Innovation Marketing

The best thing that can happen to an innovation is mistrust and skepticism. At least that's what Thomas Fick - Team Leader Digital Marketing at Bayern Innovativ GmbH - claims. What it is about his claim, you will learn in the following interview.

Thomas, why is skepticism important for innovations?

Thomas Fick: In fact, I hold the opinion that a healthy, wait-and-see attitude is what helps a product innovation on the market more than excessive euphoria. This is plausible if you observe your personal behavior. For example, if I make you a promise "We're going away this weekend and it's going to be great," you look forward to it and an attitude of expectation grows within you. But your expectation will never be capped by reality.

The whole thing is a phenomenon that has been researched for a long time. In the field of innovation communication Roy Amara has been a pioneer and has defined a law. This says roughly summarized: All technical innovations are always overestimated by us in the short term and always underestimated in the long term.

That means it is important to manage people's expectations?

Thomas Fick: That's exactly what it's all about, and that's exactly why communication is insanely important in innovation marketing. The communication is the marketing. That is, not the phases around the outside (definition of goals, markets, target groups) or the lacing of a product portfolio, but the communication about my product innovation is crucial. After all, what's the point if you have the best product ever, but nobody knows about it and buys it?

So you're talking about radical innovation, right?

Thomas Fick: Among us marketing experts, I would rather speak of incremental innovation. Because radical innovation is more about saying "Look, this has never been done before, but this is just right for you. Why don't you try it out?" Incremental innovation is more about saying "Look, the product has a new feature and can do even more than before." In other words, with incremental innovations, you're actually hitting a barrier with your target audience and markets because the product already existed, but you now have to convince customers to develop it further. A classic example of this is cell phones.

The sticking point is - and this brings me back to the start of our conversation: How do I approach people and what expectations do I create and lead them to? You're always going to run into an attitude. Some people will say "Yeah, this has never happened before. I've waited so long for this" and others will say "One more phone camera. What nonsense." And you have to "serve" both of these target groups. And this brings me back to my initial thesis: It will be easier for you to convince the people who are skeptical about your product of the benefits of your product or your innovation than it will be for the people who initially approached your product in a completely exaggerated and euphoric manner. They will be disappointed.

Is it getting easier or more difficult for innovation marketing nowadays because of the many information possibilities?

Thomas Fick: Actually, I cannot answer this question unequivocally. I think it has primarily become different. What is apparent is that people have become tired of innovation. There are various reasons for this, such as a high information overload and faster access to information due to digitization. Unlike in the past, people today often turn on their computers or cell phones while eating breakfast and wham - they have five to twenty updates. The distances have become shorter and as a result we are all oversaturated. What's really new when a phone with new features comes onto the market every five minutes, as it feels?

With this in mind, is there a difference between B2B and B2C?

Thomas Fick: Not in communication. Not in the reaction of people to innovations. But definitely in the decision-making processes behind it. Example: the further development of a product comes on the market. Now an employee in the middle decision-making position of a company has to decide whether he wants to go along with this innovation. This decision involves risks in the areas of investment, production changeover and future security. It is therefore not always possible to "go along" with every new product. Therefore, activating and convincing innovations are certainly tougher.

At the same time, we have many more possibilities today than we did 20 or 30 years ago to illustrate the added value of our products and services to our customers. For example, you can play out a demo or simulate things in industries such as construction - walk the future house virtually and many more. This means that the sales argument has become easier. Reaching customers, on the other hand, has become more difficult.

And how can Bavarian SMEs, as strongly technology-oriented companies, successfully address specific professionals?

Thomas Fick: On the one hand, it is important to maintain the bond to one's customers, to one's goals and markets, even away from the product itself. Just as there used to be the classic relationship between sales representatives and customers. On the other hand, I am convinced that building a great strong brand with image impact is essential so that people identify with the company and want to deal with the products.


The interview was conducted by Dr. Tanja Jovanovic, Head of Technology and Innovation Management at Bayern Innovativ GmbH.

Listen to the full interview as a podcast: