B2B Marketing

Dr. Ravi Shankar Bhakat

Assistant Professor
MDI Murshidabad
Product Decisions
Caselet
 Significance of Product Decisions
• Strategic Nature of Decisions/Important for
firm’s survival +growth
• Complex process with multiple implications
• Links various departments viz. R&D/
engineering, procurement/purchase/materials,
operations/manufacturing, marketing/sales
 Outline of Product Decisions
• Product Strategies
• Company Objectives – Marketing Goals
• Product Mix Decisions - Product Lines
• Development of New Products
• Introduction of New Products /PLC
• Performance Evaluation
• Work on the mkt feedback- eg. Focus,Continue,
Remove, Modify, Upgrade
 How Industrial Product Differs from
Consumer Products
• Not just a Physical or Tangible entity

• Technology Partnerships

• Legally Binding

• Financial/Economic aspects

• Other B2B relationships criteria

 Product Levels
• Core Product
• Basic Product
• Augmented Product

B2B Industrial Product requires more augmentation in terms of sales

service, maintenance, repair, personnel training etc.
*The Basic Product is developed based on the prevailing idea of
‘expected product’ by industrial users
 Product Decisions

• Product Mix decisions

– No. of Product lines (width)

– No. of offerings/models/variants/versions in each

line (depth)

• Product line decisions

– stretching, filling, prunning
 PLC Decisions

• Introduction
– trials, promotions

• Growth
– Product Upgrades/Variants Choice options

• Maturity & Growth

– Revisit product line range ,NPD
 NPD
• New Product Development

• Product modifications

• Filling existing product lines

• Abstract Ideas to Concrete Offerings

• Problem Solving /Systems Thinking/Design

Thinking/Customer Centric Approach
 Stages in New Product Development
• Idea Generation
• Screening Ideas
• Concept Testing
• Business Analysis
• Product Prototype Development/R&D
• Market Testing
• Commercialization
 e.g. Tata Ace
• Ideas from Market
– last mile distribution vehicle
– low maintenance costs, higher driver safety, and
better driving comfort
• Anticipate demand and develop products
• Gap in the market
– Light Commercial Vehicle and the three-wheeler
cargo vehicle...Very light CV/Small CV
 e.g. Tata Ace
• Large-scale surveys
– specifications
– capacity
• Challenged engineering and product development team
for Efficient Engine
• Cross function team under Mr. Girish Wagh
• Study of Sub 4 Tonne Market to arrive at Sub 2 Tonne
and Sub 1 Tonne CV
• Prototype of 2-cylinder version of the 4-cylinder Tata
Indica engine
• Concept was tested for Cost Parameters (iterations) and
Fuel Efficiency