Introduction
For the contemporary companies, the current global business environment is complex and with a myriad of challenges when it comes to maintaining production and continued market relevance (Adner 2006). Product innovation is increasingly becoming a driving factor for promoting product development and marketing.
For any company aspiring to maneuver, embracing various innovative ideas in making new, or improving the existing products is nowadays a demanding task. Fisk (2014) postulates that innovation nowadays determines whether a product will successfully clinch the higher market tier or fail. Giant companies that compete on the global scale are facing even tougher demands to continually embrace new business innovations or improve their existing innovations (Garcia & Calantone 2002).
Such perceptions explain why the automobile, mobile phone, and the computer companies are relentlessly searching for the modern innovations. Given such presumptions, this essay analyses the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor to examine its product innovation ideas.
Overview of the Intel Core I 7 Computer Processors
Intel Corporation is an American advanced computer-technology company that has invested in making innovative computer hardware systems that suit the users of the 21st century (Santa-Clara 2003). The computer technology has evolved from the first generation, to the fourth and the fifth generation computers, where computer features, and the power and efficiency of the central processing units matter (Jordan-Marsh 2010).
One of the latest innovations that marked a new era in the world of computer technology is the super-speed Core I 7-5000 laptop and desktop processor from the Intel Corporation. The Intel Corporation made this move in a bid to offer laptop users a wide variety of opportunities that improve their computer experiences on the commercial scale (Santa-Clara 2003).
The Core I 7-5000 series processors have managed to influence the success of other computer processing companies that rely on the hardware components provided by the Intel Computer Technology Company.
The Market Performance of the Core I 7 (5000 Series) Computers
Intel Corporation released the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor in August of the year 2014 (Duran 2014). With the introduction and release of the Intel Core i7-5000 Processors, commercial and home laptop users have discovered a new technology that is capable of serving most of their desired needs in surfing, cloud computing, networking, computer programming, and other computing needs.
Laptops that are using the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor have received a remarkable market success in several European markets since the processor arrived in the computer technology back in August of the year 2014. In Europe, over 6, 000 corporate organizations have bought various commercial laptops integrated with the Core I 7-5000 processor.
Out of those 6, 000 corporate organizations that have incorporated laptops that are running via the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor, over 4300 firms have revealed that laptops integrated with these processors have noticeable performance advancements. In China and Australia, companies that deal with the manufacturing of the desktops and laptops confirmed with Intel Corporation that the processor has received a good market uptake.
Due to its high performing capabilities, this high-end laptop and desktop processor has managed to influence the activities of the mega computer manufacturing companies (Duran 2014). The Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor has now manifested itself in the mega computer brands such as the new Dell computers, HP computers, Lenovo computers, and Toshiba computers.
Almost all the new generation computers in several renowned computer-processing companies are running through the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor (Intel Corp. 2014). In the United States, the United Kingdom, and France, computer manufacturing companies have noted a registered success in the marketing of computers integrated with the Core i7-5960X processors, the Core i7-5930K processors, and the Core i7-5820K processors.
The Applicable Theories (The 4Cs Marketing Theory)
Several theories have appeared to explain the association between innovative product development and management of product innovation. The theories that highly associate with the emergence and subsequent success of the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor are two theories that show the relevance of using strategic marketing techniques to penetrate highly competitive markets (Constantinides 2002 & English 2000).
The first theory that best describes the success of the Intel Corporation and its success story in the development and marketing of the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor is the 4Cs marketing theory. This theory postulates that for an innovative product to manoeuvre in the highly competitive business environments, an innovation must consider the elements that associate with Consumers, the production Cost, product Convenience, and the Communication platforms (Constantinides 2002).
Hence, companies must assess what the customers want and what they are lacking, for them to create an appealing product, service or a business solution. When Robert F. Lauterborn designed the 4Cs marketing theory, the second component of the 4Cs model that deemed important was the concept of production cost (Prandelli & Verona 2006).
Companies intending to develop a successful innovation must consider all the costs involved in the development, production, and marketing of the product to the targeted consumers. Such approaches often help the innovation to remain strategic and undeterred in its processes, from the beginning of the designing process to the ultimate destination of meeting the end-user (Prandelli & Verona 2006).
The third component that Robert F. Lauterborn thought was imperative in product innovation and management realm was the degree of convenience that a new product is capable of delivering to the consumers. Goi (2009) postulates that, for a new product to manoeuvre in the already competitive markets, its design and its features must provide a high proof of convenience in terms of accessibility, efficiency, usability and suitability to the needy clients scattered within the niche markets.
The last aspect of product innovation that Robert F. Lauterborn proposed in the 4Cs marketing model is the idea of the available communication platforms. Robert postulated that since new products face numerous challenges while trying to penetrate the exigent markets, companies must consider the available communication channels and the manner in which other previous brands may act as brand ambassadors.
Hence, the theory of Robert F. Lauterborn emphasizes on four driving factors that determine the success of an upcoming innovation from its initial production strategies to the final marketing techniques. From the perspective of the 4Cs marketing model, Robert F. Lauterborn encourages companies to consider consumers, the production cost, product convenience, and the communication strategies as factors that determine the success of a new product innovation.
In essence, companies must identify their targeted consumers, consider the convenience of the desired innovation, and evaluate the involved costs while marketing an emergent innovation.
The Applicable Theories (The Developer-Based Theory)
In determining the behaviour of the emergent innovations and the manner in which new products permeate into the market, business philosophers sought to establish the ideas of how innovative products diffuse into the market (Goi 2009). One of the theories that best suits the explanation of the manner in which Intel Corporation has been replacing its old technologies with zealous technologies that have gained a massive market prominence is the developer-based theory.
The developer-based theory is a form of a deterministic theory that postulates that companies must be willing to understand that ensuring high efficiency, high effectiveness and elegancy are essential market elements while developing products that replace the initial technologies (Prandelli & Verona 2006).
The developer-based or the deterministic theory of product innovation and management assumes that superior technological products will only by virtue of their superiority alone; substitute the previous inferior products in the existing markets. From the philosophical perspective, the determinist theory assumes that the behaviours of human beings largely depend on the preceding factors (Ram 2007).
The human behaviour that shows itself in the technology world is the desire among the people to understand how new technologies work and their desire to have a better knowledge about the upcoming technologies (Ram 2007). In terms of innovation, technological determinism according to business philosophers is the ability of the developers or companies to design and implement efficient strategies that enable a new product to excel in a market (Guo & Sun 2004).
In product marketing process, this idea may associate with the reputation of a company, the stability of a company, and the strategic planning processes of a company (Mahadevan 2000 & Werbach 2000). Therefore, the superiority of an emerging innovation and the reputation of similar brands from a tech company may determine the market success of a new product.
Strategic Product Design and Innovation
The 4Ps marketing model also known as the marketing mix model has four major components or business marketing principles that drive the marketing strategies of companies (West, Ford & Ibrahim 2015). These four principles of marketing include Product, Price, Promotion, and Place. The first principle is product, where the issues of product design and product-manufacturing techniques play a pivotal role (Grieves 2009).
For the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor, Intel Corporation and its team of technologists fostered some sophisticated technologies to develop a high-end multiprocessor system that offers high capabilities for the major computer activities (Duran 2014). The Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor comes via a compatible motherboard made of a powerful Intel X99 Express chipset, an eight-core processor unit, and a quad-channel memory controller (Duran 2014).
These features enable the software developers, the media professionals and the ultra HD gamers to find high performing hardware systems that are compatible with the computer motherboard. According to the fourth component of the 4Cs marketing theory, which carries the idea of convenience in product innovation, products should have the element of convenience and reliability.
The Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor came with superior features that matched the growing demands of the computer users (Intel Corp. 2014). With a RAM memory integrated with a 3.50 GHz system processor that enables a maximum turbo boost, consumers cannot and may not stop liking the innovation incorporated in the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor.
This unique feature enables customers who demand high capacity computers to install software of their wish, compute what they desire, and program their computers according to their personal needs (Intel Corp. 2014). Since companies and businesspersons are increasingly facing increased demands to maintain huge databases, prolific computer-aided services, and several other demanding needs, the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor seems to have brought a permanent solution.
A Positive Market Reputation
The theory of determinism in technology considers manufactures or producers of an innovation as the most determinants of the success of a newly launched product (Cravens 2000). Intel Corporation has been a giant manufacturer of the computer processors from the 18th century era, and has managed to maintain a positive reputation as a market leader in the computer processors technology.
Since the 1971 era of the 4-bit 4004 processors, the 32-bit and 64-bit processors of the 2002 era, to the Intel core 2 and quad-cores, and finally to the modern eight-core generation processors, Intel has been fervent in its reputation (Parsons & Oja 2012). The market archrival of the Intel Corporation, the Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) processors have always faced an unmatched competition from the superbly made Intel processors.
Since 1994, the AMD Company and its computer processors have never matched the market success of the Intel processors in almost all the computer brands. Although the AMD Processor Company has been using low-pricing strategies to expand its market and improve its reputation amongst the consumers, the Intel Corporation has been keen in ensuring that it dominates the world market with reputable processor brands.
According to the theory of the 4Cs of marketing, consumers are normally the platform for the successful marketing of an emergent business product, as they possess the initial experience that often contributes to the building of a stable corporate reputation (Bhatt & Emdad 2002). According to the viewpoints of the UK and the U.S computer users, the power and processing capabilities of the Intel chips and processors are incomparable to the AMD processors.
In the U.S, Japan, South Korea, and Chinese markets, users have recognised a continued relevance of the Intel processors and Chips, and have cited an increasing market reputation (Intel Corp. 2014). This continuous and broadened reputation contributed to the triumph of the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor.
Strategic Marketing Techniques
According to the 4Ps marketing mix model, a new product will excel in a competitive market when the involved company considers creating a strategy for penetrating the item into the competitive markets (Cooper & Edgett 2009). On the other hand, the 4Cs marketing model considers communication platforms of companies as the contributing factors that help in delivering the product information to the consumers.
Intel Corporation has a strategic marketing channel that goes through the brand marketing strategies, where several major players in the computer industry play significant roles in marketing their brands (Intel Corp. 2014). Since its appearance in the computer technology, the Intel Corporation has been working closely with its fellow computer-manufacturing companies such as Toshiba, Dell, HP, Hitachi, Gateway, NEC and Fujitsu Companies in marketing its processors.
When releasing the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor, Intel Corporation strategically analysed its communication channel by singling out its reputable brand ambassadors. Latest computer models such as the Dell Inspiron computer series, the Lenovo Computer models, and the Toshiba new models are systematically supporting the market growth and development of the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor (Intel Corp. 2014).
Apart from its internal market players, the American Intel Corporation has been using external market players in parts of Europe and Asia to market the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor, as part of its strategic internationalization channels. Aside from the idea of using corporate brand ambassadors in its marketing, the strategic launching of the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processors played a significant part in the marketing of these eight-core processors.
The 4Ps of marketing consider product promotion as a strategic marketing approach that promotes the growth and development of new products in the markets (Gronroos 2005 & Jobber 2001). Through close ties with the computer manufacturers, the Intel Corporation has managed to market its Core I 7-5000 series processor to several computers manufactures.
Strategic Financing & Pricing Techniques
The power of designing, producing, and marketing of new products rests on the ability of the companies to have the financial power to make their strategies workable (Li 2013). According to the 4Cs of marketing, Li (2013) states that companies must always consider the costs of designing a new product, developing the product and the ultimate costs required in delivering it to the end-users.
The Core I 7-5000 series processor, being a mega project that Intel Corporation had aspired to initiate through the fifth generation platform, forced Intel to have a strategic financing plan for the development and release of this fifth generation processor. In their 2014 financial year, a time when the Core I 7-5000 series processor first emerged in the computer market, Intel’s budget for the computer chips under the fifth generation platform increased significantly (Duran 2014).
According to the Intel Corporation (2014), the company used over USD350 million in the production and marketing of the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor. A significant factor that determines the success of an emergent product is the pricing strategy set out by the product-manufacturing firm (Yu & Hang 2009).
According to the 4Ps marketing model, the pricing strategy that a manufacturing company uses on a new business product, matters in its ultimate market success. Although the AMD processors come in relatively lower prices when compared to the prices that the Intel Corporation imposes, the processors of the fifth generation created by the Intel Corporation appear via a unique market-pricing strategy (Duran 2014).
Intel Corporation has been selling the Intel Core I 7-5000 series processor at a relatively high price although its strategic partnership with the mega computer manufacturing companies has made the company to consider offering large-scale commercial discounts and price cut-offs (Duran 2014). Subsequently, this strategic scheme automatically helps the Intel Corporation to dominate the processor’s market and later pressure the computer manufacturers to sell their products at favourable market prices.
Conclusion
Any new technological product entering into a modern competitive market must have a strategic system that would enable it to excel in the market. The 4Ps and the 4Cs models of marketing are very significant in explaining the manner in which companies ought to understand the promotion of the new products.
From the above analysis, it is conclusive that the marketing of an emergent hi-tech product is still a demanding task for several companies because several factors determine the successful growth, development, and marketing of an emergent product. Nonetheless, the three common business elements that seem to dominate the process of product innovation and management include the aspects of product designing, product marketing, and product pricing.
The three major variables pave way for an understanding of the manner in which the aspects related to the consumers and their preferences or abilities, the location of the business, and the production costs interact.
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