What is a

Product?
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What is a Product?
Products Services
Anything offered to a
Intangible activities,
market for attention,
benefits, or satisfaction
acquisition, use, or
that do not result in the
consumption that may
ownership of anything
satisfy a want or need
Products, Services, & Experiences
Three Levels
of Product
 CONSUMER INDUSTRIAL
Product and
Services Convenience Materials And Parts

Classification Shopping Capital Items

Specialty Supplies And Services

Unsought
 Convenience Shopping Specialty Unsought
Buying Frequent Less frequent Brand preference Special Low product
Low effort More effort effort awareness
Behaviour Low comparison Brand/price comparison Less comparison

Price Low Higher High price Varies

Distribution Widespread Selective Exclusive Varies

Promotion Mass Advertising, personal selling, Targeted promo Aggressive ads

retailers Personal selling

Characteristics of
Consumer Products
Materials and Parts Raw materials and manufactured
materials and parts
Capital Items Industrial products that aid in the
buyer’s production or operations
Supplies and Services operating supplies and repair &
maintenance items

Industrial Products
Other Market Offerings
Product
and
Services
Decisions
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M A R K 2 01 / A A
Product and Service Decisions

Individual
Product Line Product Mix
Product
Decisions Decisions
Decisions
Individual Product Decisions
Product and Service
Attributes
Product quality is one of the marketer’s major positioning
tools.

A product can be offered with varying features.

Another way to add customer value is through distinctive

product style and design.
Branding
Consumers view a brand as an important part of a
product, and branding can add value to a consumer’s
purchase.
Packaging
Innovative Child Guard safety packaging likely saved P&G’s fast-growing Tide PODS and other
unit-dose laundry detergent brands
Labelling and Logos
Labels and logos range from simple tags attached to products
to complex graphics that are part of the packaging.

They perform several functions: identifies the product or

brand, promote the brand and engage customers

Labels and brand logos can support the brand’s positioning

and add personality to the brand.
Product Support Services
Customer service is another element of product strategy. A
company’s offer usually includes some support services,
which can be a minor part or a major part of the total offering.
Later in this chapter, we will discuss services as products in
themselves. Here, we discuss services that augment actual
products.
Product Line Decisions
A product line is closely related products that:

•Have similar functions and customer groups

•Are sold through similar outlets or fall within given price ranges

Product line length is the number of items in the

product line.
•Product line filling
•Product line stretching
Product
Mix (or
Product
Portfolio)
Product Mix
Decisions
Width
Number of different product lines the company carries
Length
Total number of items a company carries within its product
lines
Depth
Number of versions offered for each product in the line
Consistency
Relativity of the various product lines in end use, production
requirements, distribution channels, or some other aspect
Services
Marketing
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Four Service Characteristics
Service Profit Chain
Links service firm profits with employee and customer satisfaction

The chain consists of five links:

◦ Internal service quality
◦ Satisfied and productive service employees
◦ Greater service value
◦ Satisfied and loyal customers
◦ Healthy service profits and growth
Three Types of Services
Marketing
 Marketing Tasks for
Service Companies
Managing service differentiation

Developing a differentiated offer, delivery, and image

Managing service quality

Delivering consistently higher quality than the competitors

Managing service productivity

Training current employees or hiring new ones

Increasing the quantity of service by giving up some quality

Harnessing the power of technology

Branding
Strategy
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 The differential effect that knowing the
brand name has on customer response
to the product or its marketing
Brand
Equity With positive brand equity, consumers
react more favourably to the brand
than to an unbranded version of the
same product.
 Consumer perception dimensions:
◦ Differentiation
◦ Relevance
◦ Knowledge
Brand ◦ Esteem

Equity Brand value is the total financial value of a

brand.
Customer equity is the value of customer
relationships that the brand creates.
Major Brand Strategy
Decisions
Brand Positioning and
Brand Name Selection
Marketers should establish a mission and vision for the
brand when positioning it.

Desirable qualities for a brand name should be

◦ Based on the product’s benefits and qualities
◦ Easy to pronounce, recognize, and remember
◦ Distinctive and extendable
◦ Easily translated into foreign languages
◦ Capable of registration and legal protection
 National brands
Product launched as a manufacturer’s brand
Private Brands
Marketed under the manufacturer’s own name Store
brands
Licensed Brands
Brand Created and owned by a reseller of a product or service
Licensing
Sponsorship Co-Brands
Use names and symbols created by other companies or
well-known movie characters or celebrities for a fee Co-
branding
Use the established brand names of two different
companies on the same product
Brand
Development
Strategy Line Brand Multibrands New Brands
Extensions Extensions
Description Extend a Extend to Different New brand
brand name new product brands by the names assigned
to new forms categories same to new products
producer in new category
Advantages Low-cost, Instant Appeal to Best when new
low risk, recognition different product does not
familiarity for new
products
segments fit within any
existing brand
names
Brand
Risks Over-
exposure of
May confuse
brand image
Separate
brands may
New brands
require
Development
brand name or meaning be weak significant
individually resources to
launch and
maintain
Managing Brands
Communicate the brand’s positioning
Manage all brand touch points

Train employees to be customer centred

Audit the brand’s strengths and weaknesses