Chapter 2: Product Planning PDF

 Chapter 2: product planning Define the Marketing mix: The particular group of variables offer to the market at a particular point in time and this variables is What is meant by product: (v.imp) -Means any thing that is offered to a market for its use or consumption and it ma...

 Chapter 2: product planning Define the Marketing mix: The particular group of variables offer to the market at a particular point in time and this variables is What is meant by product: (v.imp) -Means any thing that is offered to a market for its use or consumption and it may be a goods or a services -it is important to note that people generally want to acquire benefits of the product rather than its features -one important method used to sell benefits is by branding products and this means applying the companies signature to its product by the use of special name or symbols like coca cola and hoover -finally packaging is an important presentation of the product to the market Not only provide protection but it can also reinforce the brand image and the point of sales attraction to the buyer 1-Product & services definition: Product definition 1 Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. cars, T.V. sets, mobile phones Service definition: Any activity or benefit that one party can offer to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything. healthcare service, educational service, accountancy services... etc. 2-levels of product Product planners need to think about product and services on 3 levels: The 1st level: Core benefit: addresses the question "what is the buyer really buying?" The 2nd level: Actual product: Product planners must turn the core benefit into an actual product. The 3rd level: Augmented product: Product planners must build an augmented product around the core benefit and actual product by offering additional consumer services & benefits. 3-Product classifications: Products are classified into 2 main types: Industrial products Consumer products 2  Are those products that are used in A) Products bought by final producing other products, raw consumers for personal consumption. materials, tools, machines, and equipments. B) Types of consumer product: 1-Convenience products: Consumer products that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately and with minimum of comparison and buying effort. 2-Shopping products: Consumer goods that the customer, in the process of selection and purchase characteristically compares on such bases as suitability, quality, price, & style. 3-Specialty products: Consumer products with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a significant group of buyers is willing to make a special purchase effort. 4-Unsought products: Consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or knows about but does not normally think of buying. C) marketing consideration for consumer product 3 4-Product life cycle stages 1-product life cycle (PLC) definition: Means the course of a products sales and profit over its life time 2-product life cycle stages: 4 Stage 1: Product Deployment: Begins when the company finds and develops a new-product idea. Stage 2: Introduction: Is a period of slow sales growth as the product is introduced in the market. Stage 3: Growth: Is a period of rapid market acceptance & increasing profits. Stage 4: Maturity: Is a period of slow down in sales growth because the product has achieved acceptance by most potential buyers. Stage 5: Decline: Is the period when sales fall off and profits drop. 5 6 7