Chapter Seven
Product, Services, and Branding
Strategy
7-1
What is a Product?
• Anything that can be offered to a market
for attention, acquisition, use, or
consumption and that might satisfy a want
or need.
– Includes: physical objects, services,
events, persons, places, organizations,
ideas, or some combination thereof.
7-2
What is a Service?
• A form of product that consists of
activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered
for sale that are essentially intangible and
do not result in the ownership of anything.
– Examples: banking, hotel, airline, retail, tax
preparation, home repairs.
7-3
The Product-Service Continuum
Sugar
Pure Tangible Good
Restaurant
University
Education
Pure Service
7-4
Levels of a Product
7-5
Core Benefit:• The most basic level of a product is the
CORE BENEFIT which answers the
question “What is the buyer really buying?”
• When designing the products, marketers
must first define the core, problem solving
benefits or services that consumers seek.
7-6
Actual product:• At this second level, product planners
must turn the core benefit into actual
product.
• They need to develop product and service
features, design a quality level, a brand
name, and packaging.
7-7
Augmented product:• Finally all product manufactures must build
an augmented product around the core
benefit and actual product by offering
additional customer services and benefits.
7-8
Comparison of the Product Concepts of Full Service vs. No
Frills or Budget Airlines
7-9
7-10
The Evolving Product Concept in Coffee Marketing
7-11
Products and Service Classifications
• Based on the type of consumers that use
the products, we can classify the products
and services into two groups.
• One is Industrial products and the other
is Consumer products
7-12
Consumer Products
• Products and
services bought by
final consumers for
personal
consumption.
7-13
Convenience Products
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•
•
•
Purchased frequently and immediately
Low priced
Mass advertising
Many purchase locations
– Examples: candy, soda, newspapers
7-14
Shopping Products
•
•
•
•
Bought less frequently
Higher price
Fewer purchase locations
Comparison shop
– Examples: furniture, clothing, cars, appliances
7-15
Specialty Products
•
•
•
•
•
Special purchase efforts
High price
Unique characteristics
Brand identification
Few purchase locations
– Examples: Ferrari, Rolex Watch
7-16
Unsought Products
• New innovations
• Products consumers do not want to think
about
• Require much advertising and personal
selling
• Examples: life insurance, cemetery plots,
blood donation
7-17
Industrial Products
• Those purchased for
further processing or
for use in conducting
business.
7-18
Industrial Products
Materials and Parts
Raw materials, manufactured
materials, and parts
Capital Items
Products that aid in
buyer’s production or operations
Supplies and Services
Operating supplies, repair,
and maintenance items
7-19
Other Market Offerings
• Organizations: Profit (businesses) and nonprofit
(schools and churches).
• Persons: Politicians, entertainers, sports
figures, doctors, and lawyers.
• Places: create, maintain, or change attitudes or
behavior toward particular places (e.g.,
tourism).
• Ideas (social marketing): Public health
campaigns, environmental campaigns, family
planning, or human rights.
7-20
Individual Product Decisions
7-21
Product and Service Attributes
Quality
Performance and Satisfaction
Includes Level & Consistency
Features
Differentiates a product from the
competition; assessed based on
value and cost
Style & Design
Style = Appearance
Design = heart of the product
7-22
Branding
• A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol, or
design, or a combination of these, that
identifies the maker or seller of a product
or service.
7-23
Branding
• Advantages to buyers:
– Product identification
– Product quality
• Advantages to sellers:
– Basis for product’s quality story
– Provides legal protection
– Helps to segment markets
7-24
Packaging
• Designing and producing the
container or wrapper for a product.
• Developing a good package:
– Packaging concept
– Package elements
– Product safety
– Environmental concerns
7-25
Labeling
• Printed information appearing on or
with the package.
• Performs several functions:
– Identifies product or brand
– Describes several things about the
product
– Promotes the product through attractive
graphics
7-26
Product Support Services
• Assess the value of current services and
obtain ideas for new services.
• Assess the cost of providing the services.
• Put together a package of services that
delights the customers and yields profits
for the company.
7-27
Product Line Decisions
Product Line Length
Number of Items in the Product Line
Stretching
Filling
Lengthen beyond
current range.
Lengthen within
current range
Can be:
Downward
Upward
Both Directions
7-28
Product line of Passenger cars of Toyota
7-29
Product Line Stretching
7-30
Two-Way Stretch
Marriott added the Renaissance Hotels line to serve the upper end of the
market and the TownePlace Suites line to serve the moderate and lower ends.
7-31
Product Mix Decisions
Product Mix: all of the product lines and items
that a particular seller offers for sale.
• Width: the number of different product lines
the company carries.
• Length: the total number of items the
company carries in its product line
• Depth: the number of versions offered of
each product in the line.
• Consistency: how closely related the
various lines are.
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Product mix
7-33
Figure 7.6
The Product
Mix and
Implications
for
Marketing
Strategy
7-34
Brand Development Strategies
7-35
Brand Development
• Line Extension: introduction of additional
items in a given product category under
the same brand name (e.g., new flavors,
forms, colors, ingredients, or package
sizes).
• Brand Extension: using a successful brand
name to launch a new or modified product
in a new category.
7-36
Brand Development
• Multibranding: offers a way to establish
different features and appeal to different
buying motives.
• New Brands: developed based on belief
that the power of its existing brand is
waning and a new brand name is needed.
Also used for products in new product
category.
7-37