Description
What an exciting time to be involved in high-technology products and innovations! With this third edition of the Marketing of High-Technology Products and Innovations, we invite you to consider the enormous changes in the technology arena in just the last few years:
• Since January of 2005 the NASDAQ exchange saw a low of 1,908 in April 2005, a high of 2,810 in November of 2007, and sat at 1,532 in December of 2008.
• In 2008, purchases of computer hardware and software accounted for half of all capital spending by businesses.
• In the area of consumer electronics and technology, the most innovative products aim to change the way people purchase media and entertainment—whether in the living room, the den, or on the go.
• In the Internet arena, second-generation Web technologies (Web 2.0) such as social networking and the blogosphere have exploded. Increasingly the Web is dominated by user-generated content—increasing connectivity among communities of individuals and opening myriad possibilities for business models and marketing techniques.
• The mobile phone is revolutionizing the way people around the world gain access to information, offering the potential to mitigate the digital divide that separates technology “haves” from the “have-nots.”
• Firms have greater access to the analytics necessary to optimize their online businesses; search engine optimization has moved from art to science; and websites have become much easier to navigate.
• Companies and retailers continue to harmonize distribution channels, offering customers bricksand- clicks models for a seamless shopping experience via a multitude of channel choices.
• New technological developments in the areas of nanotechnology, biotechnology, radiofrequency identification chips, green technology, and robotics, to name just a few, are creating exciting new possibilities for a wide range of industry applications.
In addition, the past few years have seen significant challenges including soaring fuel and food costs, climate change, ongoing poverty and human needs in developing countries, and an unstable global political environment. Solving these pressing problems requires a multifaceted approach, with a key aspect being the development of new technologies. New and established high-tech companies alike are offering revolutionary solutions for transportation and efficient energy generation. Social entrepreneurs and businesses of all sizes are pioneering new products and business models, even for base-of-the-pyramid markets (comprised of individuals who have low disposable incomes). Driving companies’ business strategies is an increasing focus on the triple bottom line of people, profits, and planet. While the challenges are certainly daunting, it is an exciting time to be in tech!
Yet, despite their promise, all too many high-tech inventions do not achieve commercial success. One reason is that high-tech companies often fail to develop a competency in marketing. Many of these companies—whose origins are typically found in scientific or engineering developments— mistakenly believe that marketing is superfluous, that the superiority of their technological innovations will be sufficient to convince buyers to adopt their products. Technical people have a hard time becoming customer oriented and market focused. Yet, successful commercialization of technology requires an intimate understanding of customers—their underlying needs and problems, their ways of doing business, and their environments and mind-sets. Because technological superiority alone is insufficient for ensuring the success of high-tech products, high-technology companies must develop their marketing competencies. Thriving in the high-tech marketplace requires mastery of a diverse set of marketing skills and capabilities. High-tech marketing managers must be versatile yet focused, flexible yet determined, tenacious yet open-minded. Their skills must include adroitly reading market trends; investing wisely in future technologies; leveraging the skills and capabilities of technical and marketing personnel in a dynamic, interactive fashion; understanding customers intimately; offering a compelling value proposition; developing astute marketing campaigns; pricing with an eye to customer value; and harmonizing distribution channels and supply chains.
Hence, readers of this book will learn best-practices high-technology marketing. Filled with decision frameworks and strategies that reflect cutting-edge research and practice, the material in this book is supported with a plethora of global examples and applications.
Rather than addressing marketing fundamentals, the book’s primary focus is on the unique characteristics of the high-tech environment and the marketing challenges those characteristics pose. It focuses primarily on the marketing of technology and innovation, but also addresses the use of technology for marketing purposes (such as search engine positioning and new media). Related books on the management of technology and innovation might also be useful complements. Because of the advanced nature of this material (for a marketing novice), a book of marketing fundamentals should be used as a reference as well.