Launching Efforts Needed for a High-Tech Product
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LAUNCHING EFFORTS NEEDED FOR A HIGH-TECH PRODUCT PhD Student Lavinia DOVLEAC Transilvania University of Brasov, Romania Email: [email protected] Abstract: This paper aims the difficult problem of creating new product concepts in the area of high-technology and innovation. Because of scientific discoveries and impressive development of technology, many companies compete for market supremacy on the technological innovations market. In a global market, which is currently in an economic and financial crisis, consumers make a new hierarchy of priorities in terms of expenditure and consumption. Therefore, companies that create new products must be very careful about 2 aspects, so the new product may not become a failure: the products positioning on the market and the target group which they address to. This paper belongs to the marketing area by bringing into discussion theoretical concepts, by analyzing the stages crossed by a company in the process of launching a new high- tech product and crossing the abyss in the product adoption process by consumers. Key words: high-tech product, product adoption process, launching process, product lifecycle, innovators, PC tablet Introduction innovations of the past 30 years, made This paper aims to approach in a by Knowledge @ Wharton magazine theoretically and practically manner the (www.wall-street.ro), are included many main aspects of launching a new high- products or services using advanced tech product. There will be analyzed technology: the Internet, laptop, mobile one by one all the stages of the telephony, fiber optics, digital photo or launching process of a new product, ATM. Industries with "advanced taking as example an Apple product: the technology" use intensively research iPad. Throughout the paper there will be and development and apply used theoretical concepts from the systematically scientific concepts and marketing literature and for illustrating technical knowledge (ro.wikipedia.org). the examples there will be used Creating a new high-tech product marketing research results conducted involves considerable materials efforts, by specialized companies and personal human and time efforts, and very secondary data processing. The issue through research and studies. The of launching a new product is market often reacts in an unexpected particularly complex in the field of high way regarding the product. Finally, technology products because the pace consumers decide if the product is a of innovation is developing very rapidly success or a failure. and the competition between producers For a new product to be is very serious. successful, its necessity, quality and Some innovations are short-lived, value must be recognized by the while others are able to generate new consumer, meaning to be tested, industries. In a top of the most important accepted and bought in a repeated way (Florescu, Mâlcomete, Pop, 2003, an early market dominated by a few pp.564). visionary customers to a mature market The concept of “new product” has dominated by a massive block of several meanings (Pride, Ferell, 1993): customers whose orientation is In terms of marketing, the new prevalent pragmatic. The distance product is that product which is between these two markets, until now launched on the market at one moment ignored, is enough significant to be and finds no equivalent in the existing called a gulf, and crossing this gulf must supply; be the main focus point of any From the consumer point of view, marketing plan regarding the high the new product is one that has the technologies on long term. potential to satisfy a new need or an Each high-tech product truly existing one. innovative starts as a fad - something From the company point of view, apparently without market value or the new product is any product purpose, but with some great features assimilated into production for the first which generate much enthusiasm in a time by the company. group of "knowledgeable". This is an There are some assumptions from early market (Moore, 2009). Such a which the producer is tempted to start in market has, at this moment, the Apple creating and launching a new product: a iPad. strong brand sells everything; a new iPad is a brand of a small portable product will be sold because of computer (about 24.3 to 19 cm, 1.4 cm consumer curiosity, a high price is a thick, weight 680 grams to the model guarantee of quality for the new "Wi-Fi") produced and sold by Apple product; a strong promotional campaign company since April 2010. iPad has will convince a significant number of been called "a toy for media consumers consumers to purchase the product; - in whatever form." some consumers will be unsatisfied, so The period next to the creation of the company should not change the early market is when the rest of world vision and strategy; the product can be wait to see if something can be done of improved over time following the users this product; it is "the abyss" or "gulf." If opinions. it is discovered a valuable offer that can The American company Apple is a be predictably given to a target group of good example of high technology customers at a reasonable price, then a products manufacturer with a strong new main market is made. name in the world, with effective market Consumer attitude towards the strategies. Apple has managed to adoption of technology becomes conquer the market based on both user- important - whenever products are friendly design, as well as strong brand. requiring a change in the current mode The brand Apple offers high quality of behavior or a change of other products built using an innovative products and services that they base technology that stores a great creativity, on. Such products, sensitive to imagination and a specific design. The changes, are disruptive innovations. company tries products that could The other concept, the "continuous" become benchmarks in the sector. innovation refers to the normal process of improving a product that does not The transition of high-tech require a change in behavior. product from the early market to Apple iPad can be considered a the mature market "continuous" innovation. Its main The most dangerous point in the advantages are: small size, good quality development of high technology of images on screen, many possibilities markets is marked by the transition from for connecting to networks, long period 150 of independence with a single battery a new technological product consists charge. The 3G model (more primarily of innovators and early expensive) provides wireless adopters. In the high technology sector, connectivity to the Internet from any innovators are better known as place where there are mobile-cellular "technics" or "technology enthusiasts", network with the necessary services. while early adopters are the “seers”. Typically, the first to adopt new Specific attributes for the technology are those who appreciate adoption process of high-tech the technology itself. They are the first products who appreciate the architecture of the The process of adopting the new new product and realize why it has a product is the mental process by which competitive advantage over comparable a person passes from finding about the products already existing on the market. existence of an innovation to its final adoption (Lefter et al. 2006, pp.445). Reactions generated by the This process involves several launching process of a high-tech successive stages: identification of new product products on the market, development of Differences between the the interest for the new product, perception of the concept and the evaluation of the new product, selection new product and effective adoption. During the new product High-tech industry needed a model development there are three types of which effectively copes with a new testing: the concept, the product and the mode of product introduction. market, to obtaining accurate Technology is absorbed in any given information (Doyle and Stern, 2006). community in stages corresponding to The confidence in test results increases the psychological and social profiles of with the transition from one test to various segments within that another. community. The innovators approval is Retrevo Company conducted a an important tool for developing a study that examined the reactions of credible launching basis for users before and after launching the approaching the early adopters. A iPad and the results indicated a revised version of the technology decrease in purchase intent after the adoption process involves a space product launch. The survey was applied between each two psychographic to a sample of 1000 people in the U.S. groups. This distance represent the In a first phase of the study, 52% of separation of the two groups - namely respondents hadn't heard about the the extent to which any group would iPad. In the second phase of the survey, have difficulty accepting a new product applied immediately after the launch of if it is presented in the same way as to the iPad, the percentage of those who the previous group. had never heard of this product has The real "gulf" occurs between the fallen to 18%. The third phase of the early adopters and the early majority. survey was carried out immediately The early adopter expects to obtain a after launch. substantial advantage over the Figure 1 shows the modification in competition. By contrast, early majority time of the respondents' buying wants to buy a productivity improvement intentions. As the product becomes for existing operations. They want a available, customers are forming a technology which enhance, not replace, negative opinion and do not want to buy the current mode in which they conduct it. business. The initial set of customers for 151 Modification of buying intentions for iPad 15% after the 61% launch 5% I need more information to decide 21% during the I don't w ant to buy 52% launch 9% I w ant to buy 17% The moment of response moment The before launch 26% 3% 0% 20% 40% 60% 80% Percentage of responses Figure 1.