Abstract
M.Comm.
New products are essential for a firm's long term growth and survival. But the process is frought
with risk since new products fail at an unacceptably high rate in the marketplace. Thirty five years of
research has not improved the results materially necessitating a re-investigation into the causation
of new product success I failure outcomes.
The study investigates the total market environment to identify key new product success and failure
factors. This entails an examination of the firm's micro, macro and market elements to provide
insights into the problem and provide information for strategic marketing planning to reduce the risk
of failure. Since past research identified key failure factors by analysing results obtained from
across many industries and from a firm's perspective, this study focuses on one industry and one
complex product to identify new product threats from a customer's perspective. The reason for this
approach was to identify the nature of the industry and product related threats that product
managers should be aware of when launching new products, aspects which are not contextually
raised in the literature.
Customer value- and performance quality expectations, were found to be strong independent
variables that determined the customer's value and performance satisfaction which in turn
influences total customer satisfaction. In turn, total customer satisfaction is a pre-requisite for first
time-, repeat and ongoing purchasing, a process essential for new product growth, increased
demand, new product profits and its success. A new product which cannot generate planned
profits is a failure.
The empirical study verified these findings, leading to a proposed strategic framework for guiding
the new product process. The framework considers the adoption of the marketing concept,
neglected by most innovating firms and a customer focus to manage total customer satisfaction
profitably before and after launch along the new product's life cycle. The framework formalises the
new product development activities in the firm's hierarchical levels to attain and maintain total
customer satisfaction, from the ideation stage to the product's planned termination phase. To avoid
the risk of new product failure, customer satisfaction has to be maintained with superior new
product/service value from the customer's perspective and with a sustainable competitive advantage
from the firm's perspective. These objectives are best be achieved by planning, implementing and
controlling the new product's marketing strategy that focuses on achieving total customer
satisfaction in a turbulent business environment.