Discussion: Value of Innovation Marketing

The concept of innovation marketing is more relevant in today's era than any other time in human history because of the unprecedented speed with which new and disruptive innovations are introduced. That marketing and innovation are interdependent functions are undisputed; an innovation must reach its intended target in order to provide value and marketing activities are implemented for the purpose of matching innovations to the people they can best serve. The article does an excellent job outlining the importance of innovation marketing not only at the end of the innovation process as would traditionally be done but as a precision innovation-driving tool for firms to hone their skills and resources to develop products to and for a market that is proven to be receptive and viable.

I see the value that incorporating market research and targeting can provide a firm; focus, relevance, and decision-making data that helps improve customer-oriented innovation. But the very fact that it is so customer-focused is also a weakness. Consumers do not necessarily understand their own purchase-driving behavior and are notoriously short-sighted and unreliable sources of innovation inspiration. Innovation requires creativity that customer-driven market strategies may constrain.

Innovation management that leads to leaps in technology needs to provide the exploratory and creative freedom that mainstream consumers may not be receptive to or fully understand how to apply. Scientific, industrial, and military use of new technology typically precedes that of the mass-produced products that become available to the general public, and excluding innovation pathways that would not be commercially successful could lead to many missed opportunities for a more niche application.

Although innovation marketing is definitely a valuable managerial technique, this innovation management tool should be used for the appropriate projects in which a leap in technology is not the goal but a consumer-ready product is. Priorities for the firm's innovation group must be aligned with their strategies but parallel market research done concurrently can add valuable feedback into an innovation process regardless of the innovation.