Marketing value-added wood products

A new product begins with the customer and their unmet or undefined need for something new and different. Scientific research is just a part of new product development. Engineers need to foster and develop productive dialogues with marketers to effectively transform new technologies into new products and successfully introduce them into the market. Basic familiarity with marketing planning provides the framework for building the dialogue between scientists and marketers. Marketing planning is a structured, dynamic process that includes situation and market analysis; competitive positioning; strategy formulation; implementation plans; financial models; timetables; and an analysis of the risks and issues involved. Marketing planning is also summarized at the Andersen Corporation as "Identify-Satisfy-Verify." Each of these plan components focus on the customer and their wants and needs. Fibrex represents a significant scientific breakthrough in woodfiber-plastic composites. However, the unique properties of this composite only achieve meaning in the ultimate delivery of a product that customers want and need. Engineers can make a particularly valuable contribution by participating in the market analysis component of marketing; planning, specifically, market segmentation and listening to customers. An Andersen product case study shows the crucial role being played by ongoing interaction among research and development, manufacturing, and marketing.