Use of Relative Knowledge, Identification of Innovators - Assignment Example

Tutorial Questions Name Course Lecture Date Question 1 (a) Use of relative advantage knowledge Manufactures need to make good use of the product characteristics which include relative advantage, compatibility, complexity, observability and trialability so as to speed up the acceptance of the GPS car navigation system. Relative advantage is termed as the extent in which a consumer view certain attributes of a new and innovative product being better as compared to the attributes of similar products. The manufacturer will make good use of this knowledge to ensure that consumers view the attributes of the GPS as been better than the already existing ones and this will lead to a faster adoption rate (Calantone, Cavusgil, Schsmidt & Shin 2004). (b) Use of Compatibility knowledge The manufacturer will also need to make good use of compatibility as speed up its acceptance. Compatibility is more related to how the customers perceive the new and improved product into their lifestyle choices. Based on these the GPS car navigation systems seems to be very compatible with the lifestyles of in the modern day since it will assist people a lot when travelling in offering right direction to their destinations (Greenhalgh et al. 2004). (c) Use of Complexity knowledge The other product characteristic that the manufacturer need is complexity. It refers to the extent to which consumers view the product as being difficult to utilize. Based on these manufacturers need to apply this knowledge to ensure that the GPS is not complex and this will ultimately increase the adoption rate. In instances when the consumers view the GPS as being less complex the manufacturer can take full advantage of these to gain a price premium for its product. (d) Use of triability knowledge The manufacturer also needs to use the triability knowledge. This relates to how the product needs to be tried within a limited period of time prior to the actual use. The manufacturer needs to offer the consumers with the ability to try the products and this in a way reduce the perceived risks that are associated with the purchasing of the GPS car navigation system. This will shows the customers that as the manufacturer you are totally confident of the product. (e) Use of observability knowledge The manufacturer will also need to put into good use the observability knowledge. This refers to the extent to which the consumers can be able to observe the innovativeness and positive aspects of the new product which in our case in the GPS car navigation system. Based on these the manufacturer can use this knowledge to add more attributes so as to offer more benefits to the consumers than the already existing systems (Greenhalgh et al. 2004). Question 2 (a) promotional, pricing and distribution strategies for innovators Panasonic can make good use of the diffusion of innovations framework to come up with pricing, promotional and distribution strategies for the various adopter categories. For the innovators the pricing strategy that can be applied effectively is skimming so as to gain the full benefits of the new product. Also in regard to this group of adopters the promotional strategy that can be adapted effectively is the use of social media and the distribution strategy to be used is the use of selective distribution (Wejnert 2002). Based on this kind of distribution, there will be few retail outlets tasked with the duty of distributing the product. (b) Promotional, pricing and distribution strategies for early adopters For the early adopter similar strategies will be applied and thus the distribution, promotional and pricing strategies will be the same as those that have been adopted for the innovators. For the innovators the pricing strategy that can be applied effectively is skimming so as to gain the full benefits of the new product. Also in regard to this group of adopters the promotional strategy that can be adapted effectively is the use of social media and the distribution strategy to be used is the use of selective distribution (Wejnert 2002). Based on this kind of distribution, there will be few retail outlets tasked with the duty of distributing the product. c) Promotional, pricing and distribution strategies for early majority When it comes to the early majority the strategies will differ. In regard to this the distribution strategy that will be adopted is exclusive distribution. Based on these Panasonic will need to select few intermediaries to sell their products. Also this class of adopters are also best suited for the media such as newspapers and television adverts and the pricing strategy to be used is market oriented pricing. d) Promotional, pricing and distribution strategies late majority The last category is the late majority. When marketing to this category Panasonic need to adopt totally different strategies as compared to the ones that they have used for all the other categories. In relation to their pricing they need to use price discrimination (Rogers 2003). Based on these calls of people will be able purchase the product at a lower price than the other categories of adopters. The distribution strategy to be used is intensive distribution. And the promotional strategy to be used is word of is promotional campaigns. Question 3 a) recommendations on initial target group Initial target groups seem to be essential in the success of the product being introduced in the market. When the wrong target is made businesses usually experience low acceptance levels and this may lead to losses on the side of the company. Based on these, Sony needs to target the middle income earners as well as the higher income earners (Kotler 2003). By targeting these two groups the company is likely to make larger sales since there two groups are likely to make the purchases irrespective of the cost. The lower income earners are not a favorable target group since they do not have a large disposal income to use on entertainment. Based on these though they may eventually buy the TV they will wait until when the price reduces tremendously for them to purchase it. b) Identification of innovators The innovators for the ultra slim TV can be identified as being forward thinking and inventive since they are producing products for the future (Joshi 2005). They can be termed as being innovative based on the fact that the product is also making use of wireless technology. c) Use each of these characteristics to influence the adoption process Consumer innovators are usually early adopters, innovators, early majority, late majority and laggards. Sony needs to use of these characteristics so as to influence the adoption process and speed up the diffusion of a new product (Joshi 2005). In regard to early adopters Sony need to ensure that the product meets their needs and thus based on their judicious choice to adopt it they will have to maintain a communication position. In regard to the early majority, since they usually contact the early adopters a clear message need to be relied to the early adopters so as to ensure that the message passed is effective in persuading them to purchase the product. When the above two categories have made purchases this group will be able to buy since the price for the products will have reduced drastically (Johnson & Tellis 2008). Thus in essence Panasonic need to be well aware of all call the characteristics of the consumer innovators and this will go a long way in ensuring that that the adoption process takes place faster than expected and also the diffusion of the new product also takes little amount of time. d) Should Sony follow a penetration or a skimming policy? There seems to be a need for the development of the right policy so as to have the desired impact in the market while also discouraging the emergence of competitors. Two basic strategies can be adopted that is skimming and penetration policy. The most appropriate policy that Sony can adopt is skimming. Sony needs to establish a high initial price for the product and based on these it will be able to skim the cream off the market. Through the adoption of this policy Sony needs to spend a lot of money on promotion. This policy can be used since the nature of the demand seems to be uncertain. The main reason behind the use of skimming is that they will be able to segment the market and be able to sell a great number of their product at high prices and thus the will be able to cover the high cost incurred in promotions and in the product development (Jobber 2004). And after having recovered the development cost the company can be able to adopt other pricing strategies in selling the product. Question 4: Innovativeness There exist a number of factors that are closely associated with innovativeness. A major factor is environmental change and uncertainty. There seems to be an agreement between a number of authors that environmental change and uncertainty will likely stimulate innovation within organizations. Innovations are likely experienced in the environments that are usually uncertain and also in environments where there are competing products and the preferences of the consumers differ significantly (Jain, Trehan & Trehan 2009). Another factor that is closely associated with innovativeness is the age or maturity of the organization. It seems difficult for the older and mature organizations to be able to generate innovations and this is solely based on their distorted perceptions, lack of creativity, dulled motivation, disconnected actions and political deadlocks (Jain 2009). In contrast the very young organizations lack the resources that may be required in the development of radical innovations. Innovators and opinion leaders are not the same people. Innovators are termed as the organization and people who are first to introducing something that seems better than before opinion leaders on the hand are influential members a group and other people ussaully turn to them for help and advice. In fact opinion leaders and innovators have several different lifestyles as well as characteristics (Hooley, Piercy & Nicoulaud 2008). For example, in the fashion industry, the innovator is ussaully seen as been more of an adventure and they are the earliest communicators visually of new styles that are aimed for fashion consumers. The opinion leaders on the other hand act as editors of the fashions by defining and endorsing appropriate standards. References Calantone, R, Cavusgil, T, Schmidt B & Shin, G 2004, Internationalization and the dynamics of product adaptation - An empirical investigation. Greenhalgh, T, Robert, G, Macfarlane, F, Bate, P & Kyriakidou, O 2004, “Diffusion of Innovations in Service Organizations: Systematic Review and Recommendations”, Milbank Quarterly, vol. 82, Iss. 4, pp. 581–629 Hooley, G, Piercy, B & Nicoulaud, B 2008, Marketing strategy and competitive positioning, London, Prentice Hall. Jain, A 2009, Marketing, New Delhi, V.K (India) Enterprises. Jain, T., Trehan, M., & Trehan, R 2009, Business Environment, New Delhi, V.K (India) Enterprises. Jobber, D 2004, Principles and Practice of Marketing, 4th edn, McGraw-Hill International Ltd, Berkshire. Johnson, J & Tellis, G 2008, “”Drivers of success for market entry into China and India”’ Journal of marketing, Vol 72, pp. 1-13. Joshi, R 2005, International Marketing, New Delhi and New York, Oxford University Press. Kotler, P 2003, Marketing Management, 11th edn, Pearson Education, New Jersey. Rogers, E 2003, Diffusion of innovations (5th edition), New York, NY, Free Press. Wejnert, B 2002, "Integrating Models of Diffusion of Innovations: A Conceptual Framework", Annual Review of Sociology (Annual Reviews), vol. 28, pp. 297–306. Read More