Product, Services, and

Branding Strategy

Chapter 8
 Definitions

• Product
 Anything offered to a market for attention,
acquisition, use, or consumption that might
satisfy a need or want.
• Service
 A form of product that consists of
activities, benefits or satisfactions offered
for sale that are essentially intangible and
do not result in the ownership of anything.

8-2
 What is a Product?

• Products, Services, and Experiences

 Market offerings may consist of a
combination of goods and services
 Experiences are used to differentiate
offerings
• Levels of Product and Services
 Core benefit, actual and augmented
product
• Product and Service Classifications
 Consumer products and industrial products

8-3
Three Levels of Product

8-4
 What is a Product?

Types of Consumer • Frequent purchases

Products bought with minimal
buying effort and
little comparison
• Convenience shopping
• Shopping • Low price
• Widespread
• Specialty distribution
• Unsought • Mass promotion by
producer
8-5
 What is a Product?

Types of Consumer • Less frequent

purchases
Products
• More shopping effort
for comparisons.
• Convenience • Higher than
• Shopping convenience good
pricing
• Specialty • Selective distribution in
fewer outlets
• Unsought
• Advertising and
personal selling 8-6
 What is a Product?

Types of Consumer • Strong brand

Products preference and
loyalty, requires
special purchase
• Convenience effort, little brand
comparisons, and low
• Shopping price sensitivity
• Specialty • High price
• Exclusive distribution
• Unsought
• Carefully targeted
promotions 8-7
 What is a Product?

Types of Consumer • Little product

Products awareness and
knowledge (or if
aware, sometimes
• Convenience negative interest)
• Pricing varies
• Shopping
• Distribution varies
• Specialty • Aggressive advertising
and personal selling by
• Unsought producers and
resellers
8-8
 Product and Service
Classifications
• Consumer products
• Industrial products
 Materials and parts
 Capital items
 Supplies and services

8-9
 Product and Service
Decisions

Key Decisions • Product attributes

 Quality, features,
style and design
• Individual
• Branding
Product
• Packaging
• Product Line • Labeling
• Product Mix • Product support
services
8 - 10
 Product and Service
Decisions
• Product line
Key Decisions  A group of products
that are closely
related because
• Individual they may:
Product • function in a similar
manner
• be sold to the same
• Product Line customer groups,
• be marketed through
• Product Mix the same types of
outlets
• fall within given price
ranges 8 - 11
 Product and Service
Decisions

Key Decisions • Product line length

 Line stretching:
• Individual adding products
that are higher or
Product lower priced than
the existing line
• Product Line
 Line filling: adding
• Product Mix more items within
the present price
range 8 - 12
 Product and Service
Decisions

Key Decisions • Product mix

 Also known as
product assortment
• Individual  Consists of all the
Product product lines and
items that a
• Product Line particular seller
offers for sale
• Product Mix

8 - 13
 Product and Service
Decisions

Key Decisions • Product mix width:

 Number of different
product lines carried by
• Individual company
Product • Product mix depth:
 Number of different
• Product Line versions of each
product in the line
• Product Mix • Product mix
consistency
8 - 14
 Branding Strategy

• Brand equity is the positive differential

effect that knowing the brand name
has on customer response to the
product or service
• One measure of equity is the extent to
which customers are willing to pay
more for the brand
• Brand valuation is the process of
estimating the total financial value of a
brand

8 - 15
 Branding Strategy

• Brands with strong equity have

many competitive advantages:
 High consumer awareness
 Strong brand loyalty
 Helps when introducing new
products
 Less susceptible to price competition

8 - 16
 Brand Strategy

Key Decisions • Three levels of

positioning:
• Brand Positioning  Product attributes
• Brand Name • Least effective
Selection  Benefits
• Brand Sponsorship  Beliefs and values
• Brand Development • Taps into
emotions

8 - 17
 Brand Strategy
• Good Brand Names:
Key Decisions  Suggest something
about the product or its
benefits
• Brand Positioning
 Are easy to say,
• Brand Name recognize and
Selection remember
 Are distinctive
• Brand Sponsorship
 Are extendable
• Brand Development  Translate well into
other languages
 Can be registered and
legally protected 8 - 18
 Brand Strategy

Key Decisions • Manufacturer brands

• Private (store) brands
• Brand Positioning  Costly to establish and
promote
• Brand Name  Higher profit margins
Selection
• Licensed brands
• Brand Sponsorship  Name and character
• Brand Development licensing has grown
• Co-branding
 Advantages /
disadvantages 8 - 19
Brand Development
Strategies

8 - 20
 Services Marketing

• Services
 Service industries include
business organizations,
government, and private not-
for-profit organizations.

8 - 21
 Four Services
Characteristics

8 - 22
Characteristics of Services

• Intangibility
 Consumers look for service quality signals
• Inseparability
 Services can’t be separated from providers
• Variability
 Employees and other factors result in
variability
• Perishability
 Services can’t be inventoried for later sale
8 - 23