Concept And Levels of Product And Product Classification

Concept and Levels of Product

Anything supplied to a market for purchase, attention, usage, or composition that can satiate the consumer's need and want is considered a product. Products are made up of more than just material things. A widely defined product includes tangible items, services, people, events, locations, organizations, phone calls, ideas, and combinations of all these elements. Products include things like an Apple iPod, a Toyota Camry, and a Caffe Mocha from Starbucks. We pay particular attention to services because of their significance to the economy. Services are a type of product that are required and do not result in the ownership of something. They include a variety of activities, advantages, and satisfactions that are supplied for the sale. Examples of services include banking, travel, lodging, and tax preparation.

Products, Services, and Experiences

One essential component of every package of market offerings is the product. Planning the marketing mix begins with creating a product or service that the target market will find valuable. This product becomes one of the pillars on which the business establishes a successful relationship with its customers. Offerings on the consumer market frequently include both tangible items and services. Every element may play a significant or minor role in the total offer. The offer could, at one extreme, be a pure physical good like toothpaste, salt, or soap.

As goods and services become more commonplace in today's market, many businesses are upgrading while adding value for their clients. Beyond just producing goods and providing services, they are controlling and creating the consumer experiences with their business or goods in order to differentiate their offers.

Levels of Products and Services

Product planners must consider services and products at three different levels that increase consumer value. Core Benefit, which answers the query, "What is the buyer truly buying?" is the lowest level. Marketers must first identify the essential, problem-solving advantages or services that consumers seek before constructing the products. When a woman purchases lipstick, she is purchasing more than just lip color. We create cosmetics in the factory, but we sell hope in the store, as Charles Revson of Revlon observed long ago. And those who acquire iPhones do so for reasons other than for a wired phone, an email and online browsing device, or a personal organizer. They are purchasing access to the people and resources as well as freedom.

Second level down. The primary advantage must be translated by product planners into the actual product. They must develop the look, feel, degree of quality, brand name, and packaging for goods and services. iPhone is an example of a product. Its name, components, functionality, aesthetics, packaging, and other characteristics have all been carefully blended to give the main advantage of keeping connected.

Finally, the product planners must create an augmented product that offers more or additional customer services and benefits while maintaining the primary benefit of the original product. Iphone needs to provide more than simply a phone. Customers must receive comprehensive solutions for mobile connectivity from it. Therefore, when a customer purchases an iPhone, the manufacturer and dealers must be able to provide buyers with a warranty on parts and workmanship, instructions for using the device, prompt repair services when necessary, as well as a toll-free telephone number and website for use if they have any problems or questions.

Customers see the products as a complicated package of advantages that meet their needs and wishes. Prior to creating a product, marketers must be able to pinpoint the primary client needs that it will fulfill. Then they should create the actual product and consider how to enhance it to produce a package of benefits that will result in and deliver the best positive client experience.

Products and Service Classification

Consumer and industrial products and services are divided into two major categories based on the types of consumers that use them. Other marketable elements including experiences, institutions, people, locations, and concepts are also included in products.

• Consumer Products: Consumer goods are goods and services that are purchased by end users for their own consumption. Convenience goods, retail goods, specialty goods, and unanticipated goods are all included under the heading of "Consumer Products."
• Convenience Product: Convenience products are those goods and services that consumers typically purchase regularly, without much thought or comparison shopping. Examples are soap, appropriateness, newspapers, candy, etc.
• Shopping products: Customers acquire goods and services less frequently when shopping, and they assess suitability, price, quality, and style more. Example: Furniture , clothing, used cars, major appliances. etc.
• Specialty Products: Specialty goods and services are consumer goods and offerings with distinctive qualities or brand recognition for which only a sizable segment of consumers is willing to make special purchasing efforts. Examples: High-class photographic equipment , designer clothes, brands of cars etc.
• Unsought product: Unwanted products are those that customers are either unaware of or aware of but do not typically consider buying. Due of their nature, unwelcome products demand extensive promotion, personal selling, and other marketing activities. Examples: Life Insurance, Blood donation etc
• Industrial products: Industrial products are those that are purchased by people and organizations for use in running a business. The reason for purchase is the main distinction between a consumer goods and an industrial product. A lawnmower purchased by a customer for use around the house is a consumer good, whereas a lawnmower purchased by the same consumer for use in landscaping is an industrial good. Three groups of Industrial products and services consists of Material and parts, Capital items, and Supplies and Services.
• Materials and Parts: These are raw materials and the manufactured materials and parts. Example: Fruits , vegetables, cotton, small motors , tires etc.
• Capital Items: These industrial products, which include installations and auxiliary gear, help customers' operations or productions. Example: hand tools , fax machines, computers, desk etc.
• Supplies: It consist operating supplies like lubricants, coal, paper, pencils,etc. and repair and maintainence items like paint , nail, brooms etc.

Reference

Kotler, P., & Armstrong, G. (2013). Principles of Marketing. Chennai: Pearson India Education Services Pvt Ltd

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