3. Individual Product Decisions

There are several decisions relating to the development and marketing of individual products.

Product Attributes

Developing a product or service involves defining the benefits that it will offer. These benefits are communicated and delivered by product attributes such as:

1). Product quality is the ability of a product to perform its functions. It includes two dimensions—level and consistency.

a). The quality level must first be chosen that supports the product’s position in the target market.

b). Product quality means performance quality—the ability of a product to perform its functions.

c). It can also mean high levels of product consistency or conformance (freedom from defects).

d). Total quality management may not have provided all the answers that managers expected. Results have been mixed. A “return on quality” is now being tried. Accountability is also important because increasingly quality is being used as a strategic weapon.

e). The ultimate goal of total quality is to improve customer satisfaction and

value.

2). A product can be offered with varying product features. Features help to differentiate the product from those of the competition. The primary question becomes how can the firm identify new features and decide which ones to add in the future. Surveying buyers helps. Typical questions are:

a). How do you like the product?

b). Which specific features of the product do you like most?

c). Which features could we add to improve the product?

3). Product style and design is another way to add distinctiveness. It is the process of designing a product’s style and function: creating a product that is attractive, easy, safe, and inexpensive to use and service, and simple and economical to produce and distribute. Design is more than style. Good design can be a powerful competitive weapon.

a). Style simply describes the appearance of a product. It does not necessarily make a product perform or function better.

b). Design goes to the heart of the product. It contributes to the product’s usefulness as well as its looks.

Branding

A brand is a name, sign, symbol, or design, or a combination of these that identifies the maker or seller of a product or service. Branding has become so strong that hardly anything goes unbranded.

Brand names help buyers identify products that might benefit them. Brand names become the basis of the whole story about the product. In addition, they tell the buyer something about quality and insure that the quality will remain constant.

Brands also help the seller. The brand name makes it easier for the seller to process orders and track down problems. In addition, the brand name helps to provide legal protection for unique product features that might be copied. Branding promotes loyalty and helps in segmenting markets.

Brand equity is the value of a brand, based on the extent to which it has high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, strong brand associations, and other assets such as patents, trademarks, and channel relationships. Powerful brand names command strong consumer preference.