Evaluation—The consumer considers whether to try the innovation.

Applications Marketing Debate Whom Should You Target with New Products? Some new-products experts maintain that getting close to customers through intensive research is the only way to de- velop successful new products. Other experts disagree and maintain that customers can’t possibly provide useful feed- back on what they don’t know and can’t provide insights that will lead to breakthrough products. Take a position: Consumer research is critical to new- product development versus Consumer research may not be all that helpful in new-product development. Marketing Discussion Product Innovativeness Think about the last new product you bought. How do you think its success will be affected by the five characteristics of an innovation: relative advantage, compatibility, complex- ity, divisibility, and communicability? Marketing Excellence Apple Over the past decade, Apple has become a world leader in innova- tive new prod- uct launches. The company has truly transformed the way people listen to music, play video games, talk on the phone, and even read books. Apple’s e v o l u t i o n a r y product inno- vations include the iPod, iMac, iPhone, and iPad and are the reason the company topped Fortune maga- zine’s World’s Most Admired Companies list three years in a row, from 2008 to 2010. One of Apple’s most important innovations over the past decade was the iPod MP3 player. Not only has the iPod become a cultural phenomenon; it introduced many consumers to Apple and initiated a series of monumental product innovations. The iPod exemplified Apple’s innova- tive design skills and looked, felt, and operated like no other device. With the launch of the iTunes Music Store, a dynamic duo of legally downloadable music and cutting- edge portable music player caused iPod sales to skyrocket. To the delight of Apple and the chagrin of competitor Sony, the iPod has become “the Walkman of the 21st century.” Beyond spurring sales, the iPod has been central in changing the way people listen to and use music. According to musician John Mayer, “People feel they’re walking through musicology” when they use their iPods, leading them to listen to more music, and with more pas- sion. The iPod has gone through a series of generations, and along the way Apple has added features like photo, video, and radio capabilities. 2. Successful new-product development requires the com- pany to establish an effective organization for managing the development process. Companies can choose to use product managers, new-product managers, new- product committees, new-product departments, or new-product venture teams. Increasingly, companies are adopting cross-functional teams, connecting to individuals and organizations outside the company, and developing multiple product concepts. 3. Eight stages take place in the new-product develop- ment process: idea generation, screening, concept development and testing, marketing strategy develop- ment, business analysis, product development, market testing, and commercialization. At each stage, the company must determine whether the idea should be dropped or moved to the next stage. 4. The consumer-adoption process is the process by which customers learn about new products, try them, and adopt or reject them. Today many marketers are target- ing heavy users and early adopters of new products, be- cause both groups can be reached by specific media and tend to be opinion leaders. The consumer-adoption process is influenced by many factors beyond the mar- keter’s control, including consumers’ and organizations’ willingness to try new products, personal influences, and the characteristics of the new product or innovation.