As a direction of activity, technical marketing is formed not by a simple combination of technical and economic aspects and is not a sphere of the intersection of the relevant sciences. Technical marketing includes a kind of marketing designed for a special group of products. Goods of mass demand and industrial goods are intended for different buyers. For the former, these are private consumers, for the latter, these are commercial, state or public organizations. This causes the need for differentiation of marketing. The object of technical marketing is high-tech products. That is why digital marketing strategies are developed in this field.
Definition of Technical Marketing and Why Is It Different from the Marketing for Mass Products
Technical marketing is the marketing of high-tech products. It covers all solutions of the company's market activity aimed at achieving the set goals and overcoming competitive resistance in the production and marketing of such goods. The purpose of these activities, on the one hand, is to develop in a certain technical area, and on the other hand, the successful satisfaction of the needs of existing and potential buyers. The Arsenal of technical marketing contains planning, managing, coordinating and controlling tools, as well as marketing policy tools, such as commodity, price, communication, and distribution. All these are tasks of Technical Marketing Specialist.
Most of the technical marketing is close to the marketing of industrial goods, since, as a rule, it is a question of complex high-tech products (machines, production plants, technical services, etc.). High-tech products are not only material products (Hardware) but also services (Software). It is in the field of high-tech products that the greatest demand is for complex offers, including both goods and related services. An example is the processing centers, automatic lines, large production plants, etc. There are general principles with the marketing of consumer goods since the production of a large part of consumer goods is characterized by a high rate of innovation and a high complexity of the technologies used (for example, automotive, consumer electronics, communications technologies).
However, the purchase of goods by organizations differs from their purchase by private individuals. Therefore, the marketing concept and marketing strategy should be built differently than in the case of mass-market goods. Procurement of goods by organizations is, as a rule, more complex and formalized.
The difference between technical marketing and other areas of marketing activities is associated with the peculiarity of the company's orientation. First of all, the company is aimed at solving market problems of consumers by developing new technologies. The goal of marketing, as a concept of market-oriented management, is to concentrate the efforts of all structural divisions of the enterprise on expanding the presence in the target markets, and, if possible, creating new ones. Thus, the company, using available opportunities and resources, will be able to offer potential buyers in selected market segments products with certain advantages. These benefits can be expressed in the unique functionality of the product or a low price.
Two Directions for the Development of the Technical Marketing
Technical marketing develops in two ways. First, it aims at the progress of technology, and secondly, it should meet the needs of existing and potential buyers who want to get an offer of competitive solutions. This double orientation towards increasing the technical potential and solving the problems of consumers creates a competitive advantage for the enterprise. On the one hand, in order to solve the existing problems of customers, the development of new technologies is required, and on the other hand, the improvement of technologies can lead to the expansion of their scope and, thus, the emergence of new markets for the developed high-tech products.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Technical Marketing
This type of marketing is also called innovative. It has its advantages:
- know-how, which provides a more or less stable and long-term competitive advantage;
- the attractiveness of all advanced, novelties, whether it's a product or a service;
- providing a significant reputation of the manufacturer, based on the latest achievements in science and technology;
- purchasing attractiveness for the most advanced and wealthy part of society.
But the pros are usually accompanied by cons:
- significant investments in research and development (R & D);
- the development of new products takes time;
- the risk in achieving the goals related to research, development, manufacture of pilot batches; lack of guarantees in obtaining the intended properties;
- the slow introduction of new categories of goods, as they often break down established habits and stereotypes; in this regard, significant and long-term efforts are required to promote the new product, to introduce it into fashion and to develop the demand for it;
- difficulties with the spread, because being a technical marketer means knowing that fundamentally new categories take root long and hard; implementation has to be conducted with great discounts, with the financing of promotion and with the help of active marketing.
As a result, 80% of new goods in the package are uncompetitive, 33% of new industrial products fail in the introduction phase. In this case, the main components of success are:
- careful study of the concept of a new product;
- research needs in it;
- competent thought-out technology.
Conclusion
Thus, innovation business, as a rule, can only be done by large companies. Smaller firms choose a narrow niche for which they develop an improved, modernized product, rather than a fundamentally new product category.