DEVELOPING THE

MARKETING MIX
Understanding The Product
UNDERSTANDING THE PRODUCT
Understanding the Product: Introduction
■ Company exist because they have products to offer the
market. The kind of products that the companies have and
the way those products are being offered will spell the
difference between a good product, not-so-good products,
and a bad product offering.
■ The challenge to companies or manufacturers is to develop
products that are sensitive to market needs.
■ If companies’ products do not satisfy its market, it will fail
unless product innovation or modification is done
Steps in Product Development
1. Idea Generation
– This is the initial stage in product development process wherein those
involved determine the new product to be offered to the market,
which begins by gathering ideas through brainstorming.
– Various product ideas may be gathered through different ways like
listening to news or reading newspapers and magazines , talking to
suppliers, getting customers’ feedback, attending seminars to know
new business trends, and through results of research.
– The best thing to do during the idea generation stage is to obtain as
much information as set by group, avoiding idea evaluation or
screening at this stage
2. Idea Screening
– This is the stage in product development where ideas gathered are
screened and evaluated. The objective of idea screening is to
eliminate poor or weak ideas . Companies must choose the most
feasible idea, taking into consideration the company’s resources
Steps in Product Development
3. Product Concept Developments and Concept Testing
– In this stage, new product idea is concretized into a meaningful
and understandable terms
– After the product concept development is the concept testing. In
this stage of new product development, the product concept is
tested to groups of target audience or market so as to determine
if the concept has indeed an excellent consumer appeal.
4. Market Strategy
– This involves different game plans of the company in relation to
product it intends to produce. Marketing strategy consists of the
strategy for the new product, its price, the strategy on product
distribution, and the product promotion to be used.
Steps in Product Development
5. Business Analysis
– This consists of the analysis of the general situation of a
company. This is making company assessment by
accomplishing what is called the Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities, Threats (SWOT) Analysis. Doing this type of
evaluation will help the company to fully understand what it
has to offer against what it needs to enhance. SWOT
Analysis is an environmental audit where companies
become aware of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities,
and various threats facing their product offerings
5. Business Analysis – SWOT Analysis
a. Strengths
– are known as internal positive. They refer to the various resources that the
company has such as capital, manpower, equipment, raw materials, and a good
method or system of doing things. Abundant supply of these resources and having
them in good quality are considered strengths of the company.
b. Weaknesses
– are known as internal negative. These refer to resources that a company does not
have or resources that a company has in limited supply such as the lack of
manpower or equipment thus, making it difficult for the company to aggressively
compete in the marketplace.
c. Opportunities
– are recognized as external positive. Opportunities are challenges in the market that
a company may consider to exploit to its advantage if it has sufficient and good
resources that it can utilize in order to compete.
d. Threats
– are obstacles that may hinder a company or limit its capabilities to achieve its goal.
Threats are the conditions outside the company, which a company does not have
the power to control. These conditions or situations may have an impact to the
company’s operations. Therefore, the company must be prepared to eliminate or
avoid threats.
Steps in Product Development
6. Budget
– The main consideration of any product development is the
capital involved in the process. All aspects of product
development, including product distribution and promotion,
involve budget.
7. Product Development
– This is the stage where actual production of the product is done.
8. Test Marketing
– Majority of companies produce and distribute products to
selected geographical location only. This is done in order for the
company to know product acceptability of the market before
going to full commercialization. However, if the company is very
confident about its new product, it may provide little or no test
marketing at all.
Steps in Product Development
9. Full/Product Commercialization
– Full-scale production and distribution are achieved at this
stage. It is expected that at this stage the company is now
ready to face its competitors with great hope that the new
product can provide not only profit on its part, but also
satisfaction of the needs and wants of its potential market.
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
❑ Product Life Cycle or PLC describes the movement of a product
through time.
❑ Like human beings and other living things, a product has a life
cycle, too. PLC has four stages.
❑ It provides the company an idea of how its products are accepted
by the market.
❑ Thus, it is essential for a company to know which stage in the PLC
is its product already and it must be able to look into the
marketing activities during the life span of the product.
STAGES OF PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
Stages of Product Life Cycle (PLC)
1. Introduction Stage
– Is the stage in The PLC where investment is high. Company spends in
terms of product promotion, production, and distribution.
– This is marked by slow growth and in most cases at this particular
stage, there is no profit yet.; or if there is profit gained, it is minimal or
low.
2. Growth Stage
– is where the product gains tremendous improvement in terms of
sales as the product becomes popular and widely accepted. With this
market response, profit also increases.
– However, it is at this stage where competitors or new players enter
into the same product category and fiercely compete with the existing
product.
Stages of Product Life Cycle (PLC)
3. Maturity Stage
– is where product growth and sales stabilize, since the product
has been in the market for a longer time.
4. Decline Stage
– is where profit continuously declines.
– At this stage, company decides whether to phase out the
product, maintain producing it, and reintroduce the product, or
sell the brand.
IMPORTANCE OF PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE
1. Companies will have enough time to think of possible product
replacement or enhancement for those products that have
reached the decline stage.
2. Companies will continuously think of a strategy to better serve its
market and prevent a product to advance toward the decline
stage.
3. Companies will become aware that sales and profit differ in
various stages.
4. Various departments in the company need to be made aware of
the location of the companies' product/s in the PLC, as well as on
how to successfully adapt marketing strategies at each stage of
the product life cycle.
PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE STRATEGIES
BRANDING
PRODUCT BRANDING
❑ Brand
– is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination thereof,
which identifies a seller’s products and differentiates them form
their competitors’ product.
– is composed of the logo or design that represents the product.
– Brand speaks about certain attributes of a product that consumers
are looking for.
❑ Brand Name
– is the word or words that represent the product.
– it is that part of a brand that can be spoken. It may consist of
words (Nokia, Bata), letters (KFC), and/or numbers (7-Eleven)
PRODUCT BRANDING
❑ Brand Mark is the design that goes with
the brand name. It is recognizable but
cannot be uttered. It refers to that part of
a brand that is a symbol or design, such
as the swoosh mark of Nike, or the bitten
apple of Apple products
❑ Trade Mark is a legal counterpart of a
brand; it refers to a word, symbol, name
or brand mark. It is a legal registration
indicating the owner’s exclusive right to
use a brand or some part of a brand.
❑ Trade Name is the full and legal name of
a firm and not the specific name of a
product
Choosing a Brand Name
❑ In starting any business, choosing a brand name must be considered. How
can you say that you have chosen the right brand name? What are the
criteria that need to be considered?
1. A good brand name must be distinct. The word must be closely
related with the product.
2. A good brand name is easy to pronounce and easy to remember. The
market must have no difficulty recalling or remembering the name or
brand of a product and must be able to say the brand name with
ease.
❑ Consideration in choosing a Brand name
a. those words that have malicious meaning and may be offensive to
others, or the term or brand name that is already in existence, will not
be permitted to be registered
b. the possibility of product expansion. It must not be too limiting to be
able to accommodate opportunities of expansion.
Benefits of Product Branding
1. The market will be able to distinguish one product from another.
Brand tells the buyer something about product quality. Buyers
who always buy the same brand know that they will get the same
features, benefits and quality (Armstrong and Kotler,2003).
2. Through the brand, a company will be able to sue unscrupulous
business people who copy the brand name of leading product
manufacturer. The government provides protection to the
registered owner of the brand.
3. Through brand name, a manufacturer can communicate the
benefits of the product offered to the market. This is called
positioning or creating a positive impression about a product.
PRODUCT PACKAGING
and
PRODUCT LABEL
PRODUCT PAGKAGING

❑ In order to appeal to its customers, organizations must

align all of the four elements of the marketing mix (4P's:
product, price, place and promotion) effectively.

❑ All four elements must focus on the target market. They

should create value by satisfying the customers’ needs
and wants.
PRODUCT PAGKAGING
❑ The following questions should be asked:
1. What need does it satisfy?
2. What value does it offer to its customer?
3. What makes it unique?
4. What is its Unique Selling Proposition (USP)?

❑ All of these must be answered with the product's target

market in mind. Any changes in any of the product's
features or attributes may necessitate a consequent
change in one or all of the other elements of the
marketing mix (price, place and promotion).
Tanduay Rhum “lapad” bottle
Happy Skin Cosmetics
SHOELACE BOX
For Görtz shoes, German creative agency Thjnk extended shoe laces
to give the impression that you are holding the shoes with it.
When packaging has
limitations, see you
can use them to your
advantage and work
them into an
awesome design
PRODUCT PAGKAGING
❑ Packaging
– refers to the process of making the wrapper, covering, or container
of a product or the product package.
– It involves company researches on the product’s Design, package
color, and packaging materials to be used.
❑ Product package
– refers to the container used by the company to protect, promote,
and transport its product. It has a product label or insert.
❑ Label
– is part of a product package that contains information about the
product that target what customers need to know, like the
ingredients used to produce the product the instructions for use,
safety information, or precautions in the case of chemicals,
medicines, and toys; manufacturing date and expiration date;
manufacturer's name, address, and logo.
PRODUCT PAGKAGING and PRODUCT LABEL
❑ Physical products have several added components:
1. Packaging
▪ serves to contain and protect, and sometimes, identify and
promote the product.
▪ A product's packaging is different from its label.
▪ Product packaging has several purposes:
a. It provides protection to the product.
b. It preserves the freshness of the product.
c. It assures easy handling and convenience of transport.
d. It can entice people to buy the product. A product's
package is considered the "silent salesman."
e. A product package speaks about the products quality
and gives impression about the company's reputation.
PRODUCT PAGKAGING
❑ When deciding on product packaging, four factors
must be considered;
a. the quantity of the product that should be contained
in the package,
b. physical attributes of the packaging that facilitate
customer use,
c. the legal requirements that packaging may comply
with, and
d. the most appropriate shape of the package.
PRODUCT PAGKAGING
❑ Companies must be aware of the various criteria for selecting packaging
materials like that of the brand name.
1. The product package must be able to provide sufficient product
protection.
2. Companies must consider the cost of packaging materials to be
used.
3. Packaging must have display value. It should be able to attract
market with the packaging color and design.
4. It must provide convenience for carrying the product. Most products
in the market are placed in packages that are not only good to look
at but also easy to carry.
5. In terms of product size, companies must consider product's
packaging size, as practiced by other firms within the same
industry.
Necessary Recipe Ingredients For A Successful Packaging Design

■ Category or product type

■ Brand
■ Variant: for products which offer more than one option
■ Functional benefit(s): what the product does
■ Reason(s)-to-believe: why the consumer should find the
claimed functional benefit credible
■ Emotional end-promise or benefit: how the functional
benefit fulfills a higher need
■ Call-to-action: why the consumer should buy it now
■ Size, weight, content details, etc.: practical information the
consumer needs to know
LEVELS OF PACKAGING
1. Primary package
– is the product's immediate container, like the bottle of
medicines, the plastic container of ice cream, among
others.
2. Secondary package
– refers to another package that protects the primary
package, like the box used to contain the bottle of
medicine. This is an added protection for handling
especially during transport.
3. Tertiary package
– refers to the bigger package that totally supports the
product like the big boxes that hold dozen of bottles or
dozen of smaller boxes for safety transport or product
shipment.
PRODUCT LABEL
❑ Physical products have several added components:
2. Labeling
▪ is a display of information about a product on its container,
packaging or the product itself.
▪ The following factors must be considered in deciding on the
labeling of a product:
a. Establish the image or personality of the product based on
the tastes and preference of the target market.
b. Determine the most important feature of the product to
the target market.
c. Determine where the product will be sold and the
applicable regulatory requirements, if any.
d. Determine the placement of the product in relation to
other products, particularly competitors.
PRODUCT LABEL

❑ Labels are, a product's "silent salesman" and labeling is not an

easy task considering that there are many other competitive
brands and products displayed on the same shelves, all trying to
attract the customer's attention.
❑ All food products must contain the name of the manufacturer,
country of origin, net content and its nutritional value table.
❑ lt must also include the product handling and preservation
requirements.
❑ Some marketers include other facts on their package label that
enhance marketability and even the customer's trust.
END OF PRESENTATION