Unit 5 Product: goods and services

Product Concept: Attributes, Levels, and Hierarchy

• Products are anything offered in a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption to satisfy a need or want.
• Services are activities, benefits, or satisfactions that are intangible and don't result in ownership.
• Products and services are becoming more standardized with companies focusing on creating customer experiences.
• Positioning maps show customer perceptions of a brand compared to competing products.

Consumer Products

• Consumer products are goods and services bought by end-users for personal use.
• Convenience products are frequently bought, with minimal comparison and effort (e.g., candy, bottled water).
• Shopping products are less frequently bought, with careful comparisons on factors like suitability, quality, price, and style (e.g., furniture, clothing).
• Specialty products have unique characteristics or brand identity and require special effort by customers (e.g., high-end products).
• Unsought products are products the consumer doesn't know about or isn't actively seeking (e.g., insurance, blood donation).

Industrial Products

• Industrial products are bought for further processing or use in a business.
• Materials and parts include raw materials and manufactured items (e.g., wood, screws).
• Capital items help in production or operations (e.g., cranes).
• Supplies and services include operating supplies, repair items, and business services (e.g., office supplies, cleaning services).

Product Life Cycle

• The product life cycle describes the stages a product goes through from introduction to decline.
• Stages include: Development, Introduction, Growth, Maturity, Saturation, and Decline.

Service Marketing

• Services have distinct characteristics: intangibility (cannot be seen before purchase), inseparability (cannot be separated from providers), variability (quality can fluctuate), and perishability (cannot be stored).
• Marketing strategies for service firms should include internal service quality, satisfied and productive employees, customer value, greater service value, loyal customers, and healthy service profits.
• Internal marketing focuses on employees and how they interact with customers.
• Interactive marketing focuses on the interaction between employees and customers.

Brand and Brand Equity

• Brand equity is how the brand name affects customer response to a product or its marketing.
• Brand value is the total financial value of a brand.
• Intangible aspects of a brand include the brand name and logo, while tangible aspects include packaging.

Product Portfolio Management

• A product line is a group of related products that function similarly, target similar customers, use similar distribution channels, or fall within certain price ranges.
• Decisions for managing product lines include length (adding or dropping items), filling (adding more to the existing line), stretching (extending the range).
• The product mix or portfolio refers to all the products a company offers.
• Measures of a product line include length (total number of products), width (number of product lines), and depth (number of versions).
• Consistency in the product portfolio is how closely related products are.