ABS - ACCRA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY (AIT) COURSE NAME: PRODUCT AND BRAND MANAGEMENT COURSE CODE: MKT - 451 LECTURER: DR. WAHAB PRODUCT Definition : A product is the item offered for sale A product can be a service or an item It can be physical or in virtual or cyber form A product can be a physical object or a service and may refer to a single item or unit, a group of equivalent products or a group of goods or services Every product is made at a cost and each is sold at a price The price that can be charged depends on the market, the quality, the marketing and the segment that is targeted PRODUCT • Each product has a useful life after which it needs replacement, and a life cycle after which it has to be re - invented • In FMCG parlance, a brand can be revamped, re - launched or extended to make it more relevant to the segment and times, often keeping the product almost the same PRODUCT • Description: A product needs to be relevant : the users must have an immediate use for it A product needs to be functionally able to do what it is supposed to, and do it with a good quality PRODUCT A product needs to be communicated : Users and potential users must know why they need to use it, what benefits they can derive from it, and what it does differently to their lives Advertising and 'brand building' best do this PRODUCT A product needs a name : a name that people remember and relate to A product with a name becomes a brand It helps it stand out from the clutter of products and names A product should be adaptable : with trends, time and change in segments, the product should lend itself to adaptation to make it more relevant and maintain its revenue stream PRODUCTS COMPONENTS • Core product – this is the end benefit for the buyer and answers the question : What is the buyer really buying? For example, the buyer of a car is buying a means of transport, the buyer of an aspirin is buying pain relief and the buyer of financial advice is hoping to buy financial security and peace of mind • Formal product – this is the actual physical or perceived characteristics of your product including its level of quality, special features, styling, branding and packaging • Augmented product – the support items that complete your total product offering such as after - sales service, warranty, delivery and installation PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS Product attributes Quality – the major tool in positioning your product It encompasses two key elements : Quality level - how it is made or perceived Quality consistency - how it performs over its life Features – the physical or intrinsic characteristics of your product that contribute to the benefits it offers Design – a combination of how the product looks and how it performs PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS Branding: A brand is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these elements that identifies the maker or seller of a product or service Branding is an important part of a product and contributes to its personality and perceived value PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS The power of a brand cannot be underestimated – many people buy on the strength of brand alone with no regard for price or performance Packaging Packaging incorporates the wrapper or container for your product It serves to protect the product, ensuring it reaches the buyer in good condition and also conveys the personality of your brand and important safety and statutory information PRODUCT CHARACTERISTICS There are usually two levels of packaging – the primary packaging containing each individual product ( eg : a can) and the secondary packaging which contains a quantity of products ( eg : a carton) Labelling Labelling incorporates all the written information about your product and usually takes the form of an adhesive sticker, a tie - on tag or a printed piece of packaging PRODUCT MIX Product mix, also known as product assortment, refers to the total number of product lines that a company offers to its customers For example, a small company may sell multiple lines of products Sometimes, these product lines are fairly similar, such as dish washing liquid and bar soap, which are used for cleaning and use similar technologies PRODUCT MIX Other times, the product lines are vastly different, such as diapers and razors The four dimensions to a company's product mix include Width Length Depth Consistency PRODUCT MIX • WIDTH The width of a company's product mix pertains to the number of product lines that a company sells For example, if a company has two product lines, its product mix width is two PRODUCT MIX • Small and upstart businesses will usually not have a wide product mix It is more practical to start with some basic products and build market share • Later on, a company's technology may allow the company to diversify into other industries and build the width of the product mix PRODUCT MIX • LENGTH Product mix length pertains to the number of total products or items in a company's product mix, according to Philip Kotler's textbook "Marketing Management : Analysis, Planning, Implementation and Control " For example, ABC company may have two product lines, and five brands within each product line Thus, ABC's product mix length would be 10 Companies that have multiple product lines will sometimes keep track of their average length per product line In the above case, the average length of an ABC Company's product line is five PRODUCT MIX • DEPTH Depth of a product mix pertains to the total number of variations for each product Variations can include size, flavor and any other distinguishing characteristic For example, if a company sells three sizes and two flavors of toothpaste, that particular brand of toothpaste has a depth of six Just like length, companies sometimes report the average depth of their product lines ; or the depth of a specific product line PRODUCT MIX CONSISTENCY Product mix consistency pertains to how closely related product lines are to one another in terms of use, production and distribution A company's product mix may be consistent in distribution but vastly different in use For example, a small company may sell its health bars and health magazine in retail stores PRODUCT MIX However, one product is edible and the other is not The production consistency of these products would vary as well PRODUCT MARKET STRATEGY Small companies usually start out with a product mix limited in width, depth and length ; and have a high level of consistency However, over time, the company may want to differentiate products or acquire new ones to enter new markets A company can also sell the existing products to new markets by coming up with new uses for their product