Ms 63

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MS-63 PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
1. Distinguish between the following giving suitable examples:
a) Shopping goods and Specialty goods:
Shopping goods are those products that consumers compare during the selection and purchase process. Typically, factors
such as price, quality, style, and suitability are used as bases of comparison. With shopping goods, consumers usually take
considerable time and effort in gathering information and making comparisons among products. Major appliances such as refrigerators
and televisions are typical shopping goods. Shopping goods are further divided into uniform and non uniform categories. Uniform
shopping goods are those goods that are similar in quality but differ in price. Consumers will try to justify price differences by
focusing on product features. Non uniform goods are those goods that differ in both quality and price.
Specialty goods are products with distinctive characteristics or brand identification for which consumers expend exceptional
buying effort. Specialty goods include specific brands and types of products. Typically, buyers do not compare specialty goods with
other similar products because the products are unique. Unsought goods are those products or services that consumers are not readily
aware of or do not normally consider buying. Life insurance policies and burial plots are examples of unsought goods. Often,
unsought goods require considerable promotional efforts on the part of the seller in order to attract the interest of consumers.
Shopping Goods Shopping goods are purchased only after the buyer compares the products of more than one store or looks
at more than one assortment of goods before making a deliberate buying decision. These goods are usually of higher value than
convenience goods, bought infrequently, and are durable. Price, quality, style, and color are typically factors in the buying decision.
Televisions, computers, lawnmowers, bedding, and camping equipment are all examples of shopping goods.
Because customers are going to shop for these goods, a fundamental strategy in establishing stores that specialize in them is
to locate near similar stores in active shopping areas. Ongoing strategies for marketing shopping goods include the heavy use of
advertising in local media, including newspapers, radio, and television. Advertising for shopping goods is often done cooperatively
with the manufacturers of the goods.
Specialty Goods Specialty goods are items that are unique or unusual—at least in the mind of the buyer. Buyers know
exactly what they want and are willing to exert considerable effort to obtain it. These goods are usually, but not necessarily, of high
value, and they may or may not be durable goods. They differ from shopping goods primarily because price is not the chief
consideration. Often the attributes that make them unique are brand preference (e.g., a certain make of automobile) or personal
preference (e.g., a food dish prepared in a specific way). Other items that fall into this category are wedding dresses, antiques, fine
jewelry, and golf clubs.
Producers and distributors of specialty goods prefer to place their goods only in selected retail outlets. These outlets are
chosen on the basis of their willingness and ability to provide a high level of advertising and personal selling for the product.
Consistency of image between the product and the store is also a factor in selecting outlets.
The distinction among convenience, shopping, and specialty goods is not always clear. As noted earlier, these classifications
are based on consumers' buying habits. Consequently, a given item may be a convenience good for one person, a shopping good for
another, and a specialty good for a third. For example, for a person who does not want to spend time shopping, buying a pair of shoes
might be a convenience purchase. In contrast, another person might buy shoes only after considerable thought and comparison: in this
instance, the shoes are a shopping good. Still another individual who perhaps prefers a certain brand or has an unusual size will buy
individual shoes only from a specific retail location; for this buyer, the shoes are a specialty good.
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b) Product Line and Product Mix:
Product line is total number of products line available with company.

E.G. HLL(Uniliver) has different product line like one for soap line, one for detergent line, one for toothpaste line. this all are called
product lines of uniliver ltd.
Product mix include quality of product, packaging of product, etc. issue related to product.
Difference Between Product Line & Product Mix:
The product mix includes four elements. The Width of the assortment refers to how many product lines the company
markets. The Length signifies how many products a given line includes. The term Depth touches on how many versions of a given
product a line offers. Finally, Consistency denotes the uniformity relative to how products are used by consumers, or by how they are
produced or distributed. For example, an automotive manufacturer could be two product lines "wide:" cars and trucks. The car line
"length" could run from sub-compact to full-size, four or five cars long. Within the car line, their sub-compact could offer a "deep"
portfolio: a two-door coupe, a four-door sedan and a hatchback, all offered in base, mid-range, higher-end and sport trim: 12 models.
Finally, much of an auto manufacturer's product mix is consistent in that they use gasoline motors to transport people and goods, and
sell via independent franchises.
In managing product lines and overall mix, companies have turned to a model worked out by global business management
consulting firm the Boston Consulting Group. The BCG model created a matrix based on market growth rate and relative market share
to gauge a given product's profitability. Stars show high growth and high market share, and can be highly profitable. Cash Cows have
high market share but low growth, usually products that have been on the market for some time. Problem Children have low market
share but show potential for lots of growth. The uncertainty makes for the riskiest investments among companies. Finally, the low-
growth, low-share Dogs eventually get dropped from the portfolio when sales fall below a threshold that doesn't support their own
production and distribution costs.
c) Product Positioning and Product Differentiation:
Product Positioning :
In marketing, positioning has come to mean the process by which marketers try to create an image or identity in the minds of
their target market for its product, brand, or organization.
The original work on Positioning was consumer marketing oriented, and was not as much focused on the question relative to
competitive products as much as it was focused on cutting through the ambient "noise" and establishing a moment of real contact with
the intended recipient. In the classic example of Avis claiming "No.2, We Try Harder", the point was to say something so shocking (it
was by the standards of the day) that it cleared space in your brain and made you forget all about who was #1, and not to make some
philosophical point about being "hungry" for business.
Although there are different definitions of Positioning, probably the most common is: identifying a market niche for a brand,
product or service utilizing traditional marketing placement strategies (i.e. price, promotion, distribution, packaging, and competition).
Also positioning is defined as the way by which the marketers creates impression in the customers mind.
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Positioning is a concept in marketing which was first introduced by Jack Trout ( "Industrial Marketing" Magazine-
June/1969) and then popularized by Al Ries and Jack Trout in their bestseller book "Positioning - The Battle for Your Mind."
(McGraw-Hill 1981)
This differs slightly from the context in which the term was first published in 1969 by Jack Trout in the paper "Positioning" is
a game people play in today’s me-too market place" in the publication Industrial Marketing, in which the case is made that the typical
consumer is overwhelmed with unwanted advertising, and has a natural tendency to discard all information that does not immediately
find a comfortable (and empty) slot in the consumers mind. It was then expanded into their ground-breaking first book, "Positioning:
The Battle for Your Mind," in which they define Positioning as "an organized system for finding a window in the mind. It is based on
the concept that communication can only take place at the right time and under the right circumstances".
What most will agree on is that Positioning is something (perception) that happens in the minds of the target market. It is the
aggregate perception the market has of a particular company, product or service in relation to their perceptions of the competitors in
the same category. It will happen whether or not a company's management is proactive, reactive or passive about the on-going process
of evolving a position. But a company can positively influence the perceptions through enlightened strategic actions.
Product positioning process
Generally, the product positioning process involves:
1. Defining the market in which the product or brand will compete (who the relevant buyers are)
2. Identifying the attributes (also called dimensions) that define the product 'space'
3. Collecting information from a sample of customers about their perceptions of each product on the relevant attributes
4. Determine each product's share of mind
5. Determine each product's current location in the product space
6. Determine the target market's preferred combination of attributes (referred to as an ideal vector)
7. Examine the fit between:
o The position of your product
o The position of the ideal vector
8. Interest and started a conversation, you'll know you're on the right track.
Positioning concepts
More generally, there are three types of positioning concepts:
1. Functional positions
o Solve problems
o Provide benefits to customers
o Get favorable perception by investors (stock profile) and lenders
2. Symbolic positions
o Self-image enhancement
o Ego identification
o Belongingness and social meaningfulness
o Affective fulfillment
3. Experiential positions
o Provide sensory stimulation
o Provide cognitive stimulation
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Measuring the positioning
Positioning is facilitated by a graphical technique called perceptual mapping, various survey techniques, and statistical
techniques like multi dimensional scaling, factor analysis, conjoint analysis, and logic analysis.
Product differentiation
A marketing process that showcases the differences between products. Differentiation looks to make a product more
attractive by contrasting its unique qualities with other competing products. Successful product differentiation creates a competitive
advantage for the seller, as customers view these products as unique or superior.
Investopedia Says:
Product differentiation can be achieved in many ways. It may be as simple as packaging the goods in a creative way, or as
elaborate as incorporating new functional features. Sometimes differentiation does not involve changing the product at all, but creating
a new advertising campaign or other sales promotions instead.
In marketing, product differentiation (also known simply as "differentiation") is the process of distinguishing a product or
offering from others, to make it more attractive to a particular target market. This involves differentiating it from competitors' products
as well as a firm's own product offerings.
This is done in order to demonstrate the unique aspects of a firm's product and create a sense of value. Marketing textbooks
are firm on the point that any differentiation must be valued by buyers (e.g.). The term unique selling proposition refers to advertising
to communicate a product's differentiation.
In economics, successful product differentiation leads to monopolistic competition and is inconsistent with the conditions for
perfect competition, which include the requirement that the products of competing firms should be perfect substitutes. There are three
types of product differentiation: 1. Simple: based on a variety of characteristics 2. Horizontal : based on a single characteristic but
consumers are not clear on quality 3. Vertical : based on a single characteristic and consumers are clear on its quality.
The brand differences are usually minor; they can be merely a difference in packaging or an advertising theme. The physical
product need not change, but it could. Differentiation is due to buyers perceiving a difference, hence causes of differentiation may be
functional aspects of the product or service, how it is distributed and marketed, or who buys it. The major sources of product
differentiation are as follows.
• Differences in quality which are usually accompanied by differences in price

• Differences in functional features or design
• Ignorance of buyers regarding the essential characteristics and qualities of goods they are purchasing
• Sales promotion activities of sellers and, in particular, advertising
• Differences in availability (e.g. timing and location).
The objective of differentiation is to develop a position that potential customers see as unique. The term is used frequently
when dealing with freemium business models, in which businesses market a free and paid version of a given product. Given they
target a same group of customers, it is imperative that free and paid versions be effectively differentiated.
Differentiation primarily impacts performance through reducing directness of competition: As the product becomes more
different, categorization becomes more difficult and hence draws fewer comparisons with its competition. A successful product
differentiation strategy will move your product from competing based primarily on price to competing on non-price factors (such as
product characteristics, distribution strategy, or promotional variables).
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Most people would say that the implication of differentiation is the possibility of charging a price premium; however, this is a
gross simplification. If customers value the firm's offer, they will be less sensitive to aspects of competing offers; price may not be one
of these aspects. Differentiation makes customers in a given segment have a lower sensitivity to other features (non-price) of the
product.
2. Explain the various interpretation of the term new product giving suitable examples.
The various interpretation of the term new product :
Product Development:
Definition: The overall process of strategy, organization, concept generation, product and marketing plan creation and
evaluation, and commercialization of a new product
Innovative new products are the fuel for the most powerful growth engine you can connect to. You can grow without new products--
AT&T sold essentially the same telephones for decades while becoming the world's largest telecommunications concern--but
most small companies will find it difficult to grow at all, much less rapidly, without a constant stream of new products that meet
customer needs.
How do you know when you need new products? Early detection of a problem with existing products is critical. The
following eight symptoms of a declining product line will provide clues far enough in advance to help you do something about the
problem before it's too late. Not all the symptoms will be evident in every situation, but you can start suspecting your product line
when more than just one or two crop up.
1. You're experiencing slow growth or no growth. A short-term glitch in product sales can happen any time. If, however, company
revenue either flattens or declines over an extended period, you have to look for explanations and solutions. If it isn't the economy or
some outside force beyond your control, if your competitors didn't suddenly become more brilliant, if you still have confidence in
your sales force, and if there are no major problems with suppliers, examine your product line.
2. Your top customers are giving you less and less business. It may not be worth your trouble to determine your exact market share
when a rough idea of where you stand will suffice. But knowing how much business you get compared to your competitors is critical.
Every piece of business your competitors are getting is business you aren't getting--and may never get. If your customers' businesses
are growing and the business you get from them isn't, your product may be the culprit. Chances are, someone else is meeting your
customers' needs.
3. You find yourself competing with companies you've never heard of.If you've never heard of a new competitor or don't know
much about them, watch out! They have found a way to jump into a market with new products and technology that could leave you
wondering what hit you. It might not be that your product has a fundamental flaw. It's more often the case that someone has brought
innovation to the industry. You earn no points for status quo thinking.
4. You're under increasing pressure to lower your prices. No one likes to compete strictly on price. When your product is clearly
superior and offers more value than lower-priced competitors, you don't have to. Everyone understands that great new products
eventually run their course and turn into commodities. One day, a customer tells you she can't distinguish the benefits of your widget
from those of one or more of your competitors, and now you are in a price squeeze. If you want the business, you have to lower your
prices to stay competitive. If that was where it ended, things might stabilize, although at a lower price level. But lower prices usually
mean lower profit margins, which usually mean less investment in keeping the product current, which means more price pressure,
lower margins? and so it goes.
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5. You're experiencing higher-than-normal turnover in your sales force. Good salespeople want to win customers so they can
make more money. When they have trouble competing, they can't win customers or make money. So they look for new opportunities
and challenges that will bring them what they want. You'll always have turnover, but heavy turnover is a symptom of something very
wrong. It could be an ill-advised change in the compensation scheme or a new sales manager coming in with a negative attitude. But it
could also be that members of your sales team are frustrated because they're having trouble selling your products. When business
owners start to pressure their sales forces to get order levels up, morale drops because the salespeople know there isn't much they can
do.
6. You're getting fewer and fewer inquiries from prospective customers. We all dread the time when the phone stops ringing and
prospects stop coming in. When advertising or other forms of promotion aren't creating the results you want, and you see fewer
positive results from the money spent, something could be wrong with the way customers see your company. An obsolete product line
positions you as an obsolete company.
7. Customers are asking for product changes you can't or don't want to make. Here is a not-too-subtle sign that your product may
no longer meet market needs. There will be times when you have to decide whether filling a customer's request is in your company's
best interests. When customers say "I want it this way," you may want to say no because you doubt you could ever recover the costs of
the change, even by raising the selling price. But when the customer says "I want it this way, and it's standard at ABC Widgets," you
should suspect you aren't keeping up with changing customer needs. When your competitors have leapt ahead of you in features and
benefits, you must either catch up or leap ahead of them with innovations of your own, or you'll fall so far behind you become a
marketplace postscript.
8. Some of your competitors are leaving the market. In the short term, this sounds great. Your competitors drop out, and you pick
up the business they leave behind. The pie is shrinking, and as it does, business gets better than ever. But beware: This is a classic
signal of a declining market. Nobody walks away from a growth business. Vibrant growth markets attract new competitors; they don't
discourage them.
If you decide to develop new products as part of your growth plan, you're in good company. Small companies like yours
contribute at least half of the major industrial innovations occurring in the United States, according to the SBA. At the same time,
approximately one-third of all new products are unsuccessful, and in some industries the percentage of failures is much higher. The
way to increase your chances of coming up with good ideas is to follow the tested track to new product development success.
New product development can be described as a five-stage process, beginning with generating ideas and progressing to marketing
completed products. In between are processes where you evaluate and screen product ideas, take steps to protect your ideas, and
finalize design in an R&D stage. Following are details on each stage:
• Generating ideas. Generating ideas consists of two parts: creating an idea and developing it for commercial sale.
There are many good techniques for idea creation, including brainstorming, random association and even daydreaming. You may
want to generate a long list of ideas and then whittle them down to a very few that appear to have commercial appeal.
• Evaluating and screening product ideas. Everybody likes their own ideas, but that doesn't mean others will. When
you are evaluating ideas for their potential, it's important to get objective opinions. For help with technical issues, many companies
take their ideas to testing laboratories, engineering consultants, product development firms, and university and college technical
testing services. When it comes to evaluating an idea's commercial potential, many entrepreneurs use the Preliminary Innovation
Evaluation System (PIES) technique. This is a formal methodology for assessing the commercial potential of inventions and
innovations.
• Protecting your ideas. If you think you've come up with a valuable idea for a new product, you should take steps to
protect it. Most people who want to protect ideas think first of patents. There are good reasons for this. For one thing, you will find it
difficult to license your idea to other companies, should you wish to do so, without patent protection. However, getting a patent is a
lengthy, complicated process, and one you shouldn't embark on without professional help; this makes the process expensive. If you
wish to pursue a patent for your ideas, contact a registered patent attorney or patent agent.
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• Many firms choose to protect ideas using trade secrecy. This is simply a matter of keeping knowledge of your ideas,
designs, processes, techniques or any other unique component of your creation limited to yourself or a small group of people. Most
trade secrets are in the areas of chemical formulas, factory equipment, and machines and manufacturing processes. The formula for
Coca-Cola is one of the best-recognized and most successful trade secrets.
• Finalizing design research and development. Research and development is necessary for refining most designs for
new products and services. As the owner of a growing company, you are in a good position when it comes to this stage. Most
independent inventors don't have the resources to pay for this costly and often protracted stage of product introduction. Most lenders
and investors are trapped by a Catch-22 mentality that makes them reluctant to invest in ideas until after they're proven viable in the
marketplace. If you believe in your idea, you can be the first to market.
• R&D consists of producing prototypes, testing them for usability and other features, and refining the design until
you wind up with something you think you can make and sell for a profit. This may involve test-marketing, beta testing, analysis of
marketing plans and sales projections, cost studies, and more. As the last step before you commit to rolling your product out, R&D is
perhaps the most important step of all.
• Promoting and marketing your product. Now that you have a ready-for-sale product, it's time to promote, market
and distribute it. Many of the rules that apply to existing products also apply to promoting, marketing and distributing new products.
However, new products have some additional wrinkles. For instance, your promotion will probably consist of a larger amount of
customer education, since you will be offering them something they have never seen before. Your marketing may have to be broader
than the niche efforts you've used in the past because, odds are, you'll be a little unsure about the actual market out there. Finally,
you may need to test some completely new distribution channels until you find the right place to sell your product.
3) Comment upon the significance of branding for consumer products in today’s competitive marketing environment.
The significance of branding for consumer products in today’s competitive marketing environment is
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We do lots of research to help us understand why people advocate for brands (and why they don't). We ask lots of questions
to try and understand brands' relationships, roles, strengths and appeal. One thing is abundantly clear, brands who have the most
advocates are a significant part of the customers' lives. One telling question we always ask customers is, "what would you do, or how
would you feel, if this brand was taken away from you?" If your customer's response is, "no big deal, I'd find another brand", than
you've got a problem.
Here are four ways brands can be significant to their customers.
Functional Significance
A brand that works for the customer. It solves a problem or changes their life, routine or tasks for the better. Or at least, better
than others.
Think Blackberry.
Personal Significance
A brand that fully integrated into someone's life. People are physically are mentally committed to it. Beyond functionality, it
offers an emotional value that people count on.
Think ING Direct.
Cultural Significance
A brand that helps express yourself as part of the times, the fashion, or a group of people that live, think and act like you (or
at least aspire to be perceived as such).
Think Target.
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Social Significance
A brand, that beyond defining your standing among others, helps connect you with them as well. It's a conduit and a reason to
be friends with others. Friends and connections you wouldn't share without this brand.
Think Harley-Davidson.
Significance leads to advocacy. How significant is your brand? What would your customers do if your brand ceased to exist?
Understanding how your brand truly matters to people can help reshape how you look at marketing and strategy. It can turn
differentiating positioning statements into meaningful purpose statements. And it can turn buyers into advocates.
4) Discuss the importance of packaging for a marketer of
i) Fast moving consumer goods
FMCG Packaging
We are a reputed organization known for manufacturing and supplying a wide range of FMCG packaging. Our range comprises
of confectionery, biscuits & snacks, tea / coffee, spices & pickles, ORS packaging and others. These are known for keeping the
freshness, aroma, taste and flavor of the food items. We offer these packaging material in various shapes and sizes as required by our
clients.
Confectionery Packaging Material
Meeting the requirement of the confectionery industry, we offer a high quality range of confectionery packaging materials.
These confectionery packaging materials are hygienically manufactured using food grade plastic to maintain the color, flavor and
nutrition values of content for a long period of time. It is suitable for high speed production lines (HFFS) and is in tune with
international quality standards. These confectionery packaging materials is known for enhancing the shelf life, brand image and
marketability of confectionery products. Moreover, these ensures moisture resistance, durability, freshness and tastes of the food
items.
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We offer these packaging material in vibrant and attractive colors, which increases their aesthetic value. This has helped us in
creating a superior brand image amidst our clients with our excellent confectionery packaging materials.
Common Structures:
• PET / MET-PET / POLY

• PET / POLY
• PET / MET BOPP
• PET / MET CPP
• MET PET (TWIST WARP)
Biscuits & Snacks
Biscuit Packaging
For keeping the biscuits fresh, crispy, crunchy and tasty for long duration, we offer packaging material for Biscuits. Biscuits
are soft and thus require proper packaging to avoid them from humidity and any kind of damage. Our team of professionals pays
attention to minutest details, while manufacturing our Biscuits Packaging Material. These are manufactured using premium quality
raw material procured from reliable vendors. Furthermore, these are laminated to achieve optimum durability, retaining the freshness
and flavor of biscuits for long time. To make the packaging attractive, we offer these in contemporary and eye catching designs of
alluring colors.
Snacks Food Packaging
We provide a wide array of Snacks Food Packaging material to our domestic clients. With our quality range of Packaging
Material, we are able to gain an edge over our competitors. Our range of Snack food packaging material is manufactured in
accordance with international quality standards. These are hygienically prepared, airtight & moisture-free packets, which helps in
preserving the flavor, freshness and quality of preservatives used in these snacks. Our Snack Food Packaging Material is used to pack
all type of snacks like spicy snacks, cocktail snacks, pulse snacks, fried snacks, baked snacks, extruded snacks and many more.
Moreover, we make them visually appealing with snazzy print details.
Specifications:
Packaging Common Structure
Biscuit Packaging • BOPP / BOPP

• BOPP / MET BOPP
• PET / POLY
• PET / CPP
• PET / MET CPP
• PET / MET PET / POLY

Snack Food Packaging • PET / MET PET / POLY
• PET / MET BOPP
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• PET / MET CPP
• MATT BOPP / MET PET / POL
Tea / Coffee Packaging
We offer an extensive range of tea and coffee packaging material that is available in the common structure of PET / FOIL /
POLY, PET / POLY and PET / MET PET / POLY. These are in high demand owing to its quality feature of retaining the taste, color
and aroma of tea and coffee. Hence, these tea and coffee packaging material find application in tea and coffee industries across the
country.
Features:
• Excellent retention power

• Provides perfect barriers against dampness, dust particles and other contaminants
• Multicolored trendy patterns
• Printed by us using modern machinery
Spices & Pickles
Our comprehensive array of spices & pickles packaging material allows retaining the flavor, freshness, aroma and color of
spices & pickles. Manufactured in the structure of PET ro POLY, PET or MET, PET or POLY and PET or PET or POLY, these are
helpful in making them resistant to moisture. We make use of superior quality raw material in the fabrication of these packaging
material which keeps them free from dust and other contaminating items. This also ensures to keep spices & pickles mouthwatering
and delicious for a long time span.
Features:
• Four side sealed small packs

• Made using highest quality of food grade plastics
• Glossy and colorful tantalizing packaging
• No reaction with the ingredients of these products
Packaging Focus Areas
AVA packaging solutions is an independent packaging consultancy with extensive up-to-date industry experience of blue-
chip fast moving consumer goods, retailers, manufacturers and their suppliers; extensive experience in FMCG packaging including
food & drinks, cosmetics & toiletries and household categories.
6 key areas of focus
• Packaging innovation and development including project management

• Identification and delivery of effective cost reduction and sourcing strategies
• Fast speed-to-market
• Establishing and optimizing people and processes
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• Packaging specification and design software

• BRC-IOP Packaging standard and Hygiene consultancy
We have a proven record of delivering innovations and performance improvements to the market place and have won a number of
packaging innovation and merit awards. We also have a track record of delivering effective cost reductions and efficiencies.
We establish sourcing strategies for packaging materials and are adept at supplier evaluation and management. We have
successfully consolidated the supply base of blue-chip organizations to deliver cost benefits and controls. We are familiar with the
new BRC/IOP Packaging Standard and Alison is lead assessor qualified.
Our experience spans food and non-food within retail and manufacturing, in hands-on to strategic management roles in both UK
and international scope.
We work with all industry players, locally and internationally, obtaining the best from them and directing them to meet project
requirements to drive initiatives to successful implementation. Naturally, we are accomplished at project management, supplier
management, cost analysis and negotiation and establishing optimized teams and processes.We work with manufacturers, retailers,
design agencies & packaging suppliers to provide innovative strategies and hands-on solutions that work.
ii) Industrial goods
Packaging and packing: Industrial products
• LNE's standard services

• Tailor-made solutions
• Research activities
• Test Resources
• Recognized expertise
• Contacts
LNE is continually developing its test resources to meet the growing requirements of car parts manufacturers and companies
producing components for the electronics and ICT industries. Its comprehensive assessment services cover materials, components,
logistics and handling equipment, and transport packaging.
LNE’s standard services:
LNE Emballage
packaging certificate logo
• Characterization of materials (cardboard boxes, packaging film for industrial products, shock-absorbing materials, etc.)
• Assessment of a product's fragility in order to optimize its packaging
• Analysis of behaviour of packed industrial equipment in its mechanical and climatic environment
• Instrumented simulation of transport and distribution stresses
• Assistance in drawing up functional specifications
• Material reduction studies, optimization and validation of packaging solutions.
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Tailor-made solutions:
Tests on containers
(metal, plastic, GALIA-type boxes)
LNE will:
• optimize packaging in the context of Directive 94/62/EC on "packaging and packaging waste",
• determine stacking capacities for storage and transport
• perform packaging conformity tests according to the recommendations of French automobile industry coordination group
GALIA
• validate reusable packaging (box pallets, racks, handling devices, etc.)
• perform tests to a range of standards (NF H00-060, XP H50-014, ASTM D4169, GAM EMB, etc.)
• assess packaging to identify the causes of damage or deterioration
• provide training in the field of transport packaging for industrial products.
Research activities:
Development of test methods
to assess transport packaging performance
Packaging machinability studies
Optimization and modelling of packaging systems
Test Resources:
• - Drop area with a seismic mass of 250 tonnes

• - Lansmont drop tester
• - Mechanical vibration table
• - Hydraulic vibration table

• - Ling shaker
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• - Side impact inclined planes (large and small)

• - Revolving drum
• - Static compression system
• - Sea transport test bench
• - 20-tonne stacking frame
• - Dynamic compression systems (Martin and Franck presses)
• - Blocking tester
• - Airtightness and watertightness control systems
• - Climatic chambers
• - Pressure chambers
• - High-temperature furnace kiln
• - Lansmont shock measurement software
• - Specific software for measuring impact on an inclined plane (acceleration and impact speed recorded).
Recognized expertise:
ISTA logo
• LNE is certified by the International Safe Transit Association (ISTA).
• It is certified by the European Flexible Intermediate Bulk Container Association (EFIBCA).
• It is accredited by the European Pallet Association EPAL.
• It is a member of the European Committee for Standardization's working group on packaging test methods (CEN WG14).
• It is a member of the AFNOR standardization committee for primary packaging and transport packaging (CN5).
5) Briefly explain the concept of product life cycle. What in your view is the stage in which touch screen mobile phones are in
the Indian market? (If you so desire, you may select any other product of your choice). Based on your answer, suggest
appropriate promotion strategies.
Products - product life cycle
We define a product as "anything that is capable of satisfying customer needs. This definition includes both physical
products (e.g. cars, washing machines, DVD players) as well as services (e.g. insurance, banking, private health care).
Businesses should manage their products carefully over time to ensure that they deliver products that continue to meet
customer wants. The process of managing groups of brands and product lines is called portfolio planning.
The stages through which individual products develop over time is called commonly known as the"Product Life Cycle".
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The classic product life cycle has four stages (illustrated in the diagram below): introduction; growth; maturity and decline
Introduction Stage
At the Introduction (or development) Stage market size and growth is slight. it is possible that substantial research and
development costs have been incurred in getting the product to this stage. In addition, marketing costs may be high in order to test the
market, undergo launch promotion and set up distribution channels. It is highly unlikely that companies will make profits on products
at the Introduction Stage. Products at this stage have to be carefully monitored to ensure that they start to grow. Otherwise, the best
option may be to withdraw or end the product.
Growth Stage
The Growth Stage is characterised by rapid growth in sales and profits. Profits arise due to an increase in output (economies
of scale)and possibly better prices. At this stage, it is cheaper for businesses to invest in increasing their market share as well as
enjoying the overall growth of the market. Accordingly, significant promotional resources are traditionally invested in products that
are firmly in the Growth Stage.
Maturity Stage
The Maturity Stage is, perhaps, the most common stage for all markets. it is in this stage that competition is most intense as
companies fight to maintain their market share. Here, both marketing and finance become key activities. Marketing spend has to be
monitored carefully, since any significant moves are likely to be copied by competitors. The Maturity Stage is the time when most
profit is earned by the market as a whole. Any expenditure on research and development is likely to be restricted to product
modification and improvement and perhaps to improve production efficiency and quality.
Decline Stage
In the Decline Stage, the market is shrinking, reducing the overall amount of profit that can be shared amongst the remaining
competitors. At this stage, great care has to be taken to manage the product carefully. It may be possible to take out some production
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cost, to transfer production to a cheaper facility, sell the product into other, cheaper markets. Care should be taken to control the
amount of stocks of the product. Ultimately, depending on whether the product remains profitable, a company may decide to end the
product.
Examples
Set out below are some suggested examples of products that are currently at different stages of the product life-cycle:
INTRODUCTION GROWTH MATURITY DECLINE

Third generation mobile phones Portable DVD Players Personal Computers Typewriters
E-conferencing Email Faxes Handwritten letters
All-in-one racing skin-suits Breathable synthetic fabrics Cotton t-shirts Shell Suits
iris-based personal identity cards Smart cards Credit cards Cheque books
Most business is cyclical in nature. This trend is present in financial cycles and can be seen in the natural life of a product.
From product introduction to eventual decline, understanding the stages of a product's life cycle is critical to making accurate
marketing and business decisions. Successful product management requires maximizing the marketing effect and minimizing the sales
inhibiting impacts of each stage of a product's life.
Introduction Phase
1. The launching of a new product initiates the first stage of the product life cycle. Businesses should obtain patents or
trademarks at this stage of the product's life to prevent other companies from hedging into their product market. Proper
marketing to establish brand awareness and to quickly ramp up customer interest is essential in this first product stage. Most
companies tend to limit the distribution of a new product in order to gauge customer reactions and popularity and minimize
risks from a poor performing product.
Growth Phase
2. After a product has been introduced into the market and has a strong base established the product enters the growth phase.
The product's features, marketing messaging and support services are enhanced based on the reaction of customers during the
introduction phase of the product. These product refinements help increase product demand through targeting a wider
customer base. Products have little competition at this phase.
Maturity Phase
3. Growth becomes more stable and starts to slowly decline during the maturity phase due to the entrance of competitors.
Companies must differentiate their products through enhanced features or benefits to defend their market share. Discounts,
reduced pricing and promotions are common to encourage customers to choose the company's product over new arrivals.
Companies may try to expand distribution channels and develop new customer segments during the maturity phase.
Decline Phase
4.Market saturation occurs and product sales begin to decline. Companies extend the life of the product through adding new
features, reducing the cost or by selling the product to another company. At some point during the decline product phase, the
profits from a product do not justify the resources the company expends and the company will discontinue the product in
favor of newer, more profitable products.
Contributing Factors
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5. The length of each phase of a product's life cycle can vary based on the product category, the number of competitors and the
marketing efforts of the company. Companies that make frequent product modifications that appeal to consumers, keep the
product highly visible through advertising and provide strong product support can extend the product life and maximize
profits from each stage of a product's life
In my view the stage of touch screen mobile in India is in the stage of Maturity stage. Because once upon a time the touch
screen was being utlised only by the high class group of people. But now a day so many groups of people use the touch screen
mobiles. Because they are available in the cheapest rate for example @ the rate of Rs.3,000 onwards. Based on this view I can tell
that the Indian marketers can concentrate to sell the mobile phones even at the same price itself in order to keep up their market in the
maturity stage.
6) Taking the example of any product of your choice, discuss how you can generate new product ideas using:
i) Attribute analysis
Attribute Analysis
Quality Tools > Tools of the Trade > 41: Attribute Analysis
A popular game in creativity classes is to ask the attendees to make a list of all of the possible uses of a paper-clip. The more
creative people will construct a much longer list than other people. The basic technique that they use is Attribute Analysis, which is a
simple method of breakdown and analysis.
Before coming back to the paperclip, consider the simple engineering task of making improvements to a chair. The attributes
of the chair include the material used to make it, its shape, weight, rigidity, load-bearing capability, and so on. Attribute analysis
simply asks how the attributes can be varied, thinking creatively about these variations and how these vain. We can thus use wood,
metal or plastic but how about paper? make the chair large or small what about a pet’s chair?, flexible or rigid how could you turn a
briefcase into a chair? and so on.
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Breakdown trees can be used to help this decomposition and investigation of attributes. The diagram below shows a partial
breakdown of a standard office workspace. What is revealed is large numbers of possible areas for innovation..
Innovation is often considered problematic in service industries and other less tangible areas, but these, too, have attributes
with which you can invent. Deliveries have timescales and reliability, customers have satisfaction and loyalty, processes have cost
and capability, and so on.
So, back to the paperclip. Its attributes include: light, metal, small, flexible, strong, magnetic, long and thin, sharp end,
smooth corners, springiness, flat, plentiful. Some inventions could include a fishing hook (flexible, sharp, strong), wedding ring
(smooth, light), murder weapon (sharp, strong), musical instrument (springiness, long, plentiful) and so on.
An extension to the paperclip game is to divide the delegates into groups of two teams and ask each to list ten things you can
do with a paperclip and ten things you cannot do with a paperclip. The more creative groups will finish the ‘can’ list first and might
struggle with the ‘cannot’s, whist the negative-minded groups will reverse this, easily finding what cannot be done. This in itself can
be an interesting discussion point (although be careful about ‘turning off’ the negative groups). After discussing attribute analysis,
you then get the teams to swap lists and explain how the other team’s ‘cannots’ can be overcome. Very quickly, they will discover
that it is almost impossible to find things that the paper clip cannot do. Still do not believe this? Let us try a few. You cannot eat it?
Make it out of bread. You cannot live in it? Make a huge and hollow one out of industrial piping. You cannot read one? Make it out
of printed paper.
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If this all sounds like cheating then you are absolutely right. If cheating means breaking the rules and creativity is absolutely about
cheating. Look at the attributes and challenge the rules. A simple formula that can lead to amazing inventions.
II) Focous group
A focus group is a form of qualitative research in which a group of people are asked about their perceptions, opinions,
beliefs and attitudes towards a product, service, concept, advertisement, idea, or packaging. Questions are asked in an interactive group
setting where participants are free to talk with other group members. The first focus groups were created at the Bureau of Applied
Social Research by associate director, sociologist Robert K. Merton. The term itself was coined by psychologist and marketing
expert Ernest Dichter.
In Marketing
In the world of marketing, focus groups are seen as an important tool for acquiring feedback regarding new products, as well
as various topics. In particular, focus groups allow companies wishing to develop, package, name, or test market a new product, to
discuss, view, and/or test the new product before it is made available to the public. This can provide invaluable information about the
potential market acceptance of the product.
Focus Group is an interview, conducted by a trained moderator among a small group of respondents. The interview is
conducted in an unstructured and natural way where respondents are free to give views from any aspect.
In social sciences
In the social sciences and urban planning, focus groups allow interviewers to study people in a more natural setting than a
one-to-one interview. In combination with participant observation, they can be used for gaining access to various cultural and social
groups, selecting sites to study, sampling of such sites, and raising unexpected issues for exploration. Focus groups have a high
apparent validity - since the idea is easy to understand, the results are believable. Also, they are low in cost, one can get results
relatively quickly, and they can increase the sample size of a report by talking with several people at once.
In usability engineering
In the Usability engineering, focus group is a survey method to collect the views of users on a software or website. This
marketing method can be applied to computer products to better understand the motivations of users and their perception of the
product. Unlike other methods of ergonomics, focus group implies several participants: users or future users of the application. The
focus group can only collect subjective data, not objective data on the use of the application as the usability test for example.
Types of focus groups:
Variants of focus groups include:
 Two-way focus group - one focus group watches another focus group and discusses the observed interactions and
conclusion
 Dual moderator focus group - one moderator ensures the session progresses smoothly, while another ensures that all the
topics are covered
 Dueling moderator focus group - two moderators deliberately take opposite sides on the issue under discussion
 Respondent moderator focus group - one and only one of the respondents are asked to act as the moderator temporarily
 Client participant focus groups - one or more client representatives participate in the discussion, either covertly or overtly
 Mini focus groups - groups are composed of four or five members rather than 6 to 12
 Teleconference focus groups - telephone network is used
 Online focus groups - computers connected via the internet are used
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Traditional focus groups can provide accurate information, and are less expensive than other forms of traditional marketing
research. There can be significant costs however : if a product is to be marketed on a nationwide basis, it would be critical to gather
respondents from various locales throughout the country since attitudes about a new product may vary due to geographical
considerations. This would require a considerable expenditure in travel and lodging expenses. Additionally, the site of a traditional
focus group may or may not be in a locale convenient to a specific client, so client representatives may have to incur travel and
lodging expenses as well.
The use of focus groups has steadily evolved over time and is becoming increasingly widespread.
Benefits/strengths of focus group discussions
 Group discussion produces data and insights that would be less accessible without interaction found in a group setting—
listening to others’ verbalized experiences stimulates memories, ideas, and experiences in participants. This is also known as the
group effect where group members engage in “a kind of ‘chaining’ or ‘cascading’ effect; talk links to, or tumbles out of, the
topics and expressions preceding it” (Lindlof & Taylor, 2002, p. 182)
 Group members discover a common language to describe similar experiences. This enables the capture of a form of “native
language” or “vernacular speech” to understand the situation
 Focus groups also provide an opportunity for disclosure among similar others in a setting where participants are validated.
For example, in the context of workplace bullying, targeted employees often find themselves in situations where they experience
lack of voice and feelings of isolation. Use of focus groups to study workplace bullying therefore serve as both an efficacious and
ethical venue for collecting data.
Thus based on the above points as we have discussed we can generate new product ideas.
7) What are the objectives of test marketing? How would you go about test marketing new toothpaste?
Test Market:
A test market, in the field of business and marketing, is a geographic region or demographic group used to gauge the viability of
a product or service in the mass market prior to a wide scale roll-out. The criteria used to judge the acceptability of a test market
region or group include:
1. a population that is demographically similar to the proposed target market; and

2. relative isolation from densely populated media markets so that advertising to the test audience can be efficient and
economical.
Practical use of test markets:
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The test market ideally aims to duplicate 'everything' - promotion and distribution as well as 'product' - on a smaller scale. The
technique replicates, typically in one area, what is planned to occur in a national launch; and the results are very carefully monitored,
so that they can be extrapolated to projected national results. The `area' may be any one of the following:
 Television area
 Internet online test
 Test town
 Residential neighborhood
 Test site
A number of decisions have to be taken about any test market:
 Which test market?

 What is to be tested?
 How long a test?
 What are the success criteria?
The simple go or no-go decision, together with the related reduction of risk, is normally the main justification for the expense of
test markets. At the same time, however, such test markets can be used to test specific elements of a new product's marketing mix;
possibly the version of the product itself, the promotional message and media spend, the distribution channels and the price. In this
case, several `matched' test markets (usually small ones) may be used, each testing different marketing mixes.
Clearly, all test markets provide additional information in advance of a launch and may ensure that launch is successful: it is
reported that, even at such a late stage, half the products entering test markets do not justify a subsequent national launch. However,
all test markets do suffer from a number of disadvantages:
1. Replicability - Even the largest test market is not totally representative of the national market, and the smaller ones
may introduce gross distortions. Test market results therefore have to be treated with reservations, in exactly the same way
as other market research.
2. Effectiveness - In many cases the major part of the investment has already been made (in development and in plant,
for example) before the `product' is ready to be test marketed. Therefore, the reduction in risk may be minimal; and not
worth the delays involved. 'Competitor warning'. All test markets give competitors advance warning of your intentions, and
the time to react. They may even be able to go national with their own product before your own test is complete. They may
also interfere with your test, by changing their promotional activities (usually by massively increasing them) to the extent
that your results are meaningless.
3. Cost- Although the main objective of test markets is to reduce the amount of investment put at risk, they may still
involve significant costs.
Risk:
It has to be recognized that the development and launch of almost any new product or service carry a considerable element of
risk. Indeed, in view of the on-going dominance of the existing brands, it has to be questioned whether the risk involved in most major
launches is justifiable. In a survey of 700 consumer and industrial companies, Booz Allen Hamilton reported an average new product
success rate (after launch) of 65 percent; although it had to be noted that only 10 percent of these were totally new products and only
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20 per cent new product lines - but these two, highest risk, categories also dominated the `most successful' new product list
(accounting for 60 percent).
New product development has therefore to be something of a numbers game. A large number of ideas have to be created and
developed for even one to emerge. There is safety in numbers; which once more confers an advantage to the larger organizations.
Risk versus Time
Most of the stages of testing, which are the key parts of the new `product' process, are designed to reduce risk; to ensure that
the product or service will be a success. However, all of them take time.
In some markets, such as fashion businesses for example, time is a luxury which is not available. The greatest risk here is not
having the `product' available at the right time, and ahead of the competitors. These markets consequently obtain less benefit from the
more sophisticated new product processes, and typically do not make use of them at all.
'When' to enter a market with a new product should, in any case, be a conscious decision. In relation to competitors there are two
main alternatives:
 Pioneer - Being first into a market carries considerable risks. On the other hand, the first brand is likely to gain a major,
leading and on-going, share of that market in the long term. Pioneering is often the province of the smaller organizations, on a
small scale, since their investment can be that much less than that of the majors.
 Latecomer - This offers the reverse strategy. The risk is minimized since the pioneer has already demonstrated the viability of
the market. On the other hand, the related reward, that of becoming the market leader, may also be missed.
To a certain extent this discussion has now long since been overtaken by events. Japanese corporations led the way in reducing
development time dramatically, and even to halving it in the very mature car industry. To quote George Stalk of the Boston
Consulting Group:
"The effects of this time-based advantage are devastating; quite simply, American companies are losing leadership of technology
and innovation ... Unless U.S. companies reduce their product development and introduction cycles from 36-48 months to 12-18
months, Japanese manufacturers will easily out-innovate and outperform them."
Accordingly, the choice to pioneer or to follow no longer exists in a number of industries. The only way for an organization even
to survive may be to shorten development times below those of its competitors and for many others.
Product Replacement
One form of `new product launch' which is little discussed, but is probably the most prevalent - and hence most important - of
all, is that of replacement of one product by a new one; usually an `improved' version. The risk levels may be much reduced, since
there is an existing user base to underwrite sales (as long as the new product doesn't alienate them - as `New Coca-Cola' did in the US
and `New Persil' did in the UK). Such an introduction will be complicated by the fact that, at least for some time, there will be two
forms of the product in the pipeline. Some firms may opt for a straight cut-over; one day the old product will be coming off the
production line, and the next day the new product. Most will favour parallel running for a period of time, even if only because this is
forced upon them by their distribution chains. This ensures that the new really does, eventually, replace the old; and it may reveal that
both can run together.
Virtual Test Markets:

The considerable amounts of time and resources necessary to conduct test markets, restrict the amount of test markets which
can be conducted by companies. The risk to reveal a new product design too early is another concern for companies in fast moving
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and highly competitive markets, which is independent from any cost & time considerations. To overcome these limitations a new type
of test markets, so called Virtual Test Markets, was devised. Virtual Test Markets are computer simulations of consumers, companies
and the market environment. The technological basis for this kind of test market is a Multi-agent system as well as methods
from Artificial Intelligence. In a Virtual Test Market, new products or marketing and distribution strategies can be tested without the
risk and time constraints discussed above. Another advantage is the ability to test many different products in one Virtual Test Market
as the computer simulation can always be reset to the original situation before the introduction of a new product.
The objective of every organization is to earn profit through sales and hence test marketing provides all essential
information in advance and thus ensures that the launch is successful. However, for successful test marketing; there should be correct
selection of test market.
Test market should be smaller replica of the target market and should have similar population as that of
proposed target audience. In also includes duplication of the other marketing tools like promotion, distribution, pricing etc on
smaller scale. Thus, test marketing helps to gauge about the product in wider scale.
Test marketing results are very carefully observed and monitored before launching the product on larger scale,
nationally. Its helps the product launchers to know about the consumer behavior and their buying behavior. This in return provides an
opportunity to the organization to remove any flaws present in the product and thus help them to add new features (if needed)into the
product or bring about small changes as revealed by the test before launching the product nationally.
Test marketing can also be explained as forecasting sales in a controlled environment. Hence, inspite of its various
advantages, has certain limitations too…
* It’s not possible to find exact replica of target market. So, all test markets always have to be carried out with some exceptions like
other market research.
* One of the objectives of test marketing is to avoid huge loss for the company but still such test involves considerable investment and
hence its failure may also incur loss to the company.
* Time frame of test marketing depends upon the objective set by the company. Hence test marketing involves lot of time. This
provides its competitors an extra edge to launch its product before them.
* Gives its competitors a chance to know about the marketing strategy and about its product in advance.
* It alerts the competitors and thus provides more competition of itself.
However, in spite of its some limitations, test marketing provides its consumers an opportunity to react to test markets.
Thus, test marketing makes the organizations confident about their product and marketing strategy by providing valuable information
on customer’s response, promotion, price distribution and advertising media before launching it into the national level.
Thus based on the above points that we have discussed we can carry on the test marketing for a new tooth paste.
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MS-63 PRODUCT MANAGEMENT

1. Distinguish between the following giving suitable examples:

a) Shopping goods and Specialty goods:

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b) Product Line and Product Mix:

Product line is total number of products line available with company.

Difference Between Product Line & Product Mix:

c) Product Positioning and Product Differentiation:

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Product positioning process

Generally, the product positioning process involves:

More generally, there are three types of positioning concepts:

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Measuring the positioning

• Differences in quality which are usually accompanied by differences in price

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The various interpretation of the term new product :

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Here are four ways brands can be significant to their customers.

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4) Discuss the importance of packaging for a marketer of

i) Fast moving consumer goods

Confectionery Packaging Material

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• PET / MET-PET / POLY

Biscuits & Snacks

Snacks Food Packaging

Packaging Common Structure

Biscuit Packaging • BOPP / BOPP

• PET / MET PET / POLY

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• PET / MET CPP

• MATT BOPP / MET PET / POL

Tea / Coffee Packaging

• Excellent retention power

Spices & Pickles

• Four side sealed small packs

Packaging Focus Areas

6 key areas of focus

• Packaging innovation and development including project management

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• Packaging specification and design software

ii) Industrial goods

Packaging and packing: Industrial products

• LNE's standard services

LNE’s standard services:

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Development of test methods

to assess transport packaging performance

Packaging machinability studies

Optimization and modelling of packaging systems

• - Drop area with a seismic mass of 250 tonnes

• - Hydraulic vibration table

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• - Side impact inclined planes (large and small)

Products - product life cycle

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INTRODUCTION GROWTH MATURITY DECLINE