Marketing the Unknown: Developing Market Strategies for Technical Innovations [Hardcover]

Paul Millier (Author)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471986216 | ISBN-13: 978-0471986218 | Publication Date: June 23, 1999 | Edition: 1

Marketing the Unknown Developing Market Strategies for Technical Innovations Paul Millier, Professor of Industrial Marketing at E.M. Lyon, Visiting Professor at Cranfield School of Management ". the most detailed, accurate and pragmatic approach to emergent markets that I know. It should be of interest to anyone who is in charge of transforming research investments into products with a secured market. To me, it is not just a book: it is a reference manual." Jean Robert Passemard, Executive Vice President, Product and Marketing, Renault Automation, France "Professor Paul Millier brings a pragmatic and systematic approach to launching technological innovations. His book represents a major marketing contribution with a profusion of valuable ideas." Marc Fermont, Dow Europe Vice President "Placing considerable emphasis on practical tools, this book provides an original methodology and essential guidelines to further the commercial success of innovative industrial products." Kazuya Matsumoto, President of Canon Research Centre, France "Filled with innovative concepts and dynamic examples, Paul Millier brings concrete solutions to a challenge that many companies have yet to resolve. Those who apply these concepts may never launch another 'failure'." Agathe Massat, Manager, Corporate Risk Management, Motorola, USA 70% of the costs of R&D lead to failure - between 20% and 40% of these failures is due to technical reasons, the remainder can be attributed to the shortcomings of marketing strategy. In a world of ever-increasing technological innovation the questions on any industry's minds are:
* How do you make a product successful?
* What is the process to follow?
* How do you chose or transform markets in order to have a successful launch?
In this book, Paul Millier demonstrates that products have a 'life' before their 'life cycle'. He has developed the techniques of a marketing strategy which can be applied to products which do not yet exist on the market place and for markets which themselves do not exist - in essence a marketing strategy for technical innovations. This practical book will pave the way for marketing managers, R&D managers and project managers in industrial organizations to successfully launch and market innovations in a very competitive field and will enable the reader to outline strategies for further development. Marketing

Editorial Reviews

From the Inside Flap

Innovations are always exceptional events in company life and they tend to stay in the hands of technicians or design offices - they are peripheral to mainstream business and people do not know how to manage them. In 'Marketing the Unknown', Paul Millier attempts to find new answers to these innovation problems, on the grounds that each problem is unique and that there is not necessarily a known recipe for it or a success story that corresponds. Paul Millier lays down firm principles to guide systematic and constructive plans for the marketing and development of technological innovations. These have been derived from observing a large number of industrial innovation projects over a long period of time - examples of which are used throughout the book to illustrate his argument. He also encourages the reader to think constructively and stimulates the imagination with the intention of enabling the reader to realise that other possible solutions exist.

From the Back Cover

Marketing the Unknown Developing Market Strategies for Technical Innovations Paul Millier, Professor of Industrial Marketing at E.M. Lyon, Visiting Professor at Cranfield School of Management ". the most detailed, accurate and pragmatic approach to emergent markets that I know. It should be of interest to anyone who is in charge of transforming research investments into products with a secured market. To me, it is not just a book: it is a reference manual." Jean Robert Passemard, Executive Vice President, Product and Marketing, Renault Automation, France "Professor Paul Millier brings a pragmatic and systematic approach to launching technological innovations. His book represents a major marketing contribution with a profusion of valuable ideas." Marc Fermont, Dow Europe Vice President "Placing considerable emphasis on practical tools, this book provides an original methodology and essential guidelines to further the commercial success of innovative industrial products." Kazuya Matsumoto, President of Canon Research Centre, France "Filled with innovative concepts and dynamic examples, Paul Millier brings concrete solutions to a challenge that many companies have yet to resolve. Those who apply these concepts may never launch another 'failure'." Agathe Massat, Manager, Corporate Risk Management, Motorola, USA 70% of the costs of R&D lead to failure - between 20% and 40% of these failures is due to technical reasons, the remainder can be attributed to the shortcomings of marketing strategy. In a world of ever-increasing technological innovation the questions on any industry's minds are:
* How do you make a product successful?
* What is the process to follow?
* How do you chose or transform markets in order to have a successful launch?
In this book, Paul Millier demonstrates that products have a 'life' before their 'life cycle'. He has developed the techniques of a marketing strategy which can be applied to products which do not yet exist on the market place and for markets which themselves do not exist - in essence a marketing strategy for technical innovations. This practical book will pave the way for marketing managers, R&D managers and project managers in industrial organizations to successfully launch and market innovations in a very competitive field and will enable the reader to outline strategies for further development. Marketing

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 248 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (June 23, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471986216
• ISBN-13: 978-0471986218
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.2 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,549,690 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Useful marketing outlook for breakthrough products, June 29, 2000

By 

Prof. David Corkindale (Adelaide,, South Australia AUSTRALIA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marketing the Unknown: Developing Market Strategies for Technical Innovations (Hardcover)

Most marketing books in the high tech area assume that the company putting new, high tech products into the market are large and with an established presence and reputation in the market place - this gives them a good start in commercialising and marketing. Some even say that marketing high tech products is no different than for consumer products and can essentially follow the steps of 'finding out what the customers want and then giving it to them'. Millier challenges this and states that there are many circumstances where the technology has to be 'pushed' or 'sold' into a market that may be uninterested at best or negative. The book seems to be written from experience and his recommendations and explanations are backed up with case histories mostly from Europe, where he lives and works. I found his approach to this difficult area more down to earth and realistic than many others that only draw from one industry or are 'converted' consumer textbooks.For people with new technology but not in big multi-nationals I think that this book has something useful to offer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Must read book for New Products looking for a market, November 16, 2000

By 

Dominique Rougie (Paris, France) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marketing the Unknown: Developing Market Strategies for Technical Innovations (Hardcover)

This book is a must read book for whose who are willing to launch a new technological product that does not have a market yet. This book is full of practical & realistic insights. It is a very important area that almost no other books that I know address. When ressources are limited, 'marketing the unknown' will drive you to a fundemental , structured & highly defendable (to your organisation) plan. Experiences proved it works and lead to results.

1 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Poorly translated and lacking in substance, February 12, 2000

By 

Cabin Boy (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Marketing the Unknown: Developing Market Strategies for Technical Innovations (Hardcover)

The book promises a lot but delivers very little. In the final analysis it is a book in the typical management science genre. The conclusions are based on anecdotal observations. The book offers little for the hands-on manager looking for guidance in forming a commercialization strategy for new technologies.