13

Setting Product Strategy

Marketing Management, 15th ed

 What is a Product?

A product is anything that can be

offered to a market to satisfy a want or
need, including physical goods,
services, experiences, events, persons,
places, properties, organizations,
information, and ideas.
Figure 12.1 Components of the
Market Offering
Value-based prices

Attractiveness
of the market
offering

Product Services
features mix and
and quality quality
Figure 12.2 Five Product Levels
Product Classification Schemes

Durability

Tangibility

Use
 Durability and Tangibility

Nondurable
goods

Durable
Services
goods
Consumer Goods Classification

Convenience Shopping

Specialty Unsought
 Product Differentiation
• Product form
• Features
• Customization
• Performance
• Conformance
• Durability
• Reliability
• Repairability
• Style
 Service Differentiation

• Ordering ease
• Delivery
• Installation
• Customer training
• Customer
consulting
• Maintenance and
repair
• Returns
Design Differentiation
Maintenance and Repair
Product Systems and Mixes

• Product mix
• Product assortment
• Depth (refers to the number of
variations within a product line)

• Length (refers to the total number

of products in a firm’s product mix)

• Width (refers to the number of

product lines offered by a company)
• Width – Number of Product
lines
• Depth – Product Variation
• Length – Total Products
 Product-Mix Width and Product-Line Length for Proctor&
Gamble Products

Product-Mix Width
Disposable Paper
Detergents Toothpaste Bar Soap Diapers Tissue
Ivory Gleem (1952) Ivory Pampers Charmin
Snow (1879) (1961) (1928)
(1930) Crest (1955)
Kirk’s Luvs Puffs
PRODUCT-
Dreft (1885) (1976) (1960)
LINE
(1933)
LENGTH
Lava Banner
Tide (1893) (1982)
(1946)
Camay Summit
Cheer (1926) (1992)
(1950)
Product Line Pricing
 What is the Fifth P?

Packaging, sometimes called the

fifth P, is all the activities of
designing and producing the
container for a product.
Factors Contributing to the
Emphasis on Packaging

Self-service

Consumer affluence

Company/brand image

Innovation opportunity
 Packaging Objectives

• Identify the brand

• Convey descriptive and persuasive
information
• Facilitate product transportation and
protection
• Assist at-home storage
• Aid product consumption
Functions of Labels

Identifies

Grades

Describes

Promotes
Warranties and Guarantees
 Stages in the development of a
new product
• Idea Generation
• Idea Screening – go error/drop error
• Concept development
• Business analysis
• Marketing Program development
• Product development
• Test marketing –
controlled/standard/simulation test
• Commercialization