Discussion QuestionMK5
WEEK 5
We have passed the midpoint of our course. How are you progressing on meeting your goals for this course? Remember, if you have questions about the material you can post in Ask the Professor.
1. What Composes an Offering?
As we have been noting in earlier weeks, "product" is a generic term to mean tangible goods, services, or ideas. Most products are a combination of tangible goods and service and fall somewhere on a continuum like this:
graphic with arrows on both ends labeled tangible and intangible, ranging from salt at the tangible end to haircut at the intangible end
Select one of your favorite products and describe it terms of its:
1. features
2. benefits
3. price
4. total cost of ownership
Be sure you refer to these concepts in the week's readings before tackling this description. Then, identify where your product would fall on the product/service continuum and why you chose that location. Use percentages such as 25 percent product and 75 percent service. Lastly, does the product have any product lines? If so, how do they differ from the "core product" in terms of additional benefits or features.
2. Types of Consumer Offerings
This section of the week's readings describes the types of consumer offerings with four categories:
1. convenience offerings
2. shopping offerings
3. specialty offerings
4. unsought offerings
Consider your own purchase behaviors. Identify a product that, for you, falls into each of the four categories. Be sure to consider why you chose each of the categories for each product.
3. Branding, Labeling, and Packaging
Companies strive for unique and memorable brand names and images that convey the offering and its benefits either directly or because the brand conjures images of the benefits in the minds of the consumers. Some are more successful than others. As we have often discussed in the readings, Apple is the prime example of the strength of a brand name.
Can you think of other brands that have the same impact as the Apple brand? If so, what is the brand and how is it positioned in your mind? How does the brand communicate via its labeling and packaging? Can you see how a strong brand makes it easier for the company to launch other brands under the same brand umbrella?
4. Managing the Offering
Here is a video clip of Renee Guess of Curves International. She describes the Curves product and her job overseeing the Curves brand and marketing communications. Especially note the product description and how the product is positioned vs. other health clubs focusing on a very specific target market.
http://app.wistia.com/embed/medias/248ebb3d65
Companies such as Curves that use a franchise system for growth need to determine the degree to which the brand will be managed by headquarters and how much latitude they will allow franchisees in local promotions. A brand can get out of control and used in different and sometimes inappropriate ways if the brand image is not protected. Also note that how Curves packages its product in terms of the gym layout and consistency of the offering.
5. New Products
New product ideas are numerous. The ones that make it to market are not. A lot can go wrong in the new product development process, which is why companies that follow the process outlined in this week's readings have a better chance of success because they keep the customer's needs and wants at the heart of the process.
Here is an article on the 10 worst product launches of all time as compiled by Time magazine.
Frohlich, T. (2014, March 6). The 10 worst product fails of all time. https://time.com/13549/the-10-worst-product-fails-of-all-time/
Scroll through some of these failures and see if you can figure out where the product launch went wrong based on the new product development process. Most likely, the company did not do the market research needed to uncover true market needs and wants. The big reason why companies don't do the research is either lack of financial resources or time was of the essence to launch based on some external pressure such as the competition was ready to launch a similar offering.
6. Managing New Products: The Product Life Cycle
The value of the product life cycle is that it provides clues as to what marketing mix strategies might need to change as the product moves through the cycle. For example, a high-tech product being launched will have to decide whether to use penetration or skimming pricing strategy. That pricing strategy will then determine how much marketing communications is needed and what distribution strategy is needed. Because high-tech products are particularly susceptible to competition and entry of substitute products, the company needs to stimulate sales early, knowing the product life cycle may be short. See Topic 3 of this week's discussion for an exercise to test your understanding of this concept.
Recap of Week 5 Learning Activities
The big takeaway for Week 5 is an appreciation for the complexity of bringing the right product or service offerings to market, ensuring the features and benefits are need-fulfilling for the right consumers. It's no easy task as evidenced by the vast number of product failures. In addition, there are multiple marketing strategies to implement and modified as the product moves through its life cycle. Marketing research done right can minimize many of the new product launch challenges.