Product Development
With the UV LED market as the target, especially in medical phototherapy and medical sterilization, additional investment in human resource, product research, designing, planning and testing equipment will be needed. To be more specific, the target application should be the ones that use UV light tubes or lamps in such markets, such as sun tanning booths, herpetology, air sterilization in medical environments, light therapy and so forth. Product roadmap is to be drawn to set goals and deadlines.
The choice of designing light tubes or lamps is not only for the purpose of the target applications but also due to the fact that Energyled already has experience in the structural design of it. UV lighting in sun tanning booths and air sterilization in medical environments mostly use light tubes, and herpetology and light therapy use lamps. Therefore, the goal is to make adjustments to the existing structures as opposed to creating something completely new to start off. Once entry to the market is a success, further development of the subsequent generations or possible new products will be added to the roadmap.
The entire product development roadmap is estimated to take six months with various check points along the way (Figure 7). Before project kickoff, R&D team will need to create a dedicated engineering team to focus on the development of UV LED lighting products. Once settled, they will start from research on the standard and requirements of UV lighting and types of tests to pass for the product to launch. As well as, target light tubes and lamps on the market to study and identify the uniqueness of them. The findings are then reported, a month later, with an estimation on cost for purchasing the necessary testing equipment and competitors’
products to top management for authorization to proceed. Once approved and the competitors’
products are purchased, detailed technical analysis and component break down analysis are to be processed to understand the complete structure. With the basic knowledge of competitors’
products, Energyled is able to design its own distinctive product.
Planning and designing of the new UV LED product is estimated to take around two months, including feasibility testing. Prototypes are made to conduct necessary tests. If the results are not feasible, then modifications are made until the product is at its possible best.
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Once with a prototype is finalized, further tests including all internal basic testing, external safety testing and the fulfillment of all UV lighting related requirements, are processed for the next two months. Results are confirmed for each testing, continuously making modification when necessary.
Shortly after halfway through the development progress when the design is finalized and initial testing shows promising results, the engineering team would make an official internal announcement about this new product to all department heads. Prototype design and technical specifications are presented with a hands-on experience to have a better understanding of the product. At this point, sales and marketing teams will join to start working on the marketing plan and contacting potential customers. Updates are reported on a weekly basis, until final approval is made by top management to launch the product onto the market, which is estimated to be six months since project kickoff.
Figure 7. UV LED lighting product development roadmap.
Marketing Strategies
Successful penetration of a new market will require quite an amount of time if the company’s brand is not that well-known to the general public. The quickest way to build up a reputation within the UV LED lighting industry is to cooperate with a big business on a successful project. Providing an assortment of products to meet customers’ need at an
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acceptable price is offered through different distribution channels is the basic considerations for marketing strategies. Most importantly is the promotion method that Energyled will need to work more on in order to increase customer’s knowledge of its brand and products. Thus, the 4P’s based on Energyled’s standpoint are considered in relation to the 4C’s of customer views.
Product – Customer Need
Generic UV LED products are provided to customers in forms of light tubes and lamps, with the core value of providing best quality. Light tubes are in various shapes and sizes from T5 to T8 and from 2 to 5 inches. Lamps can be made in forms of MR, PAR or bulbs. With such assortment, Energyled is also open to customized requests from customers to fulfill their special needs.
Price – Cost
The price of the new product would very likely be higher than the average price of the competitors, but quality is guaranteed. Once the customers see and experience the product, they will see the worthiness of the cost. They will be satisfied enough to continuously purchase from Energyled and become a loyal customer. One thing to note is if the purchase order is large enough to reach certain thresholds, price can be lowered.
Place – Convenience
As a B2B company, there is only two possible channels for customers to purchase the product. The first channel, which is to directly order from the company. Once the sales team receives contact via phone or e-mail, they will respond at the quickest. If the inquiry is domestic, a salesman can visit to discuss face-to-face at the customer’s convenience. The second channel is directly from Energyled’s authorized dealers. Through them, customers in different areas around the globe can be serviced at a faster pace due to accessibility.
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First and foremost is to let the LED lighting association know about Energyled’s new product in the UV LED market and release articles regarding this great achievement. Product information are to be added onto the company’s website, including news release. And to increase the likelihood of the product to show up on the first result page of search engines, adding some search words to the coding of the website is a necessity. Search words including
“UV,” “ultraviolet,” “UV LED,” and the product name itself. To further increase exposure, Energyled can continue to build up its access through social media, such as LinkedIn, Instagram and Facebook. These are also ways for customers to communicate with the company.
As per Table 3, Energyled is weaker in the area of brand awareness. Other than increasing its brand recognition on social media, it is also critical to let other businesses be aware of this company. Ways to do so may include attending exhibitions, LED meetings and lighting events. It would be good idea to join events outside of the lighting associations and into the targeted application associations. For example, when trying to find potential customers in the UV lighting industry, sales people can attend UV association events and present oneself.
Other good options to increase brand awareness include sponsoring events where the brand logo is widely shown or collaborating with bigger companies to have its name exposed beside the famous brands.
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