Marketing the product
The marketing mix
The marketing mix is the set of controllable marketing variables that the firm blends to produce the response it wants in the target market. Also known as the 4P’s.
1. Product – goods and services combination the offers to the target market.
2. Price – the amount of money customer’s pay to obtain the product.
3. Place – activities that make the product available to target customers. Eg dealership
4. Promotion – activities that communicate the merits of the product and persuade target customers to buy.
*Discuss how each can be effectively manipulated to meet customer’s needs profitably.
The Product
A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention , acquisition use, or consumption that might satisfy a need or want. Physical products or services.
A product is more than a set of tangible features.
Product levels - (i ) core benefits – the fundamental service or benefit that the customer is really buying. Meet need.
(ii) basic product (iii) expected product – a set of attributes and conditions buyers normally expect (iv) augmented product – that exceeds customer expectation (v) potential product – encompasses all the possible augmentations and transformations the product or offering might undergo in the future.
Product classifications
1. Durability and tangibility
2. Consumer goods
3. Industrial goods
*Identify the different good within each classification.
Product decisions
1. Product attribute decisions
Developing a product involves defining the benefits that the product will offer.
Product quality stands for the ability of a product to perform its function. Quality level that matches target market needs and the quality levels of competing products.
Product features - are a competitive tool for differentiating the company’s product from competitors’.
Product design - a good design