New approach on high-tech marketing: market segmentation and technology adoption in digital device market

Abstract

High-tech markets are unpredictable due to technology uncertainty, market uncertainty, competitive volatility, and so on. Regarding these circumstances, many scholars have attempted to explain the uncertainty in high-tech markets from the various perspectives. However, manifest ways have not been presented for predicting diverse changes and trends in high-tech markets. Therefore, the main purpose of this research is to suggest a new approach model which can give more accurate marketing strategic information and diagnostic information for developing market strategies. Apple’s iPhone is the representative successful case in the digital device market, one of the high-tech markets. The reasons for Apple’s success are its accurate grasp of latent customer behaviors, its ability to precisely forecast the changes of customer needs (e.g., an iPhone that supplies full-browsing, a full-touch screen, and an aesthetic design), and its agile response in the digital device market. In this context, there are crucial marketing strategies and procedures that allow firms to increase the possibility of success in a volatile high-tech market environment. Firms have to aim at a certain group as their target market with a new product and then develop proper marketing mix in response to the customer needs. They should build their own strategy to deliver the values and benefits that will satisfy customer needs without time delay and concerns in high-tech markets. In addition, they should develop differentiated promotion strategies for adopting and diffusing new products. For the sake of successful diffusion of high-tech products or services, the early adopters, who play the most important role in diffusion of high-tech, should be requisitely understood. So, I suggested new research models for high-tech market: new approaches on market segmentation identifying types of early adopters, categorizing types of adopters, comparative analysis of distinction between early and late adopters, ...