Commercialisation

The business of Sport: w11007742

Stage: Commercialisation

Word Count: 498

Commercialisation represents the final phase of the new product development. Kotler Harker & Brennan (2009) state that commercialisation of a product is how the product is introduced into the market. The information received from the test marketing phase allows a business to decide whether to launch their product into the market and how they are going to go approach the proposed target. During this phase the business will also need to consider any added extras which may accompany the product such as warranties  repairs and replacements. (Pride & Ferrel, 2011). Within a market plan an action plan must be apparent. (See appendix A) This includes activities such as recruiting and hiring, internet campaigns, advertisements and adequate stock in warehouses in order for the launch to be successful these activities must be implemented. (Havalder, 2010) 

However the commercialisation phase may add to the business expenses due to the high cost of advertising and promotion which aid in the products sales. This could cause an issue to smaller businesses as they will financially struggle to advertise to a larger target audience via the television, magazines etc., as they are very costly. Ultimately this could result in them able to reach potential customers. Alternatively, in order for smaller business to promote their product there are cheaper options such as local advertisements, blogs and podcasts. (Pride et al 2011)

Commercialisation of a product will only take place, if the following three questions can be answered.(See appendix B) These include:

When? The product must be launched during a certain time bracket to reach the right target audience. The Deep Heat Support Bandage is a mass product therefore unless competitors release new similar products this shouldn’t really affect the launch of the product due to the fact it isn’t seasonal. Although the launch of the bandage may be best in summer as events such as the Olympics, World Cup and Wimbledon may encourage people to get back into sport. 

Where?  The bandage’s launch will begin locally, aiming at athletes of all ages in local sports clubs. This will be less cost efficient due to limited resources available.

Whom? By beginning with targeting a local audience, the products success can be tested before, as revenue increases the product can then be advertised on the internet leading to sales in retail stores in hope that the benefits of the product will be recognised by the population.

The AIDA  principle, developed by Lewis (1898) identifies the four steps a business needs to take the target audience through if they want them to buy the product or attract them to the advertisement.(Maclure, 2011)

The bandage will develop awareness through the existence of the product. This will then create interest from the intended target audience by paying attention to the bandages benefits such as eases pain, the fact that it is reusable and flexible to each individual customer. Desire for the product will hopefully help ease the injury whilst participating in sport. The desire will also be created by offering all customers a 3 month warrantee on the bandage, allowing them to confront the business if they are unhappy with their purchase. This helps maintain a healthy relationship between the business and customer, also allowing the business aware of potential problems/improvements. The purchasing of the product results in the action, in hope that the circle continues.

Appendix A

Appendix B

References:

Armstrong, G., Kotler, P., Harker, M & Brennan, R (2009). Marketing an Introduction. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited.

Havalder, K.K. (2010) Business Marketing: Text and Cases. 3^rd edn. New Delhi: Tata McGraw Hill Education Private Limited.

Maclure, N. (2011) Product Commercialisation. [online] Available at: http://www.slideshare.net/nmaclure/product-commercialization [Accessed: 2 Feb 2013].

Petit, C., Dubois, C., Harand, A & Quazzotti, S (2011). ‘A new innovative and marketable IP diagnosis to evaluate, qualify and find insights for the development of SMEs IP practices and use, based on the AIDA approach’, World patent information. 33:1, pp. 42-50. Available at: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0172219010000098 [Accessed: 2 Feb 2013]

Pride, W & Ferrel, O (2011). Marketing Express. 2^nd edn. USA: South Western Cengage Learning

 Proven Models (2013) AIDA Sales Funnel. Available at: http://www.provenmodels.com/547 [Accessed: 1st Feb 2013].