Individual Product Decisions — the Actual Product
Category: Marketing
We now look at decisions relating to the development and marketing of individual products — the actual product. Developing a product involves defining the benefits that the product will offer. These benefits are communicated and delivered by tangible product attributes, such as quality, features, design, packaging, brand name, and assortment. Decisions about these attributes greatly affect consumer reactions towards a product.
Product Quality. In developing a product, the manufacturer has to choose a quality level that will support the product’s position in the target market. Quality is one of the marketer’s major positioning tools.
Product Features. A product can be offered with varying features. A «stripped-down» model, one without any extras, is the starting point. The company can create higher level models by adding more features. Features are a competitive tool for differentiating the company’s product from competitors’ products. Some companies are very innovative in adding new features. Being the first producer to introduce a needed and valued new feature is one of the most effective ways to compete.
Product Design. Other way to add product distinctiveness is through product design. Some companies have reputations for outstanding design. Unlike style, design is more than skin deep -it goes to the very heart of a product. Good design contributes to a product’s usefulness as well as to its looks. A good designer considers appearance but also creates products that are easy, safe, inexpensive to use and service, and simple and economical to produce and distribute.
Brand Name. Consumers view a brand as an important part of the product, and branding can add value to the product. Branding has become a major issue in product strategy. Developing a branded product requires a great deal of long-term marketing investment, but it also gives the producer a number of advantages in his future marketing. Selecting a brand name. The brand name should be carefully chosen. A good name can add greatly to a product’s success. Finding the best brand name is a difficult task. It begins with a careful review of the product and its benefits, the target market, and proposed marketing strategies.
Among the desirable qualities for a brand name are these: (1) It should suggest something about the product’s benefits and qualities. Examples: Beauty rest, Craftsman, Sunkist, Spic and Span, Snuggles. (2) It should be easy to pronounce, recognize, and remember. Short names help. Examples: Tide, Aim, Puffs. But longer ones are sometimes effective. Examples: «Love My Carpet» carpet cleaner, «I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter» margarine, Better Business Bureau. (3) The brand name should be distinctive. Examples: Taurus, Kodak, Exxon. (4) The name should translate easily into foreign languages. (5) It should be capable of registration and legal protection. A brand name cannot be registered if it infringes on existing brand names, and it may not be possible to protect brand names that are merely descriptive or suggestive.
Once chosen, the brand name must be protected. Many firms try to build a brand name that will eventually become identified with the product category. Such brand names as Levi’s and Scotch Tape have succeeded in this way.
Packaging Decisions. Many products offered to the market have to be packaged. Some marketers have called packaging a fifth P, along with price, product, place, and promotion. Most marketers, however, treat packaging as an element of product strategy. Packaging includes the activities of designing and producing the container, or wrapper for a product. The package may include the product’s immediate container and a secondary package that is thrown away when the product is about to be used.