MBA Distance Eduction Learning / product marketing management

Basic Concepts

Q: What is a product?

Ans:

• A product is a physical or non physical thing that has satisfying value to the consumer need or want. Like a pizza can satisfy a hungry person, the service of hair dresser provides haircut and so on.
• Includes:
  • Physical Objects
  • Services
  • Events
  • Persons
  • Places
  • Organizations
  • Ideas
  • Combination of the above

Ans: the anatomy of product includes:

1. Core Benefits: It is the core benefits offered by the product like Refrigerator has basic use of storing, preserving and cooling a food or similar items.sss
2. Tangible Specifications: The product specifications like Features, colour, design, quality, size, weight, material used in making the product, durability, price are some of the tangible specifications.
3. Augmented features: the competitive features of the product like company name, brand image, warranty or guarantee etc.

It may also include dimensions like delivery, easy accessibility, packaging and repair facilities. 

Ans: Products are classified on the basis of:

1. Tangibility And Intangibility

The tangible and intangible products are further categorized into durable, non-durable and services.

Durable goods: the goods which is consumed over a period of time or last longer like refrigerator, car. Television etc. are called Durable goods.

Non-Durable Goods: The goods which are consumed in first or few uses like Milk, Newspaper, Food items etc. are called Non-durable goods.

Services:In a broad perspective a service is an activity, experience or benefit offered by one party to another that is essentially intangible and does not result in transfer of ownership.

2)Convenience, shopping , and Specialty products and Unsought goods.

Convenience Products are characterized by

• They are bought frequently & immediately like bathing soap, food items, shampoo, Candy, newspapers etc.
• Such products are low priced
• The products are gets mass advertising on television, Newspaper etc.
• Many purchase locations
• Knowledge prior to purchase is high.

Shopping Products ( Clothing, fashion items, furniture, home appliances etc.)

• They are bought less frequently
• Such products are priced higher in comparison to convenience product.
• Such products have Fewer purchase location
• Knowledge prior to purchase is lower than convenience goods.

Specialty Products like cars, Audio & Video systems, Five star Hotel etc

• Special and high purchase involvement
• Such products are priced very high

• Brand identification is dominant role in such products.
• Few purchase locations
• Knowledge prior to purchase is low

Unsought goods

Things people don’t want to buy, but have to e.g. Auto insurance, funeral plan

Ans: Product mix is a set of various product lines that a particular seller offers for sale. 

Ans: product line is a group of closely related products in terms of functions, target market. Marketing strategy, production process etc. offered by a seller for sale.

A marketing mix consists of more than one product lines.

The main Decisions related to product line are:

• Line Stretching
  • Downmarket
  • Upmarket
  • Two-way
• Line Filling
• Line Modernization
• Line Featuring & Line Pruning