Four Levels of the Product There are four levels of a product (shown in the figure below): core, tangible, augmented, and promised. Each is important to understand in order to address the customer needs and offer the customer a complete experience. The Core Product The core product satisfies the most basic need of the customer. For example, a consumer who purchases a healthy snack bar may be seeking health, convenience, or simply hunger… Read More »Four Levels of the Product

Defining Product LEARNING OBJECTIVES Define a product Introduction A product is a bundle of attributes (features, functions, benefits, and uses) that a person receives in an exchange. In essence, the term “product” refers to anything offered by a firm to provide customer satisfaction, tangible or intangible. Thus, a product may be an idea (recycling) , a physical good (a pair of jeans), a service (banking), or any combination of the three.[1] Broadly speaking,… Read More »Defining Product

Introduction to Products and Marketing Mix What you’ll learn to do: explain what a product is and the importance of products in the marketing mix We’ll start this module by defining what a product is and seeing how it fits in the marketing mix. When thinking about the target customer’s perspective, it’s useful to have an “expansive” view of product and keep in mind that the customer experience is not only about… Read More »what a product is and the importance of products in the marketing mix

Why It Matters: Product Marketing Why learn about product marketing? Often when students begin to study marketing they expect to study promotion or perhaps only advertising, but product is the core of the marketing mix. Product defines what will be priced, promoted, and distributed. If you are able to create and deliver a product that provides exceptional value to your target customer, the rest of the marketing mix becomes easier to manage. A… Read More »Why It Matters: Product Marketing

Putting It Together: Branding Investigating Brand Power As noted earlier in this module, every year organizations conduct analyses and publish lists of the world’s top brands. In 2015, Forbes published a list of the most valuable brands in terms of dollar value. The consultancy Brand Finance analyzed the most powerful brands in terms of the companies’ marketing investment, the goodwill–or brand equity–among customers and employees, and their ability to translate these brand assets into… Read More »Putting It Together: Branding

Risks of Brand/Line Extension Zippo Perfume. Brand extension, or dilution? While there can be significant benefits to brand-extension strategies, there can also be significant risks, resulting in a diluted or severely damaged brand image. Poor choices for brand extension may overextend the brand so that it no longer stands for something meaningful and valued by consumers. This phenomenon is called brand dilution. It causes the core brand to deteriorate, and it damages brand equity.… Read More »Risks of Brand/Line Extension

Lines Extensions and Brand Extensions Organizations use line extensions and brand extensions to leverage and increase brand equity. Diet Coke is a line extension of the Coke brand. A company creates a line extension when it introduces a new variety of offering within the same product category. To illustrate with the food industry, a company might add new flavors, package sizes, nutritional content, or products containing special additives in line extensions. Line extensions aim to provide more… Read More »Lines Extensions and Brand Extensions

Brand Licensing Brand licensing is the process of leasing or renting the right to use a brand in association with a product or set of products for a defined period and within a defined market, geography, or territory. Through a licensing agreement, a firm (licensor) provides some tangible or intangible asset to another firm (licensee) and grants that firm the right to use the licensor’s brand name and related brand assets… Read More »Brand Licensing

Co-Branding Co-branding is an arrangement in which two established brands collaborate to offer a single product or service that carries both brand names. In these relationships, generally both parties contribute something of value to the new offering that neither would have been able to achieve independently. Effective co-branding builds on the complementary strengths of the existing brands. It can also allow each brand an entry point into markets in which they would… Read More »Co-Branding

Branding Strategies A branding strategy helps establish a product within the market and to build a brand that will grow and mature. Making smart branding decisions up front is crucial since a company may have to live with their decisions for a long time. The following are commonly used branding strategies: “Branded House” Strategy A “branded house” strategy (sometimes called a “house brand”) uses a a strong brand—typically the company… Read More »Branding Strategies