PRODUCT DECISIONS AND STRATEGIES
PRODUCT
:
Product
related decisions form one of the 4Ps of marketing mix. These decisions include
introduction of new products, Improvement of existing products, planned
elimination of obsolete products and, packaging and branding.
Most product decisions
are taken in the context of the overall strategy of an organisation. This
strategy may also include important areas of diversification.
Product is the bundle of benefits or
satisfactions offered to a customer. Product or Goods is a composite of the
characteristics and features-physical and psychological-which are offered for
purchase by a customer, whether it is a consumer or an industrial purchaser.
How people personally feel about, or perceive the product is just as important
as the actual physical characteristics of it.
Product Differentiation: You must have understood now that a product is really a bundle
of potential benefits offered to a purchaser. However, there are certain
products which basically look alike. Take toothpastes, for example. These are
offered by different manufacturers and were it not for the tube and the
branding; the customer would not even be able to distinguish between the
products of most different manufacturers. To make their product distinct from
others the manufacturers identify them to the customer, that is,
`differentiate', by using different packaging, colouring etc. and by
emphasising different benefits or advantages in their promotion.
Product
Positioning: You know that all
products do not appeal to all income groups or age groups, unless they are
meant to satisfy basic necessities. A manufacturer can thus use the
need-oriented segmentation. For example, a toothpaste manufacturer may appeal
to prevention of `tooth decay', while another might offer `sociability' in the
sense of preventing bad breath. Still another may provide the need to be
`attractive' by emphasising the whiteness of the teeth which his product,
toothpaste, gives. This lathe concept of product positioning. In the case of soft
drinks, positioning can be done in terms of pricing, calorie contents and in
many other ways. Thus positioning is used for bringing about differentiation in
a manufacturer's product.
