BUS-PM w2d2

Guided Response: 

Review several of your peers’ posts.  Respond to at least two of your peers to  provide recommendations to extend their thinking.  Challenge your peers by asking a question that may cause them to rethink the product life cycle.

Peer Response 1:

I decided to look for some good products to make a camping kit. I think that if you take survival package and combine that with items from the personal care category, you can come up with a great camping kit. When looking at the different survival kits, the adventurer medical kit is what stuck out to me. This kit had the following: insect repellent wipes, splinter out, different types of pain relievers, Benadryl, Neosporin, Chap Stick, alcohol, icy hot, sunblock, cleanser novelettes, Band-Aids, cold pack, and even a thermometer. This kit is epitome for camping. It has almost everything you need in order survive camping in the wild. While it does offer some vital accessories, it does not have everything. I think if some items added from the personal care categories would help with this. Some great items to add from this category would be the following: hand sanitizer, tissue, Axe body wash, shaving cream, shampoo, toothpaste and a toothbrush. These items combined with the ones from the survival adventurer medical kit would be sure to produce a great camping kit.

Which items, if purchased, might create complementary demand for another item in the line? Explain how it might accomplish this?

Complementary products are things whose used is linked to the use of another product to fill a need (White, 2012). Since I chose to purchase shampoo, a good complementary item for this would be conditioner. Both of these products are used together when it comes to hair care. Another complementary item would be a razor to go with my shaving cream. I can’t shave and use the shaving cream unless I have a razor.

Which items might substitute for another item?  Why did you choose that substitute and how might it affect demand?

Substitute products are products that a customer can see as being the same or similar to another product (Substitute, 2015). A good example for this would be toothpaste. Instead of buying the Crest toothpaste, I could substitute it for the Colgate toothpaste. They both have the same function but Colgate is cheaper. Body wash would be another good example. I initially chose the Axe body wash but could substitute it for the Dove’s body wash since they are both made to perform the same function. I think that the biggest way in choosing a substitute could affect demand has to do with price. The price of the product can have a negative or positive effect. I think that the lower the price of product, the higher the demand for that product.

References

http://www.minimus.biz/default.aspx

Substitute. (2015). Retrieved December 17, 2015 from http://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/substitute.asp

White, S. (2012). Principles of marketing. (1st Ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.-nATALIE

Peer Response 2:

Product Usage Categories Brandilyn Runnels  2/24/2016 9:16:04 AM

Just as our text discusses not every person has the same needs and not all needs are essential to humans. In a marketing economy companies must obtain specific goods and services in order to have certain needs fulfilled (White 2012). I feel that like times should always be together so that customers don’t have to go back and forth for instance some items such as travel size shampoo, toothpaste and soap. I also think for a first aid kit there should be band aids, peroxide, tweezers, tape, cotton swabs, alcohol swabs, ibuprofen, clippers or scissors and Benadryl. For anyone especially women items such as mace and batteries are very important no matter what situation one finds themselves in. Being in the military I never leave home without my cell phone, pocket knife, toilet paper, bottled water and an extra suit of clothes just because I never know what is going to take place. Items that I believe should be combined to make a conventional survival kit would be a knife of some sort for protection/safety if getting stranded, water/food, and something to start a fire with. If these few items were combined in a package it would be more appealing because it is the necessities, plus maybe a small paper listing how to perform certain task to stay alive or defend themselves. There are however more items I would suggest such as a tent or sleeping bag but what I named would certainly be of great importance. During drill weekends in the field I ensure my Soldiers bring flashlight, plenty of water, snacks, sleeping bag/cot, poncho, wet weather gear, bug spray, an extra uniform, extra pair of boots and two extra sets of under clothes. Of course what I suggest and what they bring are usually very different but as each of them continue to go to the field they are more and more aware of they need and what circumstances could arise. When looking for such kits or packets certain items would be more demanding than others due to the location a person will go or what thought process the buyer takes. Items I think might could substitute for each other would be if one does not happen to have a poncho they could use a blanket or a jacket to create a make shift shelter.   White, S. (2012).  Principles of marketing.  (1st ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.