The technology market is one of the most competitive landscapes. Without constant innovation and introduction of new products, it may be quite difficult for technology firms to thrive in the long run. Nevertheless, introducing a new product presents a significant moment for an organization as shifts in strategy, organizational structure, business units, and processes are often involved (Hill & Jones, 2012). Accordingly, the process must be carefully managed to ensure the desired outcomes are achieved, especially in terms of stakeholder involvement and communication (Thompson & Martin, 2010). These two aspects will be particularly important as Tex Technologies Limited (Tex) introduces a new product in the increasingly promising consumer drones market. This paper provides a plan for the introduction of the new product, specifically focusing on the strategy for the new product launch, key internal stakeholders to be involved, and communication strategy.

Company Background: Name, Mission, and Vision

Established in 2000, Tex is a fictitious technology firm involved in the design, development, production, and marketing of a range of consumer technology products, including digital watches, virtual reality headsets, as well as consumer applications. The company seeks to make life easier, funnier, and more fascinating for the consumer by delivering innovative, everyday technology products. The company is headquartered in San Francisco, California and has operations throughout the U.S. In a little less than two decades, the company has achieved tremendous success as exemplified by the considerable increase in its customer base, customer satisfaction levels, and financial performance. In the next five years, the company seeks to increase its presence to more regions within the U.S. and outside the U.S., specifically in Canada and the UK. Launching a new product has been identified as an appropriate route for achieving this route. This will be important for improving the firm's competitive advantage in the marketplace.

New Product Launch

The new product to be introduced is a consumer drone, dubbed as the Super Drone. The introduction of this product is particularly informed by the increasingly promising consumer drones market. Also, known as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), consumer drones have gained prominence in the last five years. In that short period of time, the use of consumer drones has transformed from a hobbyist affair to an everyday phenomenon. Drones now have applications in diverse areas, including product delivery, amateur photo and video taking, film making, property tours, 3D modeling, as well as recreation and aerial games. Projections indicate that the consumer drone market will grow tenfold in the next five years (Tractica, 2016).

Though there are now numerous consumer drones in the market, there is still a gap as the market is still growing. The Super Drone will have superior capabilities compared to most drones in the market. The drone will be easier to fly and will be able to film anything anywhere. Designed for not only amateur filmmakers, but also professional filmmakers and novice pilots, the drone will have a 360-degree camera, excellent shutter speed, a wide range of autonomous flight modes, a better touch screen controller, and unparalleled obstacle avoidance and sensing capabilities. It will provide an uninterrupted flying experience, unmatched durability, more responsive controls, an onboard micro SD card, and virtual reality capabilities. These unique features will come at...
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First, it will broaden the firm's product portfolio, hence increasing revenue streams. Indeed, the importance of product diversification in today's business world cannot be overemphasized (Hill & Jones, 2012). Overreliance on a single or a few products often exposes a firm to the negative consequences of diminishing growth and sales decline at the end of the product lifecycle (Samson & Bevington, 2012). Diversifying revenue streams will significantly enhance the firm's financial performance, consequently giving the firm greater financial muscle to pursue opportunities in the market.

Strategy Implementation: Key Internal Stakeholders

For the new product to be successfully introduced, extensive involvement of employees will be crucial. Indeed, little or no employee involvement is one of the factors responsible for the failure of most strategic plans (Thompson & Martin, 2010). As internal stakeholders, employees require to be engaged throughout the entire strategic implementation process -- from initiation to product design, and launch. The need to involve employees in strategic implementation is particularly informed by the fact that employees are directly involved in executing the strategic plan. When employees are involved, they are more likely to be more committed to the goals and objectives of the plan.

An important stakeholder in the strategic implementation process is the top management. Strategic plans are often initiatives of the management. The management assesses the organization's strengths and weaknesses, identifies opportunities in the market, and plans how to exploit those opportunities. The role of the management involves not only creating the strategic plan and overseeing its implementation, but also mobilizing and providing the necessary resources (Hill & Jones, 2012). Introducing a new product is without a doubt a resource-intensive undertaking, requiring processes such as research and development (R&D), procurement, product testing, and marketing, hence the need for management commitment.

In most cases, it is prudent for the management to constitute a team to implement the project (Hayes, 2014). This ensures more specific accountability for the project. As introducing the new product involves several diverse processes, the project team should be drawn from different functions within the organization. In this case, it will be important to have a team comprising representatives from the top management, R&D, finance, sales and marketing, procurement, and human resource. From each of these functions, individuals with outstanding skills, capabilities, knowledge, and experience will be selected to participate in the project team. Having representatives for the various functions in the team is important for ensuring perspectives touching on each function are included in the strategic implementation process (Hayes, 2014). For instance, sales and marketing personnel will provide insights about packaging and promotion, while human resource personnel will ensure effective selection and training of personnel in regards to the new product. In essence, having an inclusive team will be crucial for the success of the project.

Stakeholder Communication

As mentioned earlier, employees comprise one of the important stakeholders as far as the implementation of the new strategic plan is concerned. As…