Adapting to innovations
The diffusion of innovation is a theory developed by E.M. Rogers (1962) and it seeks to explain how an idea, product or service can gain momentum over a duration of time, allowing it to diffuse into the target population or society (Rodgers, 2010). The theory argues that, over time, people in the community that a product or service is introduced in are likely to adopt the new product and use it as a substitute for other products or services. For diffusion to occur however, the target audience must first perceive the product or service as new and then opt to use it over others in the market.
Despite the efforts that a business undertakes to create awareness of its innovated products or services, the adoption of the product or service is not always simultaneous as people in society have different needs and different understanding of the information presented to them regarding the product (Mignon, 2016). Some people are seen to adopt innovated products earlier than others and this is caused by the different characteristics that different people in society possess. When launching innovated products, business should therefore take the different characteristics that people possess into account and design an approach that is respective of these differences (Mignon, 2016). Under the diffusion of innovation theory, the target audience is divided into innovators, early adopters, early majority, late majority and laggards, depending on the rate in which they adopt the innovated products in the market. The approaches taken should then focus on these differences and try to make adoption of the product faster and to as many people in the market served as possible.
Other than the diffusion of innovation, organizations must also figure out how to work around the product lifecycle and the adoption curve in order to assess how to best reach the target audience. For international companies, leveraging the product lifecycle and the adoption curve promotes demand for the innovated products regardless of what stage of development that the product is in (Levitt, 2019). Apple for instance has had great results when launching innovative products, an achievement that has given it the competitive edge it needs to dominate the technology industry. When innovating a product, Apple Inc. tries to make the consumer part of the innovative product as much as possible and this occurs in most, if not all stages of the product lifecycle (Apple, 2019). Keeping the consumer clued in also allows the company to have some level of control on how the innovated products performs in the different stages of the adoption curve.
The first step in the product lifecycle is the market development stage where the product is introduced into the market. While the product is often intended to meet a certain demand, innovated products often try to satisfy a need that a customer may not yet realize they have (Destigner, 2013). For Apple, the innovated products are used to not only create awareness but also inform the target audience on how the product seeks to satisfy their needs. When launching the iPhone for instance, Apple ensures that the consumer has significant information regarding the gadget long before the product is launched. The information is designed to target innovators as they are the ones most likely to try out the new product first (Apple, 2019). To enhance the success of the new products both locally and internationally, the company offer discounts and reduce prices to innovators who in turn give testimonials regarding the product. The testimonials combined with marketing done by the company ensures that more people get to know about the product.
When the product reaches the second stage in its lifecycle, market growth stage, there is more demand as more people are aware of the product and seek to purchase it. When the product is in this stage, Apple Inc. structures its message to target early adopters who are more likely to try out the new product in the market. Since the company operates internationally, this stage focuses on the regions that are known to have the highest number of customers that are loyal to Apple and are likely to purchase its innovative products such as the iPhone (Apple, 2019). Introducing the product in regions where the company is popular increases the chance for fast adoption as the company has prior history with the target audience. Early adopters push the product into the third stage of its lifecycle which is the Market maturity stage. In this stage, the demand for products levels out and grows significantly. The growth is often promoted by early majority group which is made up of people who already know about a product and are willing to use it over others in the market (Levitt, 2019). At this stage, the company no longer has to inform the public what a product is because the information is already available to the public. For apple, approaches to promote sales are favored over product awareness. When launching the iPhone, the company focuses more towards encouraging people to purchase the device rather than informing them of its presence in the market.
The last stage in the product lifecycle is the market decline stage and it is characterized with loss of demand and reduced growth. It is at this stage where people have already purchased the product but are either switching to substitutes or waiting for a more innovative product to be launched. For apple, this is the stage where the company targets people in the late majority and laggards group (Destigner, 2013). Late majority and laggards have the potential to maintain sales made by an organization. The chances of this taking place is however determined by the nature of relationship that exists between the business and its customers. While in the final stage, there are already similar products to the one innovated and the competition often presents similar products to try and lure customers. Apple tries to overcome the challenges in this stage by offering various benefits to its customers. the customer loyalty programs ensure that there is demand for Apple products while the company tries to innovate a new product.
One of the major ethical consideration that the approaches have to consider has to do with vulnerable consumer groups such as children, the elderly and the disabled. While informing the public bout awareness is intended to create awareness about a product, some methods may be inappropriate for vulnerable consumer groups. Businesses must ensure that the message is structured in such a way that is appealing to everyone including those in the vulnerable consumer group. Another ethical approach would be to design approaches intended to specifically target the elderly, children and people with disabilities. This will ensure that the message being communicated is ideal for people with different needs.
References
Destigter B, (2013) “Leveraging your products lifecycle in international markets” Shipping Solutions
Levitt T, (2019) “Exploit the product life cycle” Harvard Business Review
Mignon I, (2016) “Inducing large scale diffusion in innovation” Linkoping University Electronic Press
Rogers M, (2010) “Diffusion of innovations” Simon and Schuster
