The role of marketing in the innovative product promotion

Just a few years ago, the word “innovation” was unknown, strange and scary. Nowadays, the innovation is not a rarity; it is a quite routine matter, which became a necessity. A market changes, people change, there is a need in new approaches to these new people and new products. So, you must adapt to innovative environment and learn to operate in a new, innovative market.

To invent an idea for a new product is not so difficult, indeed. You can undertake a survey among consumers, call a group of experts to know, what people want for full happiness for next three years and then go and create or modernize a product. And the most interesting thing begins, when the product is invented and should be sold like hot cakes, but it doesn’t. In spite of all surveys made among the people, experts and focus groups, the product is unwilling to be bought. The La Pier paradox “Everybody lies” is confirmed by the potential consumers’ behavior. Yes, they were in need of this good, but they do not want to buy it today. To make the product desirable and called-for, you must think up and settle into life competent marketing promotion.

Marketing for innovation is an integral part, and their perspective is difficult. Marketing promotion of innovative product must concentrate on making relations with a customer. The communications should be double-sided, because a supplier needs to know as much information as he can from his customers to develop the product and to cover the most market share. So, to make a client share information, you should communicate with him with a help of dialogue, not monologue. It means creation and maintenance of formal and informal connections not only with clients and Mass Media, but also with partners, dealers and so on. You will improve not only external connections, but also internal exchange between managers, sellers, financial specialists, etc. To maintain such relations a marketing team should have communicative skills and give consultations concerning the market. So, this team should have skills in such areas, as market entry, market segmentation, competition analysis, pricing, positioning, consumers’ analysis, distribution, logistics, etc.

A person’s attitude to acceptance of the innovation is of great importance for the product. And at each step of innovation life cycle different methods, approaches, strategies and tactics are need because the product has different consumers at each stage.

The lifecycle of innovation acceptance (Figure 1) is at the centre of marketing approach to a whole market sector.

Early Majority

Early Adopters = Late Ma)onty

• 2.5% 13.5% 34% 34% 16%

• Figure 1. The lifecycle of innovation acceptance

The main point of a marketing model consists in the phased achievement of the groups step by step. And each group is an original authority for the next one. It means that you should earn sympathy of each next group, rely on the positive opinion of the previous one. It is necessary to make the process uninterrupted.

The groups differ from each other by the character of innovation perception. The understanding of each group’s peculiarities and their relations with “neighbor” is the most important component in innovation marketing.

The innovators. These people want to be the first to get novelty and to sort out it. Usually, they make a purchase just only for a possibility to study a new device. Generally, these people are competent specialists, who know much about the product. Their opinion is important for the company, because they provide feedback. They can give detailed information about product advantages and disadvantages. You should treat them kindly and take care of them, because this group is the only buyers of the innovation. Maybe for low price, but they can give you much more data about your product.

The early adopters. They like novelties too, but as opposed to the innovators, they are not good at technologies and devices. It iss important for them to be the first and to make a breakthrough. Their decision about a purchase is based on the optimal correlation: the new technology advantages and their interests. This group can be useful for promotion and advertising purposes. But it will happen only if the product satisfies them. The following group of the majority is differentiated on early and late:

The early majority. This group of consumers will affect the purchase only on the basis of authoritative information. If they understand that the innovation hasn’t been tested by the market, they prefer to wait. When they make purchase, they pay special attention to company reputation, product quality and reliability of service. To sell the product to this group, you should try to advertise your commodity there, where the early majority appears (conferences, exhibitions, and specialized magazines). To achieve their recognition is a difficult goal. But if you achieve it, the result will be devoted followers of innovation. And in view of the fact, that the early majority is a third of the whole audience, the winning of their sympathies is a key factor of product success on the market.

The late majority. Traditions, not novelties are the main thing for them. They are often afraid of innovations. But if they find out the product, which satisfies their needs fully, they will keep it for a long time. Such group is needed for the innovative company, because it will bring profit for a long time.

The idea of this marketing model is a constant process of achievement, a smooth movement from one group to another. And to see the way of the movement and not hitting to cracks between the groups is very important. These cracks mean the disunity and different perception of a new product. Each crack can lead to the loss of the “propulsion” and crossing to a new segment. To avoid the failure, you should understand psychographic characteristics of each group and study them; you should build relations with your clients better and better.

The logic of taking delivery lifecycle based on the fact that the technology is perceived by any community in stages, in accordance with the psychological and social portraits of various segments of the community. This process can be represented as a continuum, with clearly defined stages, each of which is associated with a well-defined group, and each group is a predictable part of the whole.