GLOBE INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
BUS104-101
Week 7 - chapter 7 product and services strategy
Previewing the Concepts—CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
1. Define product and the major classifications of products and services.
2. Describe the roles of product and service branding, packaging, and labeling, and product support services.
3. Explain the decisions that companies make when developing product lines and mixes.
4. Identify the four characteristics that affect the marketing of a service.
5. Discuss the additional marketing considerations for services.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
1. What Is a Product?
A PRODUCT is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption and that might satisfy a want or need.
Includes:
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Services are a form of product that consist of activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything.
Examples include:
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Banking
Hotels
Tax preparation
Home repair services
The Product, Services, and Experiences
A company’s offer to the marketplace often includes both tangible goods and services. The continuum consists of:
A product – service continuum:
A pure tangible good: |
A tangible good with accompanying services: |
A hybrid offer: |
A service with accompanying minor goods: |
A pure service: |
Such as a soap |
Such as an car that offers accompanying repair services |
Consisting of equal parts of goods and services (e.g. a restaurant |
Such as an airline trip with accompanying snacks |
Such as a doctor’s exam |
Today, as products and services become more and more commoditized, many companies are moving to a new level in creating value for their customers.
a). To differentiate their offers, they are developing and delivering total customer experiences.
b). Experiences are memorable while some products and services are not.
Levels of Product
Product planners need to think about products and services on three levels:
1). The core product is the core, problem-solving services or core benefits that consumers are really buying when they obtain a product or services.
2). The actual product may have as many as five characteristics that are combined to deliver core product benefits. They are:
a). Quality level.
b). Features.
c). Design.
d). A brand name.
e). Packaging.
3). The augmented product includes any additional consumer services and benefits built around the core and actual products.
Therefore, a product is more than a simple set of tangible features. Consumers tend to see products as complex bundles of benefits that satisfy their needs.
When developing products, marketers must:
1). Identify the core consumer needs that the product will satisfy.
2). Design the actual product.
3). Find ways to augment the product in order to create the bundle of benefits that will provide the most satisfying experience.