3.01 Product/Service Management
What role does Product/Service Management play in Marketing?
1. Affects Positioning of product 2. Improces product success 3. Gives product an image
What happens when a company fails to inform customers about product risks?
1. Company can get sued. 2. Harm to the customer.
Eight factors affecting Product/Service Management:
1. Customer needs and wants. 2. Company goals and strategies 3. Cost and available resources 4. Competition 5. Product Itself 6. Government Regulation 7. Stages in Life Cycle 8. Business and Economic Trends
3 Main phases of Product/Service Management:
1. Developing new products 2. Monitoring exsisting products 3. Eliminate weak products
Four Stages of Product Life Cycle:
1. Introduction 2. Growth 3. Maturity 4. Decline
Product Packaging Information:
1. Must have name of manufacturer. 2. Quantity of contents 3. Nutritional Info 4. Health claims are the same on all products; light, fat free, etc. 5. Warning on products like alcohol and cigarettes. 6. How to care for clothes.
Applications of Technology in Marketing:
1. Point-of-Sale systems 2. Interactive Touch Screen Computer 3. Interactive TV 4. Customer Relationship Management 5. Enterprise Resource Planning Systems 6. Internet
Three options left during Decline Stage:
1. Re-Positioning or rebranding of the product to extend product life cycle. 2. Maintain the product as it is and reduce costs to get maximum profits till the product can produce profits. 3. Take the product off the market.
Product Line:
A group of these products associated by function, by consumet group, by distribution channel or by price range.
Maturity Stage:
A huge problem with maturity stages in a techonologically advanced environment is the problem of duplication. Competing products will arise with the same features and capabilities. Very high competition.
Definition of Product/Service Management:
A marketing function that involves obtaining, developing, maintaining, and improving a product or service mix in response to market opportunities.
Product Mix:
All the products a given company produces comprise the product mix, or product assortment.
Ethical Considerations in Product Packaging:
Consumer assumes that the picture and description of the product are a true and honest representation of it but the product is completely different from the way the packaging described it.
Product/Service Classification System:
Convenience Goods Shopping Goods Speciality Goods Unsought Goods Industrail Goods Installations Accessories Raw Materials Components Business to business
Why do you think companies package and label their products?
Create a good impression Help sell products Communicate benefits
Concerns for Product Packaging?
Glass now plastic Tamper Resistant packages Airtight containers for foods Wasteful packaging Switching for spray cans and pumps
An organization that markets poor quality or unsafe products...
Is taking the chance that it will develop a reputation for poor products or service. May be putting itself in jeopardy for product claims or legal action.
Extending a product's Life Cycle:
Make modifications to the product. Change the packaging. Reduce the price. Export to a new market. Introduce new varieties Increase the advertising
Planned Obsolescence:
Making products that are known to nost last long, or change, so that people will need to replace them.
Product Width:
Number of product lines that company sells.
What are benefits to Product/Service Management?
Offer products consumers want and company's profits increase. When developing the right products, a company can gain new customers. When products are well managed there is less of a chance for failure.
4 Important Terms:
Product Mix Product Line Product Width Product Depth
Introduction of the product:
Product is launched. Very risky because you never know how the market will receive the product.
Growth of the product:
Product starrts showing better returns on investment. Competition may step in before the product has completely launched.
Product Life Cycle:
Represents the stages that a product goes through during its life.
Who's responsible for managing product/service management?
Several employees of a company, certain departments, one employee of just the boss. Depends on the size of the Company.
Product Lifecycle Management (PLM):
Software market is evolving rapidly and growing fast.
Product Labeling & Packaging Technology:
Some package and labels also are used for track and trace purposes.
Stage of Decline:
The expenditures begin to equal the profits or worse, expenses are more than profits. Product must exit the market.
Technology in Market Testing:
The use of virtual store simulations offers a wide variety of business benefits that practitioners say more than justify the intitial expense.
Packaging Functions & Technology:
To preserve the product To protect the product from damage To make the product more attractive to the consumer To make it easier to transport the product.
Product Depth:
Total number of variations for each product.