Product innovation (Term Paper Sample)

Outline
1 Introduction
2 Nike and Google Company
3 Innovation in Nike
4 Innovation in Google
5 Unique products
6 First mover advantage
7 Conclusion
Innovation and New Products
The key to enter and dominate a market place is to introduce new innovative products. Wolcott, Robert and Michael aver that companies that are planning to penetrate a new market should come up with innovative products that make the consumers wonder how they survive without the product (11). A good example is Apple Company that revolutionized the buying and listening of music through iTunes. Failure to innovate leads to loss of customers especially with entrance of new competitors. This paper will focus on Google Company and Nike and how they have introduced innovative products into the market place. The paper will demonstrate that the key to success in the current business environment is not keeping in tandem with customers’ needs. Rather, success comes from anticipating needs of customers and creating innovative products that exceed customers’ expectations.
In the world of sports wear, Nike Company leads in production of innovative products. In 2010, the company created the Digital Sports Division to come up with innovative products that employ sophisticated technology to manufacture products. In 2012, the digital division created two innovative products, the FuelBand and FlyKnit Racer. The products have given Nike Company a head start in production of digital products for sportsmen. FuelBand allows users to measure various aspects of the body of an athlete in the course of playing. It uses color cues to show movements and changes within the body. FlyKnit Racer heralds a revolution in shoe making by producing very light shoes.
Google Company’s search engine dominates over 65% of the market in spite of the many search engine companies (Wolcott, Robert & Michael 32). This success emanates from the company’s innovative products. Before the launch of Google search engine, there were more than fifty companies offering the same services. Those companies had been in the market for as long as thirty years. Google came up with products that allow consumers to interact with each other conveniently. Through Google, it is possible for consumers to buy products through the internet. Google allows advertisers to analyze consumer behavior and come up with products that people desire most.
Nike Company’s products are unique and hard to imitate. FuelBand is affordable as it retails for only $150. It is a bracelet hence easy to wear and carry around for the whole day without tiring. One can wear it as he or she plays soccer, tennis, or even jogging around. The bracelet is electronic and elegant allowing users to wear it to work. FuelBand uses color cues to track various activities within the body. Szirmai explains that "red stands for inactive and green indicates whether the user has achieved daily goals" (43). Additionally, the bracelet has stock ticker that indicates to the user the amount of calorie he or she has burned. The ticker has a metric that measures and shows the number of steps that the user has taken throughout the day. FuelBand allows the user to share proprietary metrics through social media and other online platforms. FlyKnit Racer is a feather light shoe that allows the wearer experience high comfort. Nike created the shoe "from knit threading rather than multiple layers of fabric" (43). The most unique and hard to imitate quality amount this product is the ability to make the wearer feel like he or she is wearing a sock.
Google Company’s products have unique qualities that are hard for other companies to imitate. Szirmai states that Google’s innovation springs from "deep learning and understanding what users want so searchers do not have to use simple keyword phrases to search Google" (34). Through research, the company has realized that the future of internet lies in mobile phones. Many people are now using smartphones and tablets to access internet. Google Company therefore launched Google Play, a product that allows users access applications, games, devices, books, and music from smartphones and tablets. Other search engines such as Yahoo have not fully prepared for mobile internet. Google has therefore cemented its leadership in internet search engines and it is unlikely that any other company will dislodge it soon.
Nike Company possessed first mover advantage in creating digital powered products. Addidas Company, a competitor in manufacturing sportswear, has lagged behind in embracing technology. Nike Company’s launch of a digital sports division marked the first step to consolidating its leadership in the industry. The sportswear manufacturer has managed to sustain the first mover advantage in spite of the current progress from Puma. It is highly unlikely that Nike will relinquish its position. This is because of the various endorsements by sports teams and personalities (Santarelli 23). The digital division from Nike Company is the first of its kind and three years later, there is no sign that any other company in the sportswear industry will catch up.
Google Company also possesses some first mover advantages that put it ahead of other competitors. The company recognized that mobile internet will drive the next phase of growth in search engine. The launch of Google play from where customers can access application, games, and other devices put Google ahead of Bing and Yahoo. However, G...