Consider the different means of differentiating products and services.

Which ones have the most

impact on your choices? Why?

The different means of differentiating products as discussed in our textbook include:

form, features, customization, performance quality, conformance quality, durability, reliability,

repairability, and style (Kotler & Keller, 2012). Of these features, durability, reliability and style

have the most impact on my decisions to purchase a product. I want to be able to have different

needs satisfied from a particular product and when it offers different features it makes the

product more attractive and cost effective, rather than me having to buy other products to

supplement. For example if I want to purchase a new phone, I want the phone to be durable

enough under normal everyday use, and maybe the occasional drop on the ground. Some features

may include a tough plastic casing or maybe metal surround built to protect from falls. If these

features exist and the phone is marketed as durable, then I don’t need to pay an additional $15

for a screen protector or $20 - $40 for a phone case. Style would simply be a factor of the size,

color and distinctiveness of the phone over other phones.

The main service differentiators are ordering ease, delivery, installation, customer

training, customer consulting, and maintenance and repair (Kotler & Keller, 2012). I feel when it

comes to services I prefer ordering ease, delivery, maintenance and repair that have the most

impact on my choices. If it is easy to order the service via phone or internet I am all for it

because I do not like to spend a lot of time trying to figure out how to submit an order or going

through many screens to submit my information. The easier and more efficient the better it is.

This also leads to delivery. I do not want to take my car in for an oil change only to have to wait

an hour and a half and instead of completing the oil change you provide me a list of recommend

services to increase my bill. The service should be delivered efficiently and I should get what I

asked for not the attempts to pull more money from me. Finally, maintenance and repair are
important to me because when I know I can contact a support number for assistance 24/7 I know

that the company values customer service. A long-lasting no hassle return policy or warranty are

also delighters when it comes to service especially after the product has already been purchased.

References

Kotler, P., & Keller, K. (2012). Marketing Management. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey:
Prentice Hall.