow them to have the product. Of course, some of them may just go elsewhere for a comparable product.

Now in 2013, most computers sold this year will probably not even have a CD-drive. New data for that computer is almost always downloaded, and often wirelessly at that. It seems that our customers will eventually come around to downloadable resources. Do we do them any favors by delaying our own adoption of that technology?

So, I wonder . . .

Given a choice, would you rather receive a CD of music and printable files or download those resources directly to your computer from our Web site? Why?

If a product you are interested in is available only as a downloadable resource, would you buy it or would you look for something else?

How long do you think it will be until you'll be comfortable with download? Today? Next year? Never?

God bless you as you use technology to teach God's children His Word!