Core Marketing Tools The Marketing Mix

Consumer diversity, value offers and the marketing plan

•       FIRMS WITH DISTINCT CAPABILITIES AND COMPETENCIES CAN BE EXPECTED TO OFFER DISTINCT VALUE PROPOSITIONS.

•       NOT EVERY CONSUMER WILL PERCEIVE A VALUE PROPOSITION IN THE SAME WAY. VALUE IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDER.

•       CONSUMER/BUYER DIVERSITY LEAD TO THE DEFINITION AND SELECTION OF SEGMENTS FOR TARGETING.

•       IT IS THE VARIATION IN SEGMENTS’ VALUATION OF VALUE PROPOSITIONS IN A MARKET  THAT FOSTERS COMPETITION IN THAT MARKET.

•       EFFECTIVE TARGETING REQUIRES DISTINCT SEGMENTS TO BE TARGETED WITH DISTINCT VALUE PROPOSITIONS. THIS MUST BE REFLECTED IN THE MARKETING PLAN

Marketing mix, Marketing strategy and marketing program

Value Proposition, Product, Good, and Intangible Products

•       Value proposition:

Ø  Benefits the consumer will receive when buying the product

•       Product:

Ø  Tangible good, service, or idea that satisfies needs; a bundle of attributes

•       Good:

Ø  A tangible product, something we can see, touch, smell, hear, taste, or possess

•       Intangible products:

Services, ideas, people, places

Layers of the Product

 How Marketers Classify Products 

How Long Does the Product Last?

•       Durable goods provide benefits over a period of months, years, decades

–      Examples: furniture, appliances, cars

•       Nondurable goods are consumed in the short term

–      Examples: newspapers, beverages,

Classification of Products

Classifying Goods:
How Do Consumers Buy the Product?

•       Convenience products are frequently purchased items

•       Shopping products are purchased with considerable time and effort

•       Specialty products have unique characteristics important to buyers at almost any price

•       Unsought products are those in which consumers  have little interest until a need arises

Business-to-Business Products

•       Equipment is used in daily operations

•       Maintenance, repair, and operating (MRO) goods are consumed relatively quickly

•       Raw materials are products of fishing, lumber, agricultural, and mining industries that are used in the manufacture of finished goods

•       Processed materials are produced by firms when they transform raw materials from their original state

•       Component parts are manufactured goods or subassemblies of finished items that organizations need to complete their own goods

Steps to Manage Products

 Objectives for Single and Multiple Products

Objectives and Strategies for Individual Products

• Successful introduction of new products
• Taking regional products national
• Breathing new life into mature products while maintaining brand personality

Objectives and Strategies
for Multiple Products

•       Product line:
Firm’s total product offering designed to satisfy a single need or desire of target customers

•       Product line strategies:

Ø  Full-line vs. limited-line strategies

Ø  Upward, downward, or two-way line stretch

Ø  Filling out or contracting a product line

Cannibalization is a risk

•       Product mix strategies:
The total set of products a firm offers for sale

•       Product mix strategies:

Ø  Width of product mix must be considered

Ø  Product lines in mix usually have some things in common

Quality as a Product Objective:
The Science of TQM

•       Product quality is often an objective

•       A philosophy of total quality management (TQM) can help achieve quality objectives

Product Quality