Chapter 10 Learning Review

What are the four main types of consumer products?

1) Convenience products: items that the consumer purchases frequently, conveniently, and with a minimum of shopping effort 2) Shopping products: items for which the consumer compares several alternatives on criteria such as price, quality, or style 3) Specialty products: items that the consumer makes a special effort to search out and buy 4) Unsought products: items that the consumer does not know about or knows about but does not initially want

What is the difference between a product line and a product mix?

A product line is a group of product/service items that are closely related because they satisfy a class of needs, are used together, are sold to the same customer group, are distributed through the same outlets, or fall within a given price range. Product mix consists of all the product lines offered by an organization.

What kind of innovation would an improved electric toothbrush be?

Continuous innovation: no new learning is required by consumers

What is the new-product strategy development stage in the new-product process

It's the first stage of the new-product process that defines the role for a new product in terms of the firm's overall objectives. During this stage, the firm uses both a SWOT analysis and environmental scanning to assess its strengths and weaknesses relative to the trends it identifies as opportunities or threats. Outcome not only defines vital "protocol" for each new-product idea but also identifies strategic role it might serve in the firm's business portfolio.

What are the main sources of new-product ideas?

Many firms obtain ideas externally using open innovation, in which an organization finds and executes creative new-product ideas by developing strategic relationships w/outside individuals and orgs.

What marketing metric might you use in a marketing dashboard to discover which states have weak sales?

The annual percentage change in unit volume by state will help identify those states that are underperforming

What is the commercialization of a new product?

The most expensive stage for most new products, it is the last stage of the new-product process that involves positioning and launching a new product in full-scale production and sales.

Why can an "insignificant point of difference" lead to new-product failure?

The product must have superior characteristics that deliver unique benefits to the user compared to those of competitors that must be sufficient enough to motivate a change in consumption behavior. Without these points of difference, the product will probably fail.