PRODUCT AND SERVICE STRATEGY

PRODUCT AND SERVICES STRATEGY

PRODUCT is anything that can be offered to a market for attention,

acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need.

SERVICE is an activity or benefit that one party can offer to another

That is essentially intangible and does not result in the ownership of
anything

EXPERIENCE: Products are tangible, services are intangible but

experiences are memorable.
LEVELS OF PRODUCT

1: Core product - Core benefit or services - benefits the product will

provide to the consumer

2: Actual product - built around the core product, quality, features,

designs, brand name and packaging.

3: Augmented product – additional consumer services and benefits

e.g. warranty, installation, after sale service
 PRODUCT CLASSIFICATIONS

CONSUMER PRODUCTS, products bought by final consumer for

personal consumption.

a: Convenience products: Consumer products that the customer buys

frequently, immediately and with a minimum of comparison and
buying efforts.

b: Shopping products: Consumer goods that the customer, in the process

of selection and purchase, characteristically compares on such bases as
suitability, quality, price and style

c: Specialty products: consumer products with unique characteristics or

brand identification for which a significant group of buyers is willing to
make a special purchase effort

d: Unsought products: Consumer products that the consumer either does

not know about or knows about but does not normally think of buying –
Product classifications - contd

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTS: Products bought by individuals and

organizations for further processing or for use in conducting a
business.
1: Material and parts.

2: Capital items .

3: Supplies and services

ORGANIZATIONS, PERSONS AND IDEAS

1: Corporate image building

2: Personal marketing

3: Place marketing

4: Idea marketing

5: Social marketing: The design, implementation and control of programs

seeking to increase the acceptability of a social idea, cause or practice
among a target group.
INDIVIDUAL PRODUCT DECISIONS

While developing and marketing individual products and services the

important decisions are product attributes, branding, packaging,
labeling and product support services

Product Attributes:

Quality: The ability of a product to perform its functions. It includes the

product’s overall durability, reliability, precision, ease of operation,
repair and other valued attributes

Product features

Product style and design

BRANDING

Brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design or a combination of these,

that identifies the maker or seller of product or service.
Brand is a part of the product. It adds value to the product

Brand Equity is value of a brand, based on the extent to which it has

high brand loyalty, name awareness, perceived quality, strong brand
association and other assets such as patents, trademarks and
channel relationships.

BRAND NAME SELECTION IS VERY VERY SERIOUS BUSINESS

Brand name should suggest something about the product’s benefit –

Easy to pronounce -

Distinctive Translate easily to foreign language

Brand be legally protected

BRAND SPONSOR
Four options:

1: Manufacturer’s brand

2: Private Brands
Slotting fee by retailers

3: Licensed brands

4: Co-brands
 BRAND STRATEGY

A COMPANY HAS FOUR OPTIONS TO DECIDE ON BRAND STRATEGY

1: LINE EXTENSION – introduction of additional items in a given product

category under the same brand name

2: BRAND EXTENSION – using a successful brand name to launch a new or

modified product in a new category

3: MULTIBRANDS - same category with new or additional brands -

4: NEW BRANDS – new brand for new product category

 FOUR BRAND STRATEGIES

PRODUCT CATEGORY
Existing New

Line Brand
Existing
Extension Extension

BRAND NAME

New Multibrands New Brands

 PACKAGING
Packaging is activity of designing and producing the container or
wrapper for a product

Primary Packaging

Secondary Packaging

Shipping Package

Labeling
PACKAGING CONCEPT

Purpose of packaging

1: Protection

2: Dispensing

3: Advertising etc.

Decisions regarding specific elements like

size, shape, material, color, text and brand mark

Childproof packaging

Temper proof packaging

Environmental concerns

Packaging reduction/going green/aseptic packaging

 LABELING

Label includes simple tag to complex graphic printed on the package

Identifies the brand or product

Promote the sale of the product – attractive design etc.

Manufactured by…..
Usage instructions
Where was the product manufactured
MRP – Maximum retail price

Legality
Price
Manufacturing/expiry date
Ingredients
Nutritional information
 PRODUCT SUPPORT SERVICES

Periodic Consumer Survey

Users data,

Internet services
PRODUCT LINE DECISIONS

A group of products that are closely related because they

functions 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.
Product line length

Product line stretching, upward, downward or both ways

(This is by bigger companies to plug competitors entry)

PRODUCT MIX DECISIONS

Product mix or product assortment consists of all the product lines

and items that a particular seller offers for sale.

Width – No. of different product lines – HPC, food, cosmetics

Length – total number of items within product lines
Depth – version offered in each product
Consistency – how close various products lines are
 SERVICE MARKETING
SERVICE is an activity or benefit that one party can offer to another
that is essentially tangible and does not result in the ownership of
anything.

Nature and Characteristics of a Service

INTANGIBILITY: services cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard or

smelled before the purchase

INSEPARABILITY: cannot be separated from their provider

VARIBILITY: quality of services depends on who provides them and

when, where and how

PERISHABILITY: cannot be stored for later sale or use

MARKETING STRATEGIES FOR SERVICE FIRMS

The Service-Profit Chain

Internal service quality---satisfied and productive service

employees---greater service value---satisfied and loyal
customers---healthy service profits and growth

INTERNAL MARKETING – marketing by a service firm to train and

effectively motive its customer-contact employees and all the
supporting serviced people to work as a team to provide customer
satisfaction.

INTERACTIVE MARKETING – marketing by a service firm that

recognizes that perceived service quality depends heavily on the
quality of buyer-seller interaction
MANAGING SERVICE DIFFERENTIATION

Innovative features
Customer-contact officials

Symbols and branding

MANAGING SERVICE QUALITY

Service quality hard to define

Empower front line employees

Watch service performance closely

Communicate concerns about service quality to employees

MANAGING SERVICE PRODUCTIVITY

Better training facilities to staff members
Power of technology
Web site
Do not over stress technology