Chapter 7: Products, Services And Brands: Offering Customer Value

Question 1

What is a product?

Answer 1

Anyang that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need.

Question 2

What is a service?

Answer 2

An activity, benefit or satisfaction offered for sale that is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of anything.

Question 3

What is a key element in the overall market offering?

Answer 3

Product.

Marketing-mix planning begins with building an offering that brings value to target customers. This offering becomes the basis upon which the company builds profitable customer relationships.

Question 4

How do product planners need to think about products and services?

Answer 4

They need to think of them on three levels. Each level adds more customer value.

Consumers see products as complex bundles of benefits that satisfy their needs. When developing products, marketers must first identify core customer value that consumer seek from the product. They must them deism the actual product and find ways to augment it in order to create this customer value and the most satisfying customer experience.

Question 5

What are the three levels of products and services?

Answer 5

. Core customer value
. Actual product
. Augmented product

Question 6

Explain the following level of product and services: core customer value.

Answer 6

This addresses the question: what is the buyer really buying?

When designing products, marketers must first define the core, problem-solving benefits or services that consumers seek.

Eg. A woman buys lipstick for more than lip colour.

Question 7

Explain the following level of product and services: the actual product.

Answer 7

This is where they need to develop product and service features, design, a quality level, a brand name and packaging,

Question 8

Explain the following level of product and services: the augmented product.

Answer 8

Product planners must also build an augmented product around the core benefit and actual product by offering additional consumer services and benefits.

Question 9

What are the two broad classes products and services fall into?

Answer 9

Products and services fall into two broad classes based on the types of consumers that use them - consumer products and industrial products.

Broadly defined, products also include other marketable entities such as experiences, organisations, persons, places and ideas.

Question 10

What are consumer products?

Answer 10

A product brought by final consumers for personal consumption.

Consumer products include convenience products, shopping products, specialty products and unsought products.

These products differ in the ways consumers buy them and, therefore, in how they are marketed.

Question 11

What are convenience products?

Answer 11

They are consumer P and S that customers usually buy frequently, immediately and with little comparison or buying effort.

Low price

Widespread distribution, convenient locations

Mass promotion by the producer

Eg. Toothpaste, magazines, laundry detergent

Question 12

What are shopping products?

Answer 12

These are less frequently purchased consumer P and S that customer compare carefully on suitability, quality, price and style.

Higher price

Selective distribution in fewer outlets

Promotion: Advertising and personal selling by both producer and resellers

Eg. Major appliances, television, furniture, clothing

Question 13

What are speciality products?

Answer 13

These are consumer P and S with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a significant group of buyers is willing to makers special purchase effort.

Little comparison of brands

High price

Exclusive distribution in only one or a few outlets per market area

More carefully targeted promotion by both producer and resellers

Eg. Luxury goods such as Rolex watches or fine crystal

Question 14

What are unsought products?

Answer 14

Consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or knows about but does not normally think of buying.

Price: varies (as it can include major new innovations)

Distribution: varies

Promotion: aggressive advertising and personal selling (so consumers become aware of product) by producer and resellers

Eg. Life insurance, Red Cross blood donations

Question 15

What are industrial products?

Answer 15

Products bought by individuals and organisations for further processing or for use in conducting a business.

The three groups of industrial products and services include:
. materials and parts,
. capitals items and
. supplies and services.

Question 16

What are materials and parts?

Answer 16

These include raw materials (consists of farm products and natal products) and manufactured materials and parts (consists of component materials and component parts).

Most materials and parts are sold directly to industrial users. Price and service are the main marketing factors, branding and advertising tend to be less important.

Question 17

What are capital items?

Answer 17

These are industrial products that aid in the buyer’s production or operations, including installations (major purchases such as buildings - factories and offices) and accessory equipment (portable factory equipment and tools, and office equipment).

Question 18

What are supplies and services?

Answer 18

Supplies include operating supplies (lubricants, coal, paper, pencils) and repair and maintenance items (paint, nails, brooms).

Supplies are the convenience products of the industrial field because they are usually pitched with a minimum amount of effort or comparison.

Business services include maintenance and repair services (window cleaning, computer repair) and business advisory services (legal, management consulting, advertising). Such services are usually, supplied under contract.

Question 19

What is social marketing?

Answer 19

The use of commercial marketing concepts and rolls in programs designed to influence individuals’ behaviour to improve their well-being and that of society.

Includes public health campaigns to reduce smoking, drug abuse and obesity.

Question 20

What is place marketing and what is people marketing?

Answer 20

Involves activities undertaken to create, maintain, or change attitudes or behaviour towards particular places/people.

Definition is the same.

Question 21

What are the three levels of product and service decisions?

Answer 21

. Individual product decisions
. Product line decisions
. Product mix decisions

Question 22

Explain individual product and service decisions.

Answer 22

This involves defining the be digits that it will offer. These benefits are communicated and delivered by:
. product attributes 
. branding 
. packaging 
. labelling and
. product support services

Question 23

Individual product and service decisions: product and service attributes.

Answer 23

Developing a product or service involves defining the benefits that it will offer. These benefit are communicated and delivered by product attributes such as quality, features style and design.

Question 24

What is product quality?

Answer 24

The characteristics of a product or service that beat on its ability to satisfy stated or implied customer needs.

Thus,mc loosely linked with customer value and satisfaction.

Total quality management is an approach in which al company’s people are involved in constantly improving the quality of products, services and business processes.

Question 25

What are product features?

Answer 25

A product can be offered with varying features. Features are a competitive tool for differentiating the company’s product from competitors products.

Surveying customers periodically is a great way to decide which new identified features to use.

A company would then assess each features value to customers VS its cost to the company.

Question 26

What is product style and design?

Answer 26

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Question 27

Individual product and service decisions: what is branding?

Answer 27

A name, term, sign, symbol, design, or w combination of these, that identifies the products or services of one seller or group of sellers and differentiates them from those of competitors.

Consumers view a brand as an important part of a product, and branding can add value to the product.

Question 28

Individual product and service decisions: what is packaging?

Answer 28

The activities of designing an producing the container or wrapper for a product.

Increase competition and clutter on retail store shelves mean that packaging is an important marketing tool as well.

Question 29

Individual product and service decisions: what is labelling?

Answer 29

They perform several functions.

. They identify the product or brand.
. They describe several things about the product (who made it, where it was made, when it was made, its contents etc.)
. They help promote the brand, support its positioning and connect with customers

Question 30

Individual product and service decisions: what are product support services?

Answer 30

A company usually include some support services, which can be a minor or major part of the total offering.

Important part of the customers overall brand experience.

First step in designing support services is to survey customers periodically - Assess quality of current services and obtain ideas for new ones

Question 31

Explain product line decisions.

Answer 31

A product line is a group of profits that are closely related because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through the same types of outlets, or fall within given price ranges.