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ПРОДВИЖЕНИЕ ИННОВАЦИЙ НА РЫНКЕ
Алябедева И.И., аспирант, ст. преподаватель кафедры Управления проектами и инновационного менеджмента, Московского государственного университета экономики, статистики и информатики (МЭСИ), e-mail: IAlyabedeva@mesi.ru
В статье рассмотрены актуальны вопросы продвижения инноваций на рынке. Анализируются особенности рынка инноваций и его будущее развитие, ключевые факторы, влияющие на успех продвижения инновационной продукции, а также рассматриваются варианты успешных маркетинговых стратегий продвижения инновационной продукции.
Ключевые слова: маркетинг, инновации, инновационное развитие бизнеса, рынок инноваций, маркетинговая стратегия, продвижение инноваций.
THE PROMOTION OF INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS
Alyabedeva I., PhD student, Lecturer of chair of Project management and innovative management Moscow State University of Economics,
Statistics and Informatics (MESI), e-mail: IAlyabedeva@mesi.ru
The article aims to consider the issues of the innovative products promotion. Peculiarities of innovative market and its future progress, key factors connected with the promotion of innovative products success are analyzed. Here are also suggested the successful marketing strategies variants of the innovative products promotion.
Keywords: marketing, innovation, innovative business development, market innovation, marketing strategy, promotion of innovation.
What is an nnovative product? An innovative product is the result of innovation activity, novelty, which received practical implementation in the form of a new product, service, method of production (technology) or any other socially useful result.
Effective innovation policy plays the most important role in the promotion of the innovative product. Any industrial enterprise can't work in a market economy if it is not ahead of its competitors in the process of development and introduction of new products and technologies on the market.
Innovations are effective means of competition , because innovative products create new needs, reduce production costs, inflow investments, improve the image of the producer of new products, discover and seize new markets.
There are four types of innovations in the economy:
1. Technological innovations;
2. The creation of a new market;
3. The development of a new supply source of raw materials or semi-finished products;
4. The reorganization of the management structure.
Technological innovations are divided into two types: product
innovations and process innovations . The first type innovations, product ones, are applied to existing products. Product characteristics can be improved, because effective materials and components can be used. Process innovations are the development of new production methods, improvement of the equipment or the organization of production. This innovation creates new or perfected products, or increases production efficiency of existing products.
Innovative products are specific goods. Their distinctive features are as follows:
1. Uniqueness;
2. A low degree of tangibility (materiality);
3. Ability to multiply revenues;
4. Targeting sales;
5. Novelty products and needs.
1. The Features of the Market of Innovative Products/ Services
The problems of innovation business in Russia are largely related to the insufficient development of marketing in scientific and technical organizations and innovation enterprises. One of the most important problems of the innovation company is a marketing support of the creation of new products. Practical experience indicates a high risk of bringing innovative products to the market: on average, about a third of new products fails, and instead of profit they bring only losses. The specifics of launching new goods are related to the specific features of products and the peculiarities of the market. Among the reasons for the failure of new products the following factors are usually identified: insufficient analysis of the market, product defects , the lack of effective marketing activities, excessively high costs, actions of competitors, the lack of support in bringing the goods to the market, production problems. The factors of the success of a new product are the following:
• Superiority over competing goods (discernments contributing to a
better perception by consumers);
• Marketing know-how of the company (understanding customer behavior in pace of
the adoption of innovations and the size of the potential market);
• The presence of technological know-how.
As we see, the technological advantages alone are not able to provide commercial success. Thus, any innovator or innovation company has to think about marketing factors sooner or later.
Innovative products make up a specific market of science-intensive and science-technical products. In comparison with the «traditional» market the goods are diverse and affect all aspects of the relations that are being developed between the seller and the buyer The situation entails its reflection in the company marketing policy. Among the features of this market there are the following ones:
• The features of the product (uniqueness; sometimes technological complexity; high costs of production at the first stages);
• The novelty of the market for the firm (especially for a small innovation company, being at the stage of start-up);
• The uncertainty of the product (and sometimes the manufacturer) on the market;
• The unpredictability of the behaviour of consumers;
• Low elasticity of demand for prices, therefore, the limited effect of price policy on the volumes of sales;
• A small size market (especially for the production of high-tech products );
• The lack of direct competitors (due to monopoly on intellectual property);
• The achievements of the company staff in the theoretical field. The well arranged PR policy can significantly raise the rating of companies.
• The dependence of sales of innovative products on the level of consumer innovation potential : due to the overall technological backwardness of a number of markets it is rather difficult to sell many pioneer innovations. There is a number of issues relating to the promotion of innovations. The products unfamiliar to the consumer are primarily associated with the risk of an unpredictable reaction of buyers. This is typical for companies operating in any industry, but for the market of
hi-tech products, where the speed of the product renewal is particularly high, it is vitally important. Innovative products may «fail» without both a proper preparation of the consumer and a proper product breeding strategy .
As mentioned above, the market determines the peculiarities of innovation marketing, which can be manifested in the following:
• The need for identifying and studying potential consumers in a few industries, as it is often the result of research and development of interdisciplinary nature.
• The sale of innovative goods implies a long and consistent advertising campaign, as the buyer must «grow»: the rationale and benefits of innovations must be explained to the buyer; otherwise he won't buy this product because he is not familiar with it.
• Innovative products should not only meet the new needs or old
needs in a qualitatively new way, but they should provide the consumer with more comprehensible advantages as compared with existing analogues and substitutes. While promoting a complicated scientific and technical product on the B2B market you should look for an experienced, the so-called «collective» consumer (procurement center, which may include staff from different departments )
• The sale of innovative products requires lengthy negotiations as high-tech goods for industrial and manufacturing markets as well as consumer goods are as a rule pre-selected , and, hence, the purchase is carried out through the procedure of multiple comparisons and discussions and consultations with experts.
• Very often, the technical complexity of innovative products involves a good after-sales service: in other words, no service - no commercial success of the products. An example is the promotion of the market of hybrid cars, the distribution of which is hampered not only by their prices but also by the insufficient development of the first stage of their service infrastructure.
The image of an innovation company is significantly influenced by the results of theoretical studies of its employees, therefore it can be used in PR campaigns. In addition, conferences, forums, and other
forms of communication in the professional community can serve as channels of marketing communications for innovation businesses .
• The complexity of an innovative product creates special preconditions for the formation of the so-called «holistic product», where all its real and potential benefits are considered in a complex.
2. The Basic Elements of Marketing the Innovations
Marketing should solve the following tasks:
• To discover the real needs of real consumers of new products and services;
• To meet these needs by delivering the right product at the right price into the right place at the right time;
• To inform the consumer about the new product by means of correct advertising campaign , using the correct channels of information.
2.1. The Analysis of the Market of Innovative Products/Services
For keeping all the above mentioned conditions, it is necessary to study the market and to forecast sales of a new product. The following types of research are required :
• The analysis of the own potential of the company;
• The analysis of the macro-environment of the company;
• The analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the product, its competitiveness;
• The analysis of the target market (target segment/s);
• The analysis of the competition on the market;
• Risk assessment.
As it has already been mentioned in the first sections, there are two models of the innovation process: linear and interactive. These models have different implications in marketing activity of the firm: the linear model corresponds to a push approach, when at first the innovation idea comes, and then its commercialization does; while the interactive model corresponds to a pull approach when the market can be a source of innovation ideas. The marketing research is required in both cases, but in the first case, the research is aimed at potential consumers of a new product, while in the second case it identifies unmet, unsatisfied needs. Unmet needs appear when either there is no product that would satisfy them or existing products do not cope with the task of satisfying needs. There are questions, answers to which are necessary for the effective marketing. It would be strange to run into the sale of the product without finding enough consumers who are willing to pay for it. On the other hand, you can discover marketing opportunities missed by others. You can be the first one to present a new product on the market, and seize the initiative by launching an advertising campaign .Sometimes summit needs lie on the surface. It happens on the markets with a limited number of high quality goods and services, as in the case of Russia. The Russian market is open for new and improved products and at the same time it is enough capacious to accept competing goods.
Marketing research is an objective gathering, recording and analysis of all facts on the issues related to the sale and movement of goods and services from a goods producer to a consumer or industrial buyer. There are several areas of marketing research, the choice of which depends on tasks of the situation on the market, the positions of the companies on the market and the resources available to the company.
To study the consumer, we need to answer the following questions:
• What is purchased on the market?
• Why is it bought? What are the motives for a purchase?
• Who is the customer? Who makes the purchasing decision?
• When is it bought? What are the purchasing habits like? What is the decision-making process like?
• How often and how much is it bought? ( the number and frequency of purchases)
• Where is a purchase made?
By answering these questions, you can make a profile of the consumer. For the study of your competitors, you can use the following methods which can help obtain the required information :
• Visit a shop, office, enterprise;
• Buy a sample;
• Check the published information;
• Keep the track of advertisements;
• Talk to their suppliers, buyers.
For small innovation companies, especially those that are at the stage of start-up, the most relevant open sources are the following :
• The Internet;
• Industry associations;
• Newspapers, magazines;
• Exhibitions, conferences;
• State statistics;
• Ministries, departments;
However, for start-up innovation companies a special method of the market research known as «the research of market by walking into it». is considered the most suitable If the business is not large enough to allow to conduct the research with the involvement of experts, you can gather the information independently. If the product happens to be in demand in various industries, you should meet a representative of each of them.
2.2.The Basic Groups of Consumers on the Market of Innovative Products/ Services
Market segmentation- Who will be our consumers?
JJ-
The choice of target segments- Who do we want to see as our consumers?
-a
Market positioning- How to convince them to buy our goods?
J3-
Development of marketing plan- What should I do?
In the thirties of the 20th century Everett Rogers , who studied the issues of communication, developed the theory of diffusion of innovations. He suggested that people in their relation to the new ideas and the order of adoption of innovations could be divided into several categories:
• Innovators (2.5% of the total number of potential consumers). They are enterprising, well-educated, have many sources of information, more prone to risk.
• Early followers (13,5%). They are social leaders, popular, with good education, willing to accept/try innovations, but more careful than innovators.
• Early majority (34%) . They are reasonable, more cautious than earlier followers, but host innovation earlier than an average follower, have many informal social contacts.
• Laggards (16%). They are traditionalists who don't like changes and accept them only when they have become the generally accepted norm or a tradition; neighbours and friends are the main sources of information for them.
Geoffrey A. Moore went on, having adapted the theory to the market of innovative high-tech goods. He highlighted five groups of consumers (segments) who have a particular focus on new innovative goods. The model describes the penetration of any new technological product to the market as a transition from one type of the customer to another during the entire product lifecycle. In his book he identified two stages in the development of the innovation market: early market and main market.
The early markets are characterized by excessive expectations from a product and the lack of funding; they face the following major problems: the lack of experience in the promotion of the goods on the market, the sale of the so-called «phantom» of the product, the need to overcome the «crack» between enthusiasts and visionaries. At this stage of market
development the following two groups of customers can be identified: innovators (technology enthusiasts ) and early followers (seers). Each of these groups has its own peculiarities. To bridge the gap between the early market and the main market innovation companies need to focus on the following group of consumers - early majority (pragmatics). While the main task of the innovator on the early market is not to assume any excessive obligations, on the main market-it's important to earn money! This requires the solution of three problems (but what!): to overcome the «abyss» between visionaries and pragmatic; to form a holistic product; to develop infrastructure.
2.3. Success Factors on the Market of Innovative Products/ Services
Above we have focused on the search of a right consumer. Now we have to define the remaining five «rights»: the right goods, the right price, the right place, the right time and the right relationship with the consumer. A special place among the instruments of operational marketing is occupied by a marketing mix or marketing «five Ps» (product, price, place, promotion, people). Marketing mix is a set of marketing tools that the company uses to solve marketing tasks on the target market. Marketing mix is one of the key concepts of modern theory and practice marketing. Event marketing mix must correspond to each other and selected marketing strategy. Company must distribute marketing budget among these four areas of marketing. Each area includes a certain set of events.
Product marketing is what is in the consumers ' perception: Feature + Advantages + Benefits to the consumer. In fact, every product is a set of tangible and intangible benefits for the company consumers. The task of marketing is to make target consumers not only welcome such a set of benefits but be willing to pay additional price for it. The buyer is interested not only in the product itself but he considers it as an opportunity to solve his own problems. We have already discussed the five groups of consumers, the attitude to our innovative product: purchase motives and expectations of a new product. The consumers of the first two groups ( the early market) are in the greater degree interested in technologies, the commercial side of the issue, the economic benefits. At this stage the primary market of an innovation company must demonstrate its positive reputation and care for the needs of clients. Therefore, during this moment it is necessary to form a single product.
The model of «three levels of goods» developed by F.Kotler1 has been known for quite long time. When you create an item you want to accept the idea on three levels: the planned goods, the accepted goods, the updated goods In recent years, a new concept - the concept of a holistic product2. has appeared. As there is a huge discrepancy between the promise to the buyer (value of goods for a buyer) and the ability of the product to meet this promise, you need to «expand» the product through a variety of services and related products, to satisfy the buyer. The product has four levels: a generic product, an expected product, an advanced product, a potential product.
J. A. Moore applied this approach to the allocation levels of perception of the goods to the innovative high-tech product. Comprehensive product according to Moore, is the solution of the issue to meet the needs of the market and to represent the fully preconfigured solution. While marketing any product innovation, at first the innovator offers only a «generic» product, which is quite enough for the early market. However, as the market develops the main market competing «generic» products are becoming too similar to each other, and marketing battle is shifted to the periphery, the external circles. Pragmatists want already a comprehensive product. The right product is a product that satisfies the requirements of the consumer, enhances the value more than competing products and creates the possibility to obtain an adequate income which is big enough to cover operating costs and to provide a reasonable profit.
Having found the right consumers, we must know how to determine the right product and the right price. This is a complex task that requires a struggle on the market to establish a balance between the price and the degree of needs satisfaction. The trick is that the price should match the characteristics of the product and consumer expectations. There is no single formula for the calculation of the ideal consumer rates. Pricing is subject of many unstable factors, controlled by the market. The first need to establish a price occurs in the period when the company develops or acquires a new product, uses new distribution channels, or it is in a new site. In this case, the company must determine the product positioning in
terms of quality and rates. First of all, the company should decide what it wants to achieve offering specific goods. If the company is responsible for the approach to the selection of the target market and positioning of the product and the approach to the formation of a complex of marketing, including the establishment of rates, it is obvious.
If the three factors ( the level of a consumer demand, the equity costs and the prices of competitors) are known , the company is ready for the choice of the goods price. Its price will be somewhere between too low prices, not allowing to gain profits and too high prices, limiting the demand. As it has already been noted, the minimum possible price is determined by the cost of production. The prices of competitors and the prices for the goods-substitutes specify the approximate value, which should guide when setting a price. The opinions of buyers about the unique features of the considered products of the company set a price ceiling. If you refer to the discussed above consumer groups of innovative products, for the seers there will be the pricing on the basis of the perceived value; for pragmatists there will be pricing on the basis of competition; conservative pricing on the basis of value. The goal of all the above mentioned pricing strategies is narrowing a price range in the framework of which the final right price should be selected The next factor of success on the market of innovative products/ services is the right place, or, in the language of marketing , effective sales channels. There are three main methods of sales: direct (without intermediaries); indirect (services are provided by independent intermediaries); combined ( an intermediary link is used by the organizations with mixed capital, including funds of the manufacturing company and other independent companies). Developing marketing policy, the firm must choose distribution channels. For innovative goods there can be: direct sales, duplex retail sales, one level retail sales, retail sales through the Internet. The direct sale channel involves the interaction of the producing company and the final consumer of the goods. The single-channel includes one mediator besides the manufacturer and the consumer. The duplex channel comprises two intermediaries.
Nowadays the Internet provides a threat to traditional distribution channels . It is connected with the fact that it creates a completely new alternative channel for the marketing of products. However, the more channels there are, the more opportunities there can be , and the companies are more likely to choose the wrong channel of distribution. Due to the peculiarities of the Russian Internet the distribution of which on the territory of the country is still very uneven, Russian online shoppers live mainly in large cities (41% live in Moscow and St-Petersburg), more than half of them is under the age of 35. Although new trends have emerged: the increase in the older age category and the growth of users in the regions.
The right place is where the user has a direct access to the product. The selection criteria of the efficient distribution channels include: a direct access to the target client; the creation of the demand and its maximum satisfaction ; the ability to provide an integral of the product, the potential of mass deliveries.
The right time can be considered as the time, when the consumer is likely to buy or use the product. The best product may fail if it is in the wrong place and at the wrong time. The right time and the right place are determined by the customer.
3. The Specifics of the Market Positioning of Innovations
Tasks and methods of the promotion should correspond to the degree of the readiness of consumers to perceive the goods (services). If we recall the basic groups of consumers on the market of innovative products/ services, it becomes clear that at the early market the demonstration of technological advantages is needed, then it turns into the credibility of the product; the main market requires the demonstration of the advantages of market leadership, which then is converted into the company's credibility. Geoffrey Moore in his work , developed a «compass competitive positioning» on the market of hi-tech innovative products/ services. As we can see, while positioning on this specific market the characteristics of the target consumer should be taken into account: Is it a specialist, an advanced user or a typical user? Does he support the product or doubt about it? Does he pay attention either to the technology or the product itself or the company position on the market?.
Studies have shown that one part of the society is rather conservative, but the other part,on the contrary, can be easily involved into the new
1 F. KOTLER MARKETING BASICS: this PROCEDURE. ED. 12 ED - M:WILLIAMS,2009.
2 Theodore Leviticus. The Marketing Imagination
3 Rice E., Trout J. Positioning: the battle for the minds St. Petersburg: Piter, 2007
processes. So there is no sense to influence the society as a whole, first of all it is necessary to convince the most active part of the society. But how to find and convince them is already a matter of marketing!..
4. Market Entry Strategy of Innovative Products/ Services
Companies today need to focus on the wishes of the consumers with regard to competitors positions in their minds. Rice and Trout 3 distinguish four promotion strategies: a defensive war (the strategy of defence); an offensive war (the strategy of attacking); a flank war ( the strategy of a flanking war); a partizanskaya war ( the strategy of a guerrilla war). Each of these strategies has its peculiarities and principles, suitable for companies of a certain type and has its own distinctive aim. The guerrilla strategy is the most suitable for small innovation companies. The main aim of this strategy is a survival on the market. The company should choose a relatively small segment of the market, where it will become a leader. Such a small market territory is usually not attractive for powerful leaders either because of its small size or its inaccessibility for a large company. Thanks to the flexibility and mobility of the partisans, they can seize the chosen segment much faster and easier than a large company.
To sum up, depending on the stage at which an innovation company is , it faces different marketing issues. At pre-project stage (Seed stage and Start up stage ) an innovation company should carry out the following tasks: the assessment of market indicators, consumer segmentation, the choice of the target segment, forecasting sales, the development of an entry market strategy, budget marketing. At the project stage (the stage of Expansion) the company's tasks vary: the development of product policy (basic goods concept ), the development of price policy (basic price and discounts), the development of sales policy (distribution channels), the development of communication policy (promotion campaign), the development of marketing plan and budget calculation of marketing, the implementation of the plan and its monitoring.
References:
1. F. KOTLER MARKETING BASICS: this PROCEDURE. ED. 12 ED - M:WILLIAMS,2009.
2. Theodore Leviticus: The Marketing Imagination
3. Rice E., Trout J. Positioning: the battle for the minds St. Petersburg: Piter, 2007
ОСНОВНЫЕ ПОДХОДЫ К РАЗРАБОТКЕ, ОПИСАНИЮ И МОДЕЛИРОВАНИЮ ПРОЦЕССНЫХ ИННОВАЦИИ В
РОССИЙСКИХ КОМПАНИЯХ
Алябедева И.И., аспирант, ст. преподаватель кафедры Управления проектами и инновационного менеджмента Московского государственного университета экономики, статистики и информатики (МЭСИ), e-mail: IAlyabedeva@mesi.ru
В статье рассмотрены актуальны вопросы управления инновационным развитием Российских компаний, различные подходы к определению, классификации, и моделированию процессных инноваций, проанализированы проблемы, связанные с разграничением понятий «технологические инновации» и «процессные инновации», а также с выбором критериев оценки степени инновационности проводимых изменений и их количественными характеристиками. Предложены возможные варианты решения этих проблем на законодательном и корпоративном уровнях.
Ключевые слова: инновации, инновационное развитие бизнеса. продуктовые инновации, процессные инновации, технологические инновации, бизнес-процессы компании, моделирование бизнес-процессов.
MAIN APPROACHES TO THE DEVELOPMENT, DESCRIPTION AND SIMULATION OF PROCESS INNOVATIONS IN RUSSIAN COMPANIES
Alyabedeva I., PhD student, Lecturer of chair of Project management and innovative management Moscow State University of Economics,
Statistics and Informatics (MESI), e-mail: IAlyabedeva@mesi.ru
The article aims to consider the issues of innovative development management of Russian companies, to provide various approaches to the definition, classification and simulation of process innovations, to analyze difficulties connected with differentiating the concepts of "technological innovations" and "process innovations", to assist in the choice of assessment criteria for innovative changes, to offer possible solutions of the above mentioned issues on legislative and corporate levels.
Keywords: innovations, innovative business development, product innovations, process innovations, technological innovations, company business processes, simulation of business processes.
In new conditions of economic management in Russia , which is on the road of market reforms, the competition of goods and services is transformed into the competition of the organizations, the rivalry of managerial knowledge, art and skill of management. This is due to the fact that the world has entered the epoch of «intellectual economy» or «knowledge economy», where innovations and creative and intellectual findings of people are becoming the main sources of wealth and the leading factors of production Therefore, in modern conditions only those companies which are flexible in responding to market demands can survive, create and competently organize the production of competitive products, ensure the efficiency of restructuring processes in management, i.e. innovation development
The basis for the innovation activity of each enterprise is the development (commercialization) of new types of products, methods of their production, delivery and implementation. Therefore, a basic prerequisite for the innovative development of the enterprises is product and process innovations. The essence of a product innovation is expressed in the name and nature of implemented innovations. However, according to a recognized authority in the field of management and one of the founders of the modern theory of innovation P. Drucker, «...the most efficient innovation is another product or service that does not so much represent some improvements, as it creates a new potential meet,... this new and «different» product is more expensive than the previous one; however, the total impact...is that it reduces costs and increases
productivity...». From this it follows that in modern conditions, the priority in the development and implementation of product innovations is to increase the usefulness of customers (consumers).
So, M.Hammer and J. Ciampi in their revolutionary scientific work make the following conclusions about the growth of the role of the client in the modern business environment: «...customers ,consumers and companies do not behave in the same way any more , they require products and services to develop to meet the unique needs...Individual clients, consumers and industrial firms require an individual approach. They expect products to be tailored to their needs, delivered in accordance with their plans of production or working hours and to have convenient ways of payment for them . A number of these factors that influence both individually and together brought about the transition of their impact on the market from the manufacturer to the customer». Consequently, at the present stage the increasing role of innovation in the development of enterprises makes it impossible to use the old management approaches. This is due to the fact that the enterprise can be considered as innovation-active and promising object of the development, provided the trend of this development is due to the comprehensive implementation of all kinds of product and process innovations. The development of production should take place simultaneously with the development of forms and methods of management. At the beginning of economic growth monoproject and relatively simple methods of management can be applied. The growth of the complexity of management in its development
