Launching and re-launching high technology products

This article attempts to describe the main strategies that are available to the manager of a high-tech product at three defining points: the launch; the development of the whole product; the re-launch. Normally introductory efforts are focused on the launch stage only. It is argued that the re-launch should be an integral part of the introductory strategy, signalling a new phase in the development of a product. Before being re-launched, the 'whole' product must be developed so as to appeal to the pragmatists in a sector in the mainstream market. It is argued that the launch stage and the re-launch stage are best thought of as comprising four steps: market preparation, targeting, followed by positioning and finally the execution or attack step. These four steps are common to launch and re-launch but the tactics adopted within each are quite different. © 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.