Strategies for the marketing of innovative Products: a case study of biotech sector in India

Abstract

In today s environment, innovations are critical for the firms to achieve competitive advantage. Innovations are an outcome of rapidly changing technologies and rising competition in the marketplace. But innovative products present a unique challenge in front of the marketers. This challenge emerges from the fact that innovative products are linked to social, psychological, performance and economic risks which obstruct their adoption and diffusion. Intensifying competition, rising awareness among customers and increasing interdependence between the players further makes it difficult to market them. As a result, a number of innovations fail to gain ground and sustain them in the market. Thus even the strongest technological innovation needs to be made sellable in order to achieve success. Marketing strategy is a key driver that can help in generating trial and propel their adoption and diffusion. The role of marketing strategy becomes all the more important in case of radically innovative products. Radical innovations are those innovations which revolutionize product categories or define new categories. They have potential to create new markets. These types of innovations are associated with higher level of risks and uncertainties. This study aims at examining and developing the strategies for marketing of innovative products especially the radically innovative ones. The case study of Indian Biotech sector (focusing Bt cotton) is taken to develop this framework. The study identified the factors which impact adoption and diffusion of innovation and grouped them as- target market characteristics, environmental factors and the effect of other stakeholders and publics. Target market characteristics pertained to the demographics, psychographics and economic conditions of the potential market. Environmental factors include the effect of various environmental variables as well as the other stakeholders which could inhibit or boost the growth of technology.