Setting Product Strategy

Summary of Chapter 11: Setting Product Strategy

Product is anything that can be offered to the market for the satisfaction of need or want. Product can be Physical goods, services, experiences, etc. There are five different product levels. Each level adds more customer value, and they constitute a customer value hierarchy. The levels are Core benefit, basic product, expected product, augmented product and potential product.

The product can be classified based on different aspects. Based on Durability and Tangibility product are classified as Non-durable goods, durable goods, and services. Based on use goods are classified as Consumer and Industrial goods.

Consumer goods: This are used directly by the consumer. They are classified as Convenience goods (which are frequently purchased such as soaps, soft drinks), Shopping goods (consumer usually compares them before buying), Specialty goods (certain brand value is associated with this products) and Unsought goods (consumer doesn’t know about or normally think of buying this well such as Smoke detectors).

Industrial goods: This product are classified into Materials and parts, capital items, and supplies and business services. Materials and parts are goods that enter the manufacturer’s product completely. They are again divided into raw materials and manufactured products. Capital items are long-lasting goods that facilitate developing or managing the finished product.

To be branded products must be differentiated. Differentiation arises, and competition increases because of product augmentation which leads to the marketer to look at user’s consumption system, the way the user gets and uses the products. Products are differentiated based on form (size, shape), Features (features supplement basic functions), Customization, performance quality, conformance quality (the degree to which all produced units are identical and meet promised specifications), durability, reliability, repairability, and style. When a physical product cannot be easily differentiated, the key to competitive success may lie in adding value-added services and improving their quality. The main service differentiators are ordering ease (how easily product can be ordered), delivery, installation, customer training, customer consulting (includes data, information systems, and services the sellers offer to buyers), maintenance and repair and returns.

In the case of intense competition design offers a good way to differentiate and position a company’s products and services. Design is the totality of features that affect how a product feels, looks, and functions to a customer. To a consumer a well-designed product offers functional and aesthetic benefits. A bad design can ruin a product’s prospects. Each design should reflect bold simplicity, real authenticity, the power of the red and a familiar yet surprising na

Most of the companies sell different products. A product mix is the set of all products and services a seller has to offer. A product line is a group of products within a product class that are closely related because they perform a similar function, and are sold to the same customer group. A product mix consists of various product lines. A company’s product mix has a certain width, length, depth, and consistency. These four dimensions are tools for developing the company’s marketing strategy and deciding which product lines to grow, maintain, harvest and divest. To analyze a product line and decide how many resources to invest in product line manager looks at sales and profits and market profile. The product map shows which competitor’s items are competing against a particular item of a particular company.

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