Selling of rapid-changing goods
By Jonminofri Nazir
JAKARTA (JP): Commercials for pocket PCs appear regularly in the media, wooing readers with their hi-tech features.
They are small -- only a little larger than two business cards -- and as slim as a palm, but these belie its capacity which equals desktop PCs for certain applications.
The rising star among pocket PCs today is PC iPaq, following the footsteps of Palm and HP.
The iPaq differs from many other Pocket PCs not only in its memory capacity and design, but also operating system. PC iPaq uses Microsoft, whereas most others use the Palm operating system.
In addition, iPaq has a built-in slot for GSM cellular telephone cards, which means it is even richer in functionality: it can work as a PC, play the MP3, send and receive SMS, access the Internet and many others.
The product, however, is still relatively expensive, or at least as expensive as an assembled PC traded in the Glodok electronic market in Jakarta. No doubt the price will go down in the next several years, as is true with other hi-tech products, when new brands or compatible products emerge.
Besides, producers will surely produce "higher-tech" pocket PCs, which will spell a price decline for the products currently in the market.
The prices of such hi-tech products are indeed determined by market demand. The iPaq, for instance, has intentionally been produced in limited numbers to maintain the price level. This policy shows the producer of iPaq is aware of the rapidity with which pocket PC technology is advancing.
Functions
Pocket PCs are sleek and compact, and they are a multifunctional means of communication.
They are also compatible with PC desktops -- a feature that is not shared by earlier products. Their users are the professionals, executives or simply those who want to look "cool" by owning the latest gadget.
Marketing such a product in Indonesia is easier than marketing one that is solely for industrial purposes. One needs only to place an advertisement in a leading media to reach the target market.
Other hi-tech products that can be marketed easily include hi- tech mobile phones such as the Nokia 9210 and Siemens SL 45. Both the hi-tech pocket PCs and mobile phones actually have similar marketing characteristics.
For instance, they tend to have wide availability (even if they are limited only to big cities). They are standardized. They give no clear reference as to why we should buy them. When a person buys a pocket PC, it is more an emotional decision. More importantly, promotion is usually as simple as advertising in a leading media.
Characteristics
Hi-tech gadgets produced for the industrial market, however, have different characteristics and distribution channels. This is because the industrial market has different characteristics from the consumers market.
An example would be value-added service (VAS) products in the cellular industry. Unlike the standardized pocket PCs, VAS products are complicated and demand customized selling. Cellular operators and banking industries such as Bank Panin, Bank Buana and HSBC use hi-tech products to provide customers with mobile banking service.
Besides the banking industry, the telecommunications industry is another that makes use of hi-tech facilities to provide clients with quality service.
To sum up, the characteristics of hi-tech product marketing are as follow:
* Market: these products have a limited number of users. Some of the relevant industries operate in the same field.
A hi-tech product designed for the telecommunications industry, for instance, would have the telecommunications companies as its market. This particular market is usually centralized in Jakarta and its surrounding areas -- which is why promotional activities are seldom heard of as they do not make use of the mass media. Perhaps when the new regional autonomy policy is running well and regions are able to develop their own telecommunications industry, the market could expand.
* Product: Hi-tech products for industries are usually technically complex, and need customized service for the companies that purchase them. More importantly, however, are after-sale service, maintenance and delivery. When a cellular telephone service is down, for instance, technicians of the cellular company will immediately be on the telephone with the vendors in their headquarters, whichever country it may be. Without such a hotline, cellular telephone service operators would not be able to provide good service.
* Consumers. They usually have rational reasons why they wish to purchase hi-tech products, based on a cost and benefit calculation with regards to their companies' finances. The relation between vendors and buyers is usually stronger than that of hi-tech product vendors and nonindustry buyers.
Some bureaucracy is usually involved before a company buys the product because the final decision comes not from individuals, but the management.
* Line of distribution This is, however, usually shorter because consumers deal directly with the producers. A cellular operator in Indonesia will, for instance, have direct contact with the makers of Siemens, Ericsson, or Nokia products.
* Price. Competitive tendering and negotiations usually take place before any purchase and this influences the price.
Given the characteristics of hi-tech products for industries, many problems usually crop up during marketing.
What's needed for the process are good salesmen who know the products inside out -- and such salesmen are hard to find because it is difficult for most people to understand hi-tech products.
What's clear is that technology often advances and develops faster than people do. This is why those wishing to have a career in this field should have a high degree of flexibility and ability to adjust to rapid changes.