Theoretical Approaches to the Marketing of Innovation in Biotechnology Firms: New Products for New Markets

Theoretical Approaches to the Marketing of Innovation in Biotechnology Firms: New Products for New Markets

Copyright: © 2012 |Pages: 10
DOI: 10.4018/978-1-4666-1598-4.ch063
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Abstract

The marketing of new products for new markets is uncertain and often leads to confusion. One of the many causes is the wrong use of marketing techniques for mature products whose life cycles are different, although they are very familiar. Biotechnology, with a strong component of technological knowledge and innovative cross-refers not to an industry, but rather a set of applications of intricate characteristics mainly due to genetic manipulation, which represents a particular challenge unlike other more mature or traditional product or technology. For this reason, through an innovation based marketing for new product, new customers and new markets are essential to maximize the success of this technology.
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The Characteristics Of The Marketing Of Innovation

Many authors claim that the development of a new technological product is characterized by a high degree of uncertainty and risk, while retaining the context of turbulence, segmentation and high volatility exist in biotechnology sector. These are elements that somehow prevent the use of conventional marketing themselves useful for more traditional and stable products (Shanklin and Ryan, 1984; Jolly, 1997; Millier, 1997; Mohr, 2000; Day, 2000, Maltz and Kohli, 2000, Van Birgelen et al., 2001).

Biotechnology companies must operate differently than those serving more mature technologies. Foray (1996) explained that at the time of the birth of a technology, its future is essentially uncertain for several reasons:

  • The atmosphere is different and the speed of change too, as biotechnology evolves extremely fast.

  • Distribution channels are either absent or embryonic.

  • We know badly the reaction of potential customers because they do not know the product.

In biotechnology, what often separates the winners from the losers are the measures that take into account the quality of the R&D organization, product advantage, the pre-development activities through preliminary studies that have account of the trilogy -market, technical, finance, also the specifications of the needs of the market and product, competition and compatibility among staff (R&D, marketing, finance) using channels and fluids compatible communication (Jolly, 1997). The intuitive, proactive attitude is necessary to try to anticipate markets, and in that sense, the marketing staff in conjunction with other staff must have the ability to investigate the environment related to potential customers.

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