Download Study on the Patterns of Marketing Innovation of Enterprise

Study on the Patterns of Marketing Innovation of Enterprise
1.
ZHAO Shuhong1, GUO Minna2
Assistant Professor, P.H.D Candidate2. Assistant, Master
School of Business & Tourism Management
Yunnan University, P.R. China, 650091
[email protected]
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Abstract: In order to succeed in the era of knowledge economy and promote their core competitive
power, enterprises should devote major efforts into the development of marketing innovation. Taking the
very new perspective on the ability to marketing innovation, the author analyzed the three major patterns
of marketing innovation of the enterprise based on the successful cases. The article discussed the key
factors that influenced the choice of patterns of marketing innovation within the macroscopic and
microscopic category at last.
Key words: Marketing innovation, Innovation ability, Innovation pattern
Innovation ability means the vital power for enterprises to develop themselves in the economic
environment, among them the marketing innovation is one of the most essential factors. The outcomes
of the marketing innovation won’t be implemented in the market practice as more as we expected unless
the enterprisers pay attention to the marketing innovation as much as the technological innovation. And
to be implemented in the practice as much as we can is the fundamental principle of technical
innovation overflow effect. In 1912, J.Schum-Peter pointed out in his book” Theory of Economic
Development”: The innovation belongs to economic category, but not a pure technical category. It’s the
academic origin of marketing innovation. At present, some oversea outstanding enterprises have put
more effort into the practicing marketing innovation. As a result, a series of modern marketing patterns
have presented in western countries, along with the transformation of market from the sellers’ to the
buyers’. For example, service marketing, integrated marketing, green marketing, and network marketing,
etc [1]. Meanwhile, researches of marketing innovation have also developed in our country. If you look
for the relevant papers with entering key word---“marketing innovation” in the storehouse of Chinese
knowledge resources, you will get more than 1700 retrieval results. However, there are few researches
on the patterns of marketing innovation among them. All of these facts indicate that so little researchers
have pay attention to the studying of marketing innovation that the research findings are not abundant
and perfect enough in China,. Currently, domestic enterprises still take follow as their primary method in
marketing. Enterprises will be inferior in the intense competition as the out-of-date unitary marketing
pattern won’t be capable of satisfying diversified needs and wants in the market. Therefore, it is very
significant to analyze the patterns of marketing innovation of the enterprise.
1 Capability of Marketing Innovation
Generally speaking, marketing is enterprises’ ability of grasping, adapting, influencing and
completing marketing activities in pursuit of maximizing their benefit. It includes investigation ability
and marketing capability [2]. Being a very important part of the marketing ability, the capability of
marketing innovation is a primary power to enhance the enterprises’ marketing ability.
So far, there is no uniform definition of marketing innovation capability. We set up the paper’s
frame based on this definition, that is CMI (Capability of Marketing Innovation) is an ability of
enterprises to innovate the marketing tactics with retreating those marketing knowledge and methods
which are learned from the others and the previous experiences, so as to create new demands with
guiding the consumption, and promoting communication both inside and outside corporation, then carry
out the anticipated target ultimately. It is the essential part of marketing ability for its fundamental
function to improve marketing ability.
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Innovation Ability
Premise
Fountainhead of Impetus Foundation
Market Investigation Ability
Method Innovative
Efficiency Improvement
CMI
Sales Ability
Method Innovative
Efficiency Improvement
Accumulation in
Accumulation in
Figure 1 Structure of Corporate Marketing Ability
To promote CMI is very important for the implementation of marketing innovation strategy. But it
is the thing that neglected by most domestic enterprises. On the base of marketing innovation strategy,
this article has established a mechanism to enhance CMI through the accumulation and activation of
marketing ability, as well as the patterns of marketing innovation. It can be induced into two aspects:
Strategy of Marketing
Innovation
CMI Improvement
Accumulation of
Marketing Knowledge
Activation of
Marketing Knowledge
Initiative Innovation
Accumulation and
Activation of Marketing
Organization
Innovation of
Marketing Pattern
Cooperative
Employee
Innovation
Mimetic Innovation
Marketing
Theory
Patter
n
Figure2 Mechanism of Improving Corporate CMI
1.1 Accumulation and activation of marketing ability
It is an accumulative and progressive process of marketing knowledge, which is to tamp the
foundation of marketing innovation. At first, enterprises should realize strategically that to accumulate
marketing ability is immensely helpful to strengthen the corporate competitive power. Secondly, it is a
constant process which runs through all along the enterprises’ marketing activities. Finally, we must pay
attention to the coordination of CMI and the four essential factors, marketing organization, sales force,
marketing pattern and marketing theory. Meanwhile, we should notice the coordinated relationship
among the four factors.
1.2 Patterns of marketing Innovation
The marketing pattern is both method and key part of marketing innovation as the final goal of it to
expand market share and to be popularized in the market. There are three mainly patterns of enterprise
marketing innovation: initiative, cooperative and mimetic manners.
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2 The Patterns of Marketing Innovations of Enterprise
2.1 The pattern of initiative marketing innovation
The meaning of initiative marketing innovation is a kind of innovation that based on the
enterprises’ own R& D; it aims at the promotion of marketing ability and the innovation in marketing
pattern. Initial leaders are in the monopolistic position completely to obtain excess profits because this
pattern can keep enterprises ahead in the market. The follower can enter this kind of local monopoly
market only after a period of adaptation to the new pattern mainly because that the marketing initiative
innovation requires high technology and so much input of the other resources, and the risk of it is
tremendous. The process is:
To analyze the situation of internal marketing - - To determine the possible territory of innovation - To establish clusters of innovation - - Feasibility analysis - - Initiative research and development - - To
practice in marketing activities - - Following innovation
The request of initiative marketing innovation is to market our goods or service with very new
tactics with respect to enterprises’ actual conditions effectively. On May 16th 2006, Xuehua beer Co.
who had never discussed the sponsorship of Olympic Games, with relevant organizations announced
their “non-Olympic” marketing strategy sharply while other beer brands such as Yanjing was developing
their common marketing strategy---“Olympic” marketing. Xuehua beer Co. hasn’t blindly danced to
their competitors tune to sponsor the Olympic Games directly, but tried another tactic: to manifest the
spirit of “participation” through a new way ---“the partner of beer amateur”, succeeding in
differentiation obviously from the other competitive brands’ marketing strategy and achieve the
initiative marketing innovation [3].
2.2 The pattern of cooperative marketing innovation
The cooperative marketing innovation is a model that more than two collaborators invest together
in the entire or certain links of marketing innovation process to obtain the collective subjects. The
premise of cooperation is all the parties should share their own predominance or some resources All
collaborators follow the principle of sharing benefits, risks, and the cost. The process is:
To seek for appropriate partners - - Integration of resource - - To absorb marketing knowledge
partially and mutually - - To establish clusters of innovation - - To research and develop together - - To
practice in the marketing activities
Co-marketing is a kind of marketing innovation based on cooperation. The principle of them is
accordant. The premise of them is brands matching, the impetus of them is benefit, and the foundation
of them is resource sharing. For example, the successful co-marketing case between Guomei Electric
Appliances and a movie named “Handset”, which practised the theory of cooperative marketing
innovation. They integrated the trade and culture perfectly and found out the best breakthrough point of
extending marketing to cultural domain. There was only a simple sentence on the poster of this movie:
We choose to buy handset in Guomei Electric Appliances. The consumers misunderstood that all of
these superstars were advertising for Guomei because these superstars signed their names on the poster.
Finally, Guomei’s market share rose rapidly and then was evaluated to be the “ten biggest handset’s
market” in 2003, because of this co-marketing activity. At the same time, the movie also obtained a
guarantee of tickets sale [4].
2.3 The pattern of mimetic marketing innovation
The mimetic marketing innovation refers to a tactic that enterprises absorb the successful
experience of marketing and avoid the unsuccessful aspects through imitating the ideas or tactics of
initiative marketing innovation. And then improve them in order to develop a suitable pattern and
maximize the profit. The advantages of this pattern are the lower investment, fewer risks, and good
adaptability. However, it lacks of go-aheadism. The process of innovation is:
To select mimetic object - - To study it - - To find out possible clusters that can be innovated once
again - - To invest on research and development - - To innovate again - - To practice in the marketing
activities- - Following innovation
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The mimetic marketing innovation cannot be equated with the simple followed plagiarism. It is the
consummating activities through invest on research and development. In April 2006, Mango net
announced its strategic cooperation with the travel channel of 163 net and established a brand-new
channel together (http://travel.163.com), so as to develop its network marketing. However, Mango
didn’t plagiarize some successful cases in western countries. What it did is to innovate a suitable and
new model” the virulent marketing” by combining its own character. The National Day in 2006 was
special because it was actually the tradition Mid-Autumn Festival. They developed a kind of greeting
card cooperatively, and this activity spread rapidly like virulence between users. During the extension,
the registers of Mango net increased to 12,000 people and over 170,000 consumers glanced over the
detail of this promoted activity. As a result, the marketing dissemination gained fruitful effect.
3 Influencing Factors of the Pattern’s Choice of Marketing Innovation
3.1 The choice within macroscopic category
Since the 21st century, our country’s science and technology have developed so quickly that the
level of scale and technology has been enhanced quite a lot. All of these provide marketing innovation
with very good condition. Firstly, Chinese enterprises pay more and more attention to marketing
innovation. They also input more resources on it than before. Secondly, the technology and theory of
marketing innovation have had certain synthesizing capacity. For instance, some well-known enterprises
set up several organizations to devote to the researches of marketing innovation, and some practices of
marketing innovation, which reached the advanced level in the world, have succeeded enormously.
Thirdly, scientific innovation and the significant integrated innovation emerge unceasingly now, coming
into the situation of community breakthrough. Moreover, the cycle from innovation to application is
getting shorter and shorter, and science’s leadership with the development of social economy is more
and more remarkable. At last, the marketing of our country has its own character; meanwhile, the
possible space of innovation and marketing tactics are presenting a tendency of diversity.
According to the analysis of status quo described above, the pure followed manner was no longer
suitable for the development of Chinese marketing pattern. It is exactly the strategic transformation from
taking pure followed or mimetic innovation as primarily manner to taking initiative innovation as base
and mimetic and cooperative innovation as auxiliary manner. That is to say, the best choice of our
country’s pattern of marketing innovation with entire macroscopic category is to enhance initiative
innovation and develop cooperative and mimetic innovation by coordinating our own characters and the
diversified market demands.
3.2 The choice within microcosmic category
Within the microscopic category, enterprises should adopt different patterns in different situation,
with respect to the different subjects, different objects (consumers) and different environment of
marketing innovation. We only discuss those key factors that will influence the pattern’s choice of
marketing innovation immensely:
3.2.1 Size of enterprise
The enterprise size is one of the most important factors that affect the pattern’s choice of marketing
innovation. Generally speaking, large-scale enterprises are suitable for initiative innovation; the mimetic
and cooperative innovation fit the small-scale ones. On the one hand, large-scale enterprises have better
condition to undertake the huge cost and high risk in initiative marketing innovation. On the other hand,
the scale economy, which can increase the rate of successful initiative innovation, exists on account of
good marketing channel and pattern.
3.2.2 CMI
What CMI manifests is the ability of accumulating and utilizing marketing knowledge. It is another
key factor. If the CMI of enterprises is strong, the best pattern is initiative marketing innovation.
Otherwise, it is better for the enterprises to adopt mimetic and cooperative innovation. If enterprises set
up consummate mechanism of marketing innovation, consistently pay attention to the accumulation of
marketing knowledge, and improve their CMI unceasingly, it will be easier to enter in the innovative
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domain in virtue of better theory and technology.
3.2.3 Investment of R&D and non-R&D
The ability of investment is a basic influencing factor and how much the R&D has been invested is
often the most important aspect. Nevertheless a new kind of marketing pattern’s success also relies on
non-R&D. R&D refers to the investment of research and development, manifesting on the funds,
personnel and equipments of R&D. It’s emphasize is innovation. But non-R&D mainly manifest on
some other aspects: introduction of technology, absorption of money, and training of employees.
Generally speaking, enterprises with high investment of R&D have the condition to choose initiative
marketing innovation, whereas enterprises with high investment of non-R&D should adopt mimetic
innovation primarily.
3.2.4 The Linkage breadth with others
The meaning of linkage breadth with others is the cooperative dynamics between main bodies and
other profession. It is an influencing factor with allusion to cooperative marketing innovation. If the
linkage breadth is extensive, enterprises will have more sharing resources, marketing channel, marketing
pattern and so on. All of these provide some basic resources and reduce the hazard of cooperative
marketing innovation. Therefore, it will be more advantageous to cooperatively innovate, and it will be
disadvantageous contrarily.
4 Conclusions
It has very vital practical significance to develop marketing innovation in the era of knowledge
economy. Enterprises who posses themselves of consistently innovation and development can
predominate in an impregnable position in the intense competition. There are some successful cases in
China; meanwhile there are still a lot of problems caused by insufficiency of marketing innovation.
Therefore, it is necessary to promote marketing innovation based on initiative, cooperative, and mimetic
patterns. It is better for the enterprises in today’s China to take initiative innovation as primarily pattern,
and take cooperative and mimetic innovation as accessorial pattern. Furthermore, enterprises should
choose their appropriate pattern of marketing innovation according to their own situation.
Reference
1. Tang Decai. Marketing Innovation: Marketing Under the Era of Knowledge Economy, 2002, 4
2. Fu Jiaji. Study of Technological Innovation. Qinghua University Publisher.1998:329-333
3. Xuehua Beer Co. Pioneers a Battlefield of “Non-Olympic Marketing”. China Advertisement .2007(9)
4. Minister of planning department of Guomei electric appliances Limited company (headquarters) Jiang
Bo. The Combination of Trade and Culture---A Successful Co-marketing Case Between Guomei
Electric Appliances and a Movie Named “Handset”. http://www.niwota.com/submsg/687912
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