B2B

New Products/Services Development, Management, and Strategy

7-1

Outline

Product Strategy in Business Marketing Product Lines Defined Business New Product Development Organization of the New Product Effort Product Life-Cycle Analysis Determinants of the Product Mix The Product AdoptionDiffusion Process Product Portfolio Classification, Analysis, and Strategy Product Deletion Strategy Marketing of Business Services Important Characteristics of Business Services Business Service MarketingChallenges and Opportunities
7-2

Product Lines Defined

Proprietary or catalog
Standard products offered to many customers and usually inventoried in anticipation of sales orders. For example, the DoAll Company keeps a large inventory of model No. C916A Band Saws to ensure quick delivery to customers.

Custom-built
Different variations of accessories and options to complement proprietary or catalog products offered. For example, the DoAll company fills a request from a major company for a custom, made-to-order saw with a larger motor size, larger table size, and automatic indexing.

7-3

Product Lines Defined

Custom-designed
Products designed for (and usually only for) a particular user. For example, DoAll designed a unique band saw with a custom-fixtured table and remote-control operation for Army to use to cut up live ammunition.

Industrial services
Intangibles, e.g., maintenance, machine repair, consulting. For example, DoAll provides a saw and coolant specialist who makes courtesy inspections at customers plants to assist in using DoAll in product applications.

7-4

Custom Product Versus Proprietary Standard Line Manufacturers

Custom: BMW designs a windshield washer fluid container for their new model and sends part prints to a custom plastics component manufacturer. Manufacturer must build production equipment but BMW owns molding dies and rights to product. Supplier sales build relationship, work with customer on design, finalize terms of sale. Proprietary standard line: BMW picks a standard wheel bearing for its new model and orders it directly from manufacturer. Manufacturer sells same wheel bearing to others. Supplier sales build relationship, work with customer on application, finalize terms of sale.
7-5

Business New Product Development

New Product Approaches

Technology Push - When perceived value of particular
technology is great; firm has only a vague notion of possible applications, and usually not much more.

Market Pull - Primarily the result of marketing research

methodologies of interviewing potential users about their needs, then developing solutions to those perceived market needs.

7-6

Business New Product Development

The New Product Development Process

Idea and Concept Generation Screening and Evaluation Business Analysis Product Development Product Testing Product Commercialization and Introduction

7-7

The New Product Development Process

Idea and concept generation
Screening and evaluation

Business analysis
Product development Product testing Product commercialization and introduction
7-8

Marketing Activities at Each Phase

1. Idea and concept generation: involves the search for product ideas and concepts that meet company objectives 2. Screening and evaluation: involves analysis to determine which ideas submitted are pertinent and merit a more detailed study of potential feasibility and market acceptance 3. Business analysis: return-on-investment criteria are examined along with competition and the potential for market entry

7-9

Marketing Activities at Each Phase (2)

4. Product development: involves taking the product from an idea generated during a brainstorming session to a state of readiness for product and market testing

5. Product testing: involves conducting commercial experiments necessary to verify earlier business judgements
6. Product commercialization and introduction: includes launching the new product through full-scale production and sales and committing the company's reputation and resources to the product's success

7-10

Organization of the New Product Effort

Product Manager
Individuals responsible for marketing mix decisions for specific product line as it travels through life cycle

New Product Manager

Plan, organize, implement, and control new product development.

New Product Committee

Part-time interdisciplinary management group reviews new product proposals; advantages outweigh disadvantages because committee is most common form of organizational structure for managing new products.
7-11

Organization of the New Product Effort

New Product Department

Specific department generates and evaluates new product ideas, directs and coordinates development work, and implements field testing and precommercialization of new product; allows for maximum effort in new product development, but at expense of major overhead costs.

New Product Venture Team

Task force representing various departments responsible for new product development and implementation; normally dissolved once new product is established in market.
7-12

Product Manager/ Marketing Manager Role

Old View: Organize, coordinate, and control.

New View: Calculated chaos and controlled disorder

CommunicateCommunicate Communicate: Make things happen. Questions: What companies purchase products from these producers? What would a Product Manager do to facilitate these transactions and relationships?
7-13

Product Life-Cycle Analysis

Introduction Market Growth Market Maturity Sales Decline

7-14

7-7

7-15

Product Life Cycle

Introduction Growth Maturity

Decline

As a strategy planning tool, a PLC diagram is a visual representation of a tendency (many nonbusiness systems tend to same shape, such as to show income and height). On one level, it is a reminder to planner of what is comingif an inflection point is reached, you should know what is coming (even though you only have actual life cycle to that point). In business, PLC is often driven by experience curve, economies of scale, competitive attraction to market opportunities, rate of diffusion factors, and eventual market saturation. Planners must adjust for actual impact of these factors on a particular product.
(continued)
7-16

Product Life Cycle

Introduction Growth Maturity

Decline

On another level, marketers continuously monitor and adjust their strategy and tactics as products cycle progresses. As a reference, they can refer to standard mix strategies for each PLC stage (usually represented in a table directly under PLC diagram on most texts). Marketers objective is to adjust strategy to changing life cycle situation to maximize the results. As maturity approaches, marketer often decides to attempt a PLC extension by (1) finding ways to increase current markets usage, (2) finding totally new uses, (3) finding new target segments, (4) developing new distribution, or (5) perhaps a major product improvement and repositioning.
(continued)

7-17

Product Life Cycle

Actual PLC curves can be any shapefrom product that doesnt sell at all, to fad that grows fast but has short life, to seasonal product, etc. Company depends on its marketers to understand what factors determine success and to make appropriate strategic decisions. It is often tempting for new students to want to learn PLC superficially, but in real world many people depend on in-depth understanding.

7-18

Determinants of the Product Mix

Technology Competition Changes in Levels of Business Activity Operating Capacity Market Factors

7-19

The Product Adoption-Diffusion Process

Stages in the Adoption Process

Awareness - Buyer learns of new product or service, but
lacks information.

Interest - Buyer seeks out or requests additional

information.

Evaluation - Buyer (or member of buying team)

considers/evaluates usefulness of product/service; consideration might be given to value-analysis project or make-buy situation.

7-20

The Product Adoption-Diffusion Process (2)

Stages in the Adoption Process

Trial - Buyer adopts product or service on limited basis. Adoption - If trial purchase worked, then buyer decides
to make regular use of product/service.

Diffusion Process goes beyond the adoption process

and represents the spread of a new product, innovation, or service throughout an industry over time.

7-21

The Product Adoption-Diffusion Process (3)

Factors Influencing the Rate of AdoptionDiffusion

Perceived risk Perceived advantage Incompatibility with existing products/behavior Uncertainty

Diffusion speed varies among industriesfast in electronics, slow in domestic steel.

7-22

Product Portfolio Classification, Analysis, and Strategy

What is a Product Portfolio? Diagnosing the Product Portfolio Product Portfolio Strategies

7-23

BCG SBU Portfolio Business Strategy

High
Business strength, Growth rate, Cash use

Low

High Industry attractiveness, Market share, Cash generation

Low

(continued)

7-24

BCG Business SBU Portfolio Strategy

High Business strength, Growth rate, Cash use Low

Defend position

Use cash to make into star

Nurture to feed cash to? High

Fix or abandon Low

Industry attractiveness, Market share, Cash generation

(continued)
7-25

BCG Business SBU Portfolio Strategy

(as might appear in your strategic planning documents)

High Growth rate Cash use Low

Computers Printers Modems Telephones

High Market share Cash generation

Low

Note: Size can indicate amount of sales.

(continued)
7-26

GE Strategic Planning Grid

High High Business strength axis Medium Self-defined as a function of: size, growth, share, profitability, image, position, people, and other factors of business strength or weakness High Medium Low Medium Low

Low

Industry attractiveness axis Self-defined as a function of: size, market growth, strength of competitors, industry profitability, technical strength, and positive acting market environmental factors.
(continued)
7-27

Problem #1:

SBUs Can Be Repositioned by Redefining Axes

High
High

Medium

Low

Medium

Business strength axis

Low High Medium Low

Coca-Cola* as a part of the cola market

*Coca-Cola does not sell directly to consumers
(continued)
7-28

Industry attractiveness axis

Problem #1:

SBUs Can Be Repositioned by Redefining Axes

High
High

Medium

Low

Medium

Business strength axis

Low High Medium Low

Coca-Cola as a part of the soft drink market

Industry attractiveness axis

(continued)
7-29

Problem #1:

SBUs Can Be Repositioned by Redefining Axes

High Medium Low

High

Medium

Business strength axis

Low High Medium Low Coca-Cola as a part of the all types of drinks market

Industry attractiveness axis

(continued)
7-30

Problem #1:

SBUs Can Be Repositioned by Redefining Axes

Bottom line: SBU market share and market strength change as market is redefined; also possible that industry attractiveness changes.

Note: Coca-Cola slides are for the purpose of demonstrating the concept of SBU position shifting as axes are redefined; they do not represent actual strategic position of Coca-Cola.

7-31

Problem #2:

Doing What the Grid Position Indicates

When portfolio models were first introduced, marketers did what the grid position indicated rather than using them as a tool to help visualize companys mix of SBUs, interrelationships, relative strengths, etc. If a larger percentage of business is in products in which company is not strong, margins are low, and market is not attractive, they may still be providing important coverage of fixed overhead. Dont automatically get rid of dog-quadrant products.

Bottom line: Two-factor portfolio models are not decision models; they are tools to help marketers with their thinking. Even with multiple-factor computer decision support systems, the decision is still the marketers.
7-32

Product Deletion Strategy

Harvesting Line Simplification Divestment

7-33

Important Characteristics of Business Services

Intangibility
Freight forwarding, consulting, repair, etc. can seldom be tried out/tested in advance of purchase; instead, buyers must view advertising copy, listen to sales presentation, or consult current users to gain insight into expected performance.

Perishability and fluctuating demand

Services cannot be stored and markets fluctuate by day, week, or season; idle service capacity is business that is lost foreverno inventory buffer.
7-34

Important Characteristics of Business Services

Simultaneity
Production and consumption of services are inseparable; this typically puts marketer in very close contact with customer, requiring them to be highly professional.

Heterogeneity
A service is an experience and thus cannot be duplicated; difficult to standardize and thus output quality may vary.

7-35

Business Service Marketing Challenges and Opportunities

Service Marketing Vs. Product Marketing Positioning Strategy Bundling of Services Service Strategy and the Marketing Mix
Product Price Place Promotion
7-36

Business Service Marketing Challenges and Opportunities

New Service Development

Share Building Market Extension Line Extension New Business

7-37