Marketing Principles Quiz

Product Definitions

• A product is anything offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption
• Products can be tangible (goods) or intangible (services)

Product Classifications

• Products are categorized into three groups:
  • Durable goods: used repeatedly over a longer period (e.g., cars, appliances)
  • Non-durable goods: purchased frequently and have a short use period (e.g., food, drinks)
  • Services: intangible offerings with unique characteristics (e.g., haircuts, consulting)

Product Classifications - Based on Tangibility

• Tangible goods: can be felt, tasted, heard, smelled or seen (e.g., furniture phones)
• Intangible services: cannot be felt, tasted, heard, smelled, or seen until they are used (e.g., consulting, university education)

Product Classifications - Based on Durability

• Durable Goods: last a long period of time (e.g., house, car)
• Non-durable Goods: do not last a long period of time (e.g., food items like bread)

Product Classifications - Based on Use

• Industrial goods: used in the production of other products (e.g., raw materials, machinery)
• Consumer goods: bought and used by consumers (e.g., convenience goods, shopping goods)

Product Classifications - Consumer Goods

• Convenience goods: purchased frequently with minimal effort (e.g., toothpaste, snacks)
• Shopping goods: carefully considered before purchase, compared on price (e.g., furniture, clothing).
• Specialty goods: unique, highly desired products requiring special purchasing efforts (e.g., luxury cars, designer goods).
• Unsought goods: unknown or not desired until a need arises (e.g., insurance, medical services).

Product Levels

• Core product: the fundamental benefit the customer seeks (e.g., a ride)

• Actual product: the tangible product, including its features, design, quality, etc. (e.g., a car)

• Augmented product: additional services and benefits enhancing the product (e.g., warranty, financing)

• • Service Characteristics

    • Intangibility: services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or smelled before purchase
    • Inseparability: services are produced and consumed simultaneously (e.g. haircut)
    • Variability: quality of service depends on who provides them and when, where, and how it is provided
    • Perishability: services cannot be stored for later sale or use (e.g., flight tickets)

    Product Mix

    • Product mix: the complete set of all products offered by a company
      • Product line: a group of closely related products
      • Product width: the number of different product lines
      • Product length: the total number of items in the product mix
      • Product depth: the number of versions for each product line
      • Product consistency: the degree of relatedness between different product lines

New Product Development

• New product development (NPD) is the process of creating, testing and launching new products.
• Stages in NPD: idea generation, idea screening, concept development and testing, marketing strategy development, business analysis, product development, test marketing, and commercialization

Product Life Cycle (PLC)

• PLC: a model describing the stages a product goes through from introduction to decline.
• Stages: introduction, growth, maturity, and decline; includes profits and revenue.

Types of Adopters

• Innovators: the first to adopt a new product
• Early adopters: opinion leaders who adopt new products early in the market
• Early majority: adopt new products somewhat before the average consumer
• Late majority: adopt new products somewhat after the average consumer
• Laggards: the last to adopt a new product

Importance of Branding

• Brand helps distinguish from competitors; Builds consumer trust and loyalty.

Branding Decisions

• Line extension: adding new products to an existing product line (e.g., new flavors of existing product)
• Brand extension: using an existing brand name for a new product category (e.g., extending a chocolate brand to ice cream)
• Multi-branding: creating multiple brands for different product lines/categories (e.g., various brands of detergent)
• New brands: creating completely new brands for new or existing product categories

Packaging Considerations

• Packaging influences customers and brand reputation
• Packaging decisions consider protection, visibility, added value, distributor acceptance, cost

Labeling Considerations

• Labeling plays a crucial role in product identification and sales
• Label contents include product information, marketing elements about the product

Types of Branding

• Manufacturer brand (owned by the producer)
• Private brand (owned by a distributor)
• Co-branding (use of multiple brands on a single product, e.g. a fast food brand featuring ingredients from another brand)

Brand Elements

• Brand: A unique name, term, symbol or design that distinguishes from competitors' products
• Trade name: A legal business name for organizations.
• Brand mark: A distinctive design element that visually identifies a product (e.g. a logo)