CONCEPT AND COMPONENTS OF MARKETING

MIX

“Marketing includes a number of activities. To begin with, an organization will determine

how to serve its target group of customers. If the target group has been determined, the product
shall be placed on the market by offering the appropriate product, cost, distribution and
promotional effort. “These are to be combined or mixed in an appropriate proportion to achieve
the marketing goal. Such mix of product, price, distribution, and promotional efforts is known as
‘Marketing Mix’.”
According to Philip Kotler “Marketing Mix is the set of controllable variables that the firm can
use to
influence the buyer’s response”. “The controllable variables in this context refer to the 4 ‘P’s
[product, price, place (distribution) and promotion]. Each firm strives to build up such a
composition of 4‘P’s, which can create highest level of consumer satisfaction and at the same
time meet its organizational objectives. Thus, this mix is assembled keeping in mind the needs
of target customers, and it varies from one organization to another depending upon its available
resources and marketing objectives. Let us now have a brief idea about the four components of
marketing mix.”

“The marketing mix definition is simple. It is about putting the right product or a
combination thereof in the place, at the right time, and at the right price.”
1. Product
“Product refers to the goods and services offered by the organization. Product can also
take the form of a service like an air travel, telecommunication, etc. Thus, the term product refers
to goods and services offered by the organization for sale.”

CONCEPT OF PRODUCT AND ITS CLASSIFICATION

“As stated earlier, the product refers to the goods and services the company provides for
sale. Here advertisers have to understand that buyers are not only interested in a product's
physical characteristics, but a collection of tangible and intangible qualities that fulfill their needs.
For starters, when a customer buys a washing machine, he buys not just a machine but a gadget
that helps him wash his clothes. This should also be remembered that the word product refers to
something for consumption, purchase, or use which can be sold to a customer. The term product
is therefore described as "something that can be offered to a market in order to satisfy a want." It
normally has physical objects and services included. However, in a wider context it covers not
only physical products and services but also support services such as brand name, packaging
accessories, installation, after-sales service, etc.”
PRODUCT CLASSIFICATION
Product can be broadly classified based on
(1) use,
(2) durability, and
(3) tangibility.
Let us have a brief idea about the various categories and their exact nature under each
head, noting while in marketing the terms ‘product’ and ‘goods’ are often used interchangeably.

1. Based on use, the product can be classified as:

(a) Consumer Goods; and
(b) Industrial Goods.
(a) Consumer goods. “Goods meant for personal consumption by the households or ultimate
consumers are called consumer goods. This includes items like toiletries, groceries, clothes etc.
Based on consumers’ buying behavior the consumer goods can be further classified as:”
(i) Convenience Goods;
(ii) Shopping Goods; and
(iii) Specialty Goods.
(i) Convenience Goods. Do you remember, the last time when did you buy a packet of butter
or a soft drink or a grocery item? Perhaps you do not remember, or you will say last week or
yesterday. Reason is these goods belong to the categories of convenience goods which are
bought frequently without much planning or shopping effort and are also consumed quickly.
Buying decision in case of these goods does not involve much pre-planning. Such goods are
usually sold at convenient retail outlets.
(ii) Shopping Goods. These are goods which are purchased less frequently and are used
very slowly like clothes, shoes, household appliances. In case of these goods, consumers
make choice of a product considering its suitability, price, style, quality and products of
competitors and substitutes, if any. In other words, the consumers usually spend a
considerable amount of time and effort to finalise their purchase decision as they lack
complete information prior to their shopping trip. It may be noted that shopping goods involve
much more expenses than convenience goods.
(iii) Specialty Goods. Because of some special characteristics of certain categories
of goods people generally put special efforts to buy them. They are ready to buy these goods
at prices at which they are offered and put in extra time to locate the seller to make the
 purchase. The nearest car dealer may be ten kilometers away, but the buyer will go there to
inspect and purchase it. In fact, prior to making a trip to buy the product he/she will collect
complete information about the various brands.
Examples of specialty goods are cameras, TV sets, new automobiles etc.

(b) Industrial Goods. “Goods intended for consumption or use as inputs in the manufacture
of other products or the supply of some service are called 'industrial goods. These are meant for
non-personal and commercial use and include (i) raw materials, (ii) machinery, (iii) components,
and (iv) operating supplies (such as lubricants, stationery etc.).

2. Based on Durability, the products can be classified as:

(a) Durable Goods; and
(b) Non-durable Goods.
(a) Durable Goods: Durable goods are products which are used for a long period i.e., for
months or years together. Examples of such goods are refrigerator, car, washing machine etc.
(b) “Non-durable Goods: “Non-durable goods are products that are normally consumed in
one go or last for a few uses.” Examples of such products are soap, salt, pickles, sauce etc.”

3. Based on tangibility, the products

can be classified as: (a) Tangible
Goods; and (b) Intangible Goods.
(a) “Tangible Goods: “Most goods, whether these are consumer goods or industrial goods
and whether these are durable or non-durable, fall in this category as they have a physical form,
that can be touched and seen.”Thus, all items like groceries, cars, raw-materials, machinery etc.
fall in the category of tangible goods.
(b) “Intangible Goods: Services are essentially intangible activities which provide want or
need satisfaction. Medical treatment, postal, banking and insurance services etc., all fall in this
category.”Intangible goods refer to services provided to the individual consumers or to the
organizational buyers (industrial, commercial, institutional, government etc.).
2. Price
The price is the amount paid in respect of a good or service. It is the second most
significant marketing mix item. It's a difficult job to set the commodity price. Many considerations,
such as demand for a commodity, costs involved, the willingness of customers to pay, costs paid
by competitors for similar goods, government regulations, etc., have to be kept in mind when
setting the price. In fact, pricing is a very crucial field of decision because it affects the demand
for the product as well as the company's profitability.
PRICING AND FACTORS AFFECTING PRICING DECISIONS
“As mentioned, price is the value he / she receives from buying the product / service, in
terms of money spent by customers for the benefits. This is in simple terms, in terms of money,
the exchange value of goods and services. The factors usually considered while determining the
price of a product can be broadly described as follows:”
(a) “Cost: No company will succeed unless their manufacturing and distribution costs
are covered. The retail prices are calculated in large quantities of goods by applying an
appropriate profit margin to the costs. Higher the rate, the higher the price is likely to be, the lower
the price is likely to be.
(b) “Demand: Demand also has a big influence on the price. If the availability of a
product is insufficient and the demand is high, people buy, even if the producer charges high
prices. But how high the price will be depends on the ability and willingness of prospective
customers to pay, and their desire for the product. “In this context, price elasticity, i.e.
responsiveness of demand to changes in price should also be kept in view.””
(c) “Competition: The price charged by the competitor for similar product is an
important determinant of price. A marketeer would not like to charge a price higher than the
competitor for fear of losing customers. Also, he may avoid charging a price lower than the
competitor. Because it may result in price war which we have recently seen in the case of soft
drinks, washing powder, mobile phone etc.””
(d) “Marketing Objectives: A firm may have different marketing objectives such as
maximization of profit, maximization of sales, bigger market share, survival in the market and so
on. The prices have to be determined accordingly. For example, if the objective is to maximize
sales or have a bigger market share, a low price will be fixed. Recently one brand of washing
powder slashed its prices to half, to grab a bigger share of the market.””
(e) “Government Regulation: Prices of some essential products are regulated by the
government under the Essential Commodities Act. For example, prior to liberalization of the
economy, cement and steel prices were decided by the government. Hence, it is essential that
the existing statutory limits, if any, are also kept in view while determining the prices of products
by the producers.””

3. Place
The products are made to sell to customers. These must be made available to customers
at a location where they can make transactions conveniently. The company has to determine
whether to sell to the retailer directly or through the distributors / wholesaler, etc. It might also
plan on selling it directly to customers. The option is directed by a number of factors you'll learn
about later in this chapter.
CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION
“You are aware that while a manufacturer of a product is located at one place, its
consumers are located at innumerable places spread all over the country or the world. The
manufacturer must ensure the availability of his goods to the consumers at convenient points for
their purchase. He may do so directly or, as stated earlier, through a chain of middlemen like
distributors, wholesalers, and retailers. The path or route adopted by him for the purpose is known
as channel of distribution. A channel of distribution thus, refers to the pathway used by the
manufacturer for transfer of the ownership of goods and its physical transfer to the consumers
and the user/buyers (industrial buyers).” Kotler, (2010).
Primarily a channel of distribution performs the following functions:
(a) It helps in establishing a regular contact with the customers and provides them
the necessary information relating to the goods.
(b) It provides the facility for inspection of goods by the consumers at convenient
points to make their choice.
(c) It facilitates the transfer of ownership as well as the delivery of goods.
(d) It helps in financing by giving credit facility.
(e) It assists the provision of after sales services, if necessary.
(f) It assumes all risks connected with the carrying out the distribution function.

TYPES OF CHANNELS OF DISTRIBUTION

Generally speaking, we are not purchasing products directly from the manufacturers.
Typically the producers / manufacturers use one or more middlemen 's services to supply their
products to consumers. But even with no intermediaries in between they have direct contact with
the customers. According to Philip Kotler (2010), the various channels used for distribution of
consumer goods can be described as follows:

(a) Zero stage channel of distribution

“Zero stage distribution channel exists where there is direct sale of goods by the producer
to the consumer. This direct contact with the consumer can be made through door to door
salesmen, own retail outlets or even through direct mail. Also, in case of perishable products and
certain technical household products, door-to-door sale is an easier way of convincing consumer
to make a purchase.” According to Kotler, (2010).
(b) One stage channel of distribution

Kotler (2010) “In this case, there is one middleman i.e., the retailer. The manufacturers
sell their goods to retailers who in turn sell it to the consumers. This type of distribution channel
is preferred by manufacturers of consumer durables like refrigerator, air conditioner, washing
machine, etc. where individual purchase involves large amount.”

(c) Two stage channel of distribution

“This is the most used channel of distribution for the sale of consumer goods. In this case,
there are two middlemen used, namely, wholesaler and retailer. This is applicable to products
where markets are spread over a large area, value of individual purchase is small, and the
frequency of purchase is high” Kotler, (2010).

(d) Three stage channel of distribution

“When the number of wholesalers used is large and they are scattered throughout the
country, the manufacturers often use the services of mercantile agents who act as a link between
the producer and the wholesaler. They are also known as distributors” Kotler, (2010).
FACTORS AFFECTING THE CHOICE OF DISTRIBUTION CHANNEL
Choosing a suitable distribution channel is very important, as both the pricing and
promotion strategy depend on the channel chosen. Not only this, the path that the product takes
from the producer to the customer often involves some costs. In addition, does not only affect the
product's quality but also the profits. Choosing inappropriate distribution channels will lead to
lower profits for the producer, and higher consumer prices. Therefore, when finalizing the
distribution channel to be used the producer must be careful. While also making his choice, he
should pay attention to the following factors.

(a) Nature of Market: There are many aspects of market which determine the choice
of channel of distribution. Say for example, where the number of buyers is limited, they are
concentrated at few locations and their individual purchases are large as is the case with industrial
buyers, direct sale may be the most preferred choice. But in case where number of buyers is
large with small individual purchase and they are scattered, then need may arise for use of
middlemen.
(b) Nature of Product: Nature of the product considerably affects the choice of
channel of distribution. In case the product is of technical nature involving a good amount of pre-
sale and after sale services, the sale is generally done through retailers without involving the
wholesalers. But in most of the consumer goods having small value, bought frequently in small
quantities, a long channel involving agents, wholesalers and retailers is used as the goods need
to be stored at convenient locations. Items like toiletries, groceries, etc. fall in this category. As
against this in case of items like industrial machinery, having large value and involving specialized
technical service and long negotiation period, direct sale is preferred.
(c) Nature of the Company: A firm having enough financial resources can afford to
its own a distribution force and retail outlet, both. But most business firms prefer not to create
their own distribution channel and concentrate on manufacturing. The firms who wish to control
the distribution network prefer a shorter channel.
(d) “Middlemen Consideration: If right kind of middlemen having the necessary
experience, contacts, financial strength, and integrity are available, their use is preferred as they
can ensure success of newly introduced products. Cost factors also have to be kept in view as
all middlemen add their own margin of profit to the price of the products. But from experience it
is learnt that where the volume of sales is adequate, the use of middlemen is often found
economical and less cumbersome as against direct sale.”
4. Promotion:
If the product is produced in accordance with the customer 's desires, is reasonably priced
and made available to them at convenient outlets, but the customer is not made aware of its
price , features, availability, etc., their marketing campaign may not be effective. Promotion is
therefore an essential component of a marketing mix, as it refers to a process of educating,
persuading and motivating a customer to select the product to be purchased. Promotion is
achieved by means of promotion of personal sales, advertisement, publicity, and marketing. It is
done primarily with a view to providing knowledge about the quality, characteristics and uses of
a commodity to prospective consumers. It stimulates the interest of potential buyers in the
product, compares it with the product of the competitors and makes its decision.
Promotion refers to the process of informing and persuading the consumers to buy
certain product.
By using this process, the marketeers convey persuasive message and information to its
potential customers.
The main objective of promotion is to seek buyers’ attention towards the product with a
view to:
– arouse his interest in the product;
– inform him about its availability; and
– inform him as to how is it different from others.
It is thus a persuasive communication and serves as a reminder. A firm uses different tools
for its promotional activities which are as follows:
– Advertising
– Publicity
– Personal selling
– Sales promotion
These are also termed as four elements of a promotion mix. Let us have a brief idea about
these promotion tools.
1. Advertising: Advertising is the most used tool for informing the present and prospective
consumers about the product, its quality, features, availability, etc. It is a paid form of non-
personal communication through different media about a product, idea, a service or an
organization by an identified sponsor. It can be done through print media like newspaper,
magazines, billboards, electronic media like radio, television, etc. It is a very flexible and
comparatively low-cost tool of promotion.
2. Publicity: This is a non-paid process of generating wide range of communication to contribute
a favorable attitude towards the product and the organization. You may have seen articles in
 newspapers about an organization, its products, and policies. The other tools of publicity are
press conference, publication, and news in the electronic media etc. It is published or
broadcasted without charging any money from the firm. Marketeers often spend a lot of time
and effort in getting news items placed in the media for creation of a favorable image of the
company and its products.
3. Personal selling: You would have encountered representatives of numerous firms knocking
at your doorstep and persuading you to purchase their product. It is a direct presentation to
consumers or prospective purchasers of the product. It refers to the use of salespeople to
persuade consumers to act favorably and purchase the product. In the case of industrial goods,
it is most effective promotional tool.
4. Sales promotion: It applies to short-term and temporary opportunities to purchase new
products or to promote trials. The tool includes competitions, games, gifts, trade shows,
discounts, and so on. Sometimes, promotional advertising events are conducted at retail level.

The 3 further Ps of marketing

5. People

The team involved in the delivery of the project should possess the skills and qualities
needed to ensure its success (barring unforeseen mishaps).

This is perhaps especially true of customer-facing staff, whose communication and

behavior will greatly impact the audience’s perception of the brand. You could well have
developed the best product of its kind

The Importance of People within the Marketing Mix

People are one of the essential components of the marketing mix. This includes anybody
directly or indirectly involved in the product or service. Not all of these people are getting in touch
with the clients. But all of these people have their own roles to play in the production, promotion,
distribution and delivery to consumers of the goods and services.

People Who Make the Products

In addition to the executive team, there are people who are responsible for designing the
company's products and services. Companies will take time to hire people with skills and
experience in the field in which they work.

People Who Bring the Products to the Customers

 They are the people who have to decide what their clients want and the best way for them
to get what they want. Marketing efforts concentrate on lead generation and prospects. These
people ensure that the products and services are available to them as conveniently and affordably
as possible if the prospects are ready for buying. If those people fail, the company will not be able
to create a substantial customer base for the profitability of their business.

People Who Talk to the Customers

Companies, no matter how small or large their products and services are, require
customer service. They can treat their customer contact points in the right way. This could make
or break an agreement for many customers. Customers are always keen to be assured of being
able to talk to people who are ready and able to help with problems or concerns about the products
they have purchased or services they have used. Companies should ensure that they have
customers ready to meet the needs of their customers.

6. Processes
The processes involved in a product’s delivery will significantly affect the customer’s
experience, level of satisfaction, and lifetime value to your business. These processes may
include (and are not limited to):
• Website user experience
• Delivery time
• Delivery methods and service
• In-store wait time
• Communicating with customer support
• Aftercare

They will need to provide protocols when something goes wrong as well as procedures used
to deliver a product or service – for example, the provision of sufficient compensatory fees to
consumers that have negative experiences.

6. Physical evidence
The final P refers to the physical context and paraphernalia (such as receipts, “thanks for
ordering” cards, confirmation emails and PDF invoices) that come along with the product. In order
to reinforce the product’s and the seller’s credibility, these components should exhibit the qualities
customers expect of them, based on up-todate industry standards.
For example, precious jewelry might be displayed within a locked cabinet; ethical supermarkets
might choose to use as little print as possible on their receipts (or offer digital receipts as an
alternative), and doctors’ surgeries should look suitably clinical. In a nutshell, “Physical evidence”
is all about ensuring every component involved with the product adheres to the same brand values
as the product itself. This creates a consistent, convincing experience for the customer.
 THE 4MS OF BUSINESS OPERATION
1. Manpower
2. Method
3. Machine
4. Materials

1. Manpower. Human Resource (Manpower) refers to the overall aspect of planning and
organizing the personnel who will fill-in the key-functions of business operations. In a fast-
food chain for example, manpower includes the store managers, kitchen crews, storage and
back up crews, dining area crews and even the guards on duty. Without appropriate number
of manpower, a business will not be able to get things done or will not have a smooth
operation. Another consideration to ponder in terms of pooling/hiring personnel is that,
entrepreneurs must be critical in looking at the attributes that the applicant has since they will
create a huge impact in our vision/mission. It is a make or break situation in hiring process.
Some of these attributes may vary depending on the function/ job title that the company
requires. Some of these attributes are sufficient trainings, relevant experiences, educational
attainment, thus pertain to the hard skills. Another thing to look at are those soft skills that
your applicant has. This is an important factor since majority of the accomplishment of the
applicant may rely on his/her soft skills like emotional intelligence that is needed in the
workplace, the growth mindset that he/she has especially when dealing with tough situations
etc. Assignment of each worker to specific task is equally important. Just like in basketball,
there is positioning of players that way the plays are executed perfectly to get to the goal of
making basket points. At work, delegation of every worker is very important to accomplish
specific tasks. Lack of training can cause damage to goods as well. Most companies give
trainings for both newbies and experienced workers. For the new ones, they are normally
given beginner’s trainings to give them a broad understanding of the work that they are going
to face. For the experienced ones, they are given trainings to enforce their existing skills.
Sometimes one of challenges that most companies encounter with the experienced workers
are the old ways or practiced that they have with their previous companies. Because of that,
some companies have developed trainings that aim to teach these people unlearned those
skills that are not applicable in the current operations. As workers who will do the jobs
assigned to them, they are all expected to do and deliver the same quality of outputs and
therefore companies plan for future training programs that will align both new and experienced
 individuals in the company’s workplace. As what famous author of entrepreneurship books,
Jim Collins says, “get the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right
people in the right seats.” Entrepreneurs must be careful in planning human resource to make
his/her business profitable and sustainable.
According to Unilever Food Solutions (2020), entrepreneurs dealing with food related
business must organize their human resources by looking at the following:
1. Hire the right people. The appearance of the applicant must be neat/clean and presentable,
thus projecting a professional image. Possesses the qualities of your company culture-
service attitude.
2. Assign responsibilities. Delegate the tasks in different areas of operations. Example in
kitchen (follow the organization)
3. Ensure work safety. The protocols must be surely followed by all staff including. Use of
personal protective equipment, prescribed uniforms (chef’s uniform, toque, apron etc. for
kitchen). Assess efficiency. The obedience on operation/production manuals is critical in this
process. Scoreboard/Key-performance Indicators are some useful metrics to track efficiency
and productivity.
4. Staff rotation. It is necessary that your staff are empowered prior going to work. Enough
Sleep/rest is crucial in attaining their desired performance. When we have proper scheduling
of staff, we can ensure our team will achieve those desired performance. We can start
planning their weekly/monthly schedules and assignments including giving fair workloads and
shift hours to our staff without compromising their health and social life. Keep communications
open.

2. Method. Methods are ways of doing things in a certain workplace. In fast-food chains for
example, you will hear about KFC's Colonel Harland Sanders' secret original recipe with 11
herbs and spices. The process of using of frying pan or even deep frying chicken in a wire
basket that takes much longer time and less desirable taste due to the dryness of the chicken
has been changed and developed to using a pressure cooker and produced tasty, moist
chicken in eight or nine minutes. They also have standards of measurements of every piece
of ingredients, cooking time, delivering time, as well as storage of perishables to make sure
that foods are serve clean and fresh to their customers. Even for the interactions with
customers, big companies have ways to approach customers and even protocols in
conversing with customers to protect both the company and its customers. Methods vary a lot
as each company want to differentiate themselves from the competitions. Some methods like
 KFC’s are even used as their unique selling propositions (USPs) which even give them edge
over competitors because of the claim that they have original methods in doing things.
Bottomline is, the use of workflow is very essential in attaining a smooth operation in different
areas of business.

Workflow Example in a Restaurant Business

3. Machine. Machines are known to be automated devices that results to attaining efficient, and
better results/multi-tasking. These are devices that make mechanical work easier. Few
examples of machines in fast-food stores includes pressure cooker, POS machines,
computers, griddles, refrigerators, and many others. If you are planning to put up a coffeeshop
business, machine can be classified according to: burner, cooking equipment, ice machine,
display/showcase fridge for the cakes, salads, sandwiches which is usually placed beside the
counter/cashier, the espresso machines, weighing scales, microwave oven and the likes are
also considered and has to be carefully planned based on the necessity of your business.
4. Materials. Materials are used in the primary production or manufacturing of goods and is very
important in the business operation. For the big companies especially, which sell high priced
products, they always look for high quality raw materials. Companies which care about
uniformity and consistency of their products, product output are always being looked at and
carefully decide what specific material to use and ratings of the product, where to buy, and
even specific suppliers. These are just few of the things some companies are very particular
with because they would like to maintain the product as they were wanted by their customers.
In the car grooming industry for example, there are lot of car waxes that are available, but
carnauba waxes have the highest respect because it creates the most durable wax coating,
as well as the shiniest finish. Big car wax manufacturers import carnauba wax raw materials
specifically from Brazil which is the most known source of palm tree that produces the best
carnauba. On the other hand, if you are venturing into Food Service Businesses like a coffee
shop, materials can be categorized such as utensils, silverwares, glass wares, china wares,
cutleries etc. Another thing to consider are the paper/disposable cups with lids, cup sleeves,
straws with stirrers, coffee cups, tissues/napkins etc. Materials are also those items that you
use to prepare the final product (also known as raw material). Coffee beans, skimmed, and
fresh milk, soymilk, sugar, frosting/icing/whip cream. For the baked products, has something
to do with fresh eggs, flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream cheese, food colorings, etc.
Take note that whenever we select materials, we must ensure that the quantity, quality, and
safety should always be our utmost priority. We must anticipate our inventory/stocks by proper
monitoring so that we can ensure that there will sufficient materials to be used for a smooth
flow in production and operation.
 CREATING A PRODUCT PROTOTYPE
According to Chua, Leong, and Lim (2009), Prototyping is the initial draft/proposed
model of the concept used to test characteristics or specifications of the finished product before
it is done. From the entrepreneurial eye and the observation to the palm of your hand, these
are the required steps to build and grow a prototype of your goods. Prototyping is an essential
practice in much of the modern product production processes. If it is a matter of discovering
potential possibilities or improving current approaches, prototyping may often be of interest
(Elverum, Welo & Tronvoll, 2016). Further, prototyping materializes an idea that was before
only apparent in the developer’s mind. Each technique that translates an idea into a tangible
format can be considered as a prototyping method. In this context, a simple sketch be a
prototyping method, as well as a fully functional prototype (Bastiens, Grimonprez & Rysman,
2010). A prototype provides other advantages, as well: It makes you to evaluate and improve
the functionality of your design; It provides feedback on the performance of the materials use
in the product; and It will help to visualize more of the product before launching it will encourage
others to take you more seriously.

The product development process (Bastiaens, & Rysman, 2010)

Furthermore, Bastiens et. al (2010) summarized the Four (4) Phases of Product
Development:
1) Information Phase. During this phase
designers try to understand and grasp
the product context, needs, and wishes
of the different stakeholders, and trans-
late these in a program of requirements.
A designer wants to question the focus
group of users. A lot of (non-technical)
tests need to be per-formed and
boundaries need to be defined.
Designers make frequently use of
existing products and adopt them accordingly. Visualizations or very rough
and quick prototypes suffice to do all investigations.

2) Exploration Phase. During this phase,

developers will come across innovative
solutions for the assignment. A
multitude of design solutions is
gradually shaped. Although the created
ideas a re valuable and inspiring, the
obtained results are still open and
require further re-search. Many rather
vague design solutions are created.
Prototypes are used to materialize fluid ideas. Making a prototype inspires
often to think about variations and alternatives. Prototyping is a creation
tool that gives designers stepwise insights in specific problems.
3) Decision Phase. On the third phase, the
scope of design gets narrower and the
obtained design solutions are worked out in
further detail. The design gets its final form.
detailed prototypes are used to validate and
verify the chosen design solutions. Each
prototype will validate one or more sub-
solutions at the time. A limited number of
prototypes is need ed, but developers must
think thoroughly about the added value of
each prototype. The level of detail and cost
are crucial factors in the selection. At this
stage, it may be helpful to make use of
external prototyping services.

4) Test Phase. At this last phase, it will

serve as a platform for validation and
communication. Before starting
production and launching the product on
the market, all (economic, technological
and user) requirements are validated,
fine-tuned, and eventually communicated
with the different stakeholders. One
design needs to be validated and tested
in many ways. The material, shape and
manufacturing features of all obtained
prototypes must resemble the final product. Often, real production
processes or very specialized prototyping methods are adhered to get a
satisfactory result. The “added value vs. cost” of such prototypes need to
be investigated thoroughly.
 Traditional prototyping Virtual prototyping

Sketching, hand drawing 2D/3D digital sketching

Paper, cardboard, balsa 2D modeling
Foam, clay modeling 3D modeling

Manual workshop 3D interactive

Types of Prototype Adapted from Detand et. al (2010)