Applying the Marketing Mix (5 Ps) to Bionanotechnology

This chapter, based on concepts developed for my book, NanoInnovation (Tomczyk, Nanoinnovation: What Every Manager Needs to Know, 2011), is one of the first attempts to evaluate nanotechnology in the context of the “marketing mix” – a conceptual challenge given that nanotechnology is not one product or even a set of products, but rather a technology that is incorporated in an expanding list exceeding a 1,000 products – encompassing materials, structures, processes, and devices. My purpose is to use this context to identify some of the critical issues and factors that will influence development of “nanotechnology markets” at this very early stage in the evolution of nanotechnology, and more specifically, bionanotechnology. As technological innovations continue to promote the market growth for nanotechnology, especially in the field of medicine and healthcare, sensemaking frameworks are needed to help decision makers keep pace with these evolving markets. One of the best frameworks is the “marketing mix” which has been used for decades to identify the controllable factors that decision makers can influence through marketing strategies. With so many game-changing innovations poised to move from nanotech research to commercialization, marketing issues are becoming increasingly important to decision makers in science/academia, business/venture development, and government/policymaking.