Marketing Innovation Implementation : A case study of a Chinese Pharmaceutical Company

Abstract: Innovation is becoming more and more important in modern society. There is a lot of research on different kinds of innovation. Marketing innovation is one kind of innovation that has not been studied frequently before. One useful definition of marketing innovation is new ways which companies can market themselves to potential or existing customers (Halpern, 2010). This thesis focuses on the implementation process of marketing innovation. The research questions are: Which elements will be helpful or obstructive to the implementation process of marketing innovation? How will these positive or negative aspects affect the implementation of marketing innovation projects? How can the implementation of marketing innovation projects be improved? When implementing marketing innovation projects, compared with product innovation projects, what are the differences and similarities? The thesis is built on a literature study on marketing innovation and a case study of a marketing innovation project in the Chinese pharmaceutical company Guizhou YiBai Pharmaceutical Co.Ltd. A Chinese company is chosen because China‟s innovation practice needs improvement and theories which take China as background to guide the implementation process of innovation. The study shows some key elements for marketing innovation that are worth paying attention to when implementing marketing innovation projects. Examples of these key elements found are; paying attention to the neglected market, suitable segmentation of the market, reliable market information, public relationship, increased customer value, combination of market factors, explore different marketing channels and the use of technology in combination. Especially the use of technology can positively affect the implementation of marketing innovation. This thesis also presents some risks that may occurred in marketing innovation, like cost, uncertainty of market, information leakage, imitation and overdependence on experience. If comparing marketing innovation with product innovation there are many common points, but during the implementation process, the focus is different. A focus on the external environment seems to be more important in marketing innovation implementation. At last, this thesis concludes that the development situation of China‟s innovation practice is immature which is shown by the heavy reliance of experience and not theory in innovation projects. A reason for this is that innovation theory, which is taking the context of China in consideration, is lacking but are highly needed.