Describing the marketing mix

By Chishimba Chishimba
UNIT 5
 What is concept of product?

• A product concept is a general idea of the product you

want to create or market.
• It is an idea that can be changed and improved as time
goes by.
• A product concept deals with customer needs,
business ideas, or technological innovations.
• There are four different concepts of products which
are physical concept (or tangible) , service concept (or
Intangible), augmented concept (or extended) and
total product concept.
 What is a Product?
• On the other hand, a product is the item offered for sale,
a service or an item.
• It can be physical or in virtual or cyber form.
• 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.
• Each product has a useful life after which it needs
replacement and a life-cycle after which it has to be re-
invented.
 1. Physical Or Tangible Concept
• Physical or tangible concept of product is a
traditional concept.
• It covers only physical features of product.
• Name, shape and size, color, design, type, weight,
taste, standard and qualities etc, exist in product.
• Such products can be seen, touched and owned.
• This is also called physical or tangible concept of
product.
2) Service Or Intangible Concept Of Product

• Service concept of product is also called

intangible concept.
• In this concept, product cannot be seen or
touched but only felt.
• Services, ideas, events, experiences etc. are the
examples of intangible products.
• Banking services, insurance services, beauty
parlor, health care services etc. are the examples
of intangible products.
 3) Extended Or Augmented Concept Of
Product
• This concept includes both physical and service
concept of products.
• If services, warranty, reputation, goodwill etc.
are also obtained together with physical goods,
it is called extended or augmented concept.
• For example, when a computer is purchased,
the customer gets user's guide, warranty and
repairing assurance, quick service etc.
 4) Total Product Concept
• Total product concept includes tangible, intangible and
extended concepts.
• This concept is based on marketing concept and is
consumer oriented.
• In other words, total product concept encompasses all
the aspects of the benefits obtained by consumers
from a product.
• The total form of physical attributes, benefits,
advantages, performance of the product, consumer's
experience etc. is the total product concept.
 What is product classification?
• Product classification refers to the organization of
different types of products that consumers buy
• Product classification is a marketing and business term
that categorizes products based on how and why
consumers purchase them.
• These distinctions can change the way companies
market their products and affect other aspects of sales,
such as pricing and distribution.
• Knowing classifications can help marketers create
advertisements for their company's goods and services.
 Why classify products?
• Professionals classify products for a variety of
reasons.
• Product classifications can contribute to many
decisions within the life cycle of a product.
• This can include the way companies market
the product, its price, the type of consumer
who buys it and how high the demand for the
product is.
 Why classify- 1) Marketing
• As previously mentioned, the techniques marketing
teams may use to advertise a product often depends
on its classification type.
• Product classification can change a marketing budget
and the focus of a campaign.
• For example, when marketing a specialty item, a
company is less likely to spend money on forming a
focus group to test its product.
• Instead, they may allocate their resources to brand
management.
 2) Pricing
• The type of classification a product receives
can change the way retailers and distributors
price the item.
• Convenience items and mandatory purchases
are often more likely to be cheaper than a
specialty item or informed purchase.
• This is because consumers value these
products' availability and necessity.
 2) Pricing (continued)
• Convenience and mandatory items are also
often more regular in nature and include
products with lower price points, such as food.
• Because consumers typically hold less brand
loyalty to the products under these
classifications, it's also more important for the
companies that sell convenience and
mandatory purchases to assign a lower price
to stay in competition with other brands.
 3) Demand
• The demand for a product often varies depending on the
product classification.
• Generally, consumers buy mandatory and convenience
products more often than specialty and informed
purchases.
• This affects how companies manufacture these items and
how marketing teams advertise them.
• Because consumers may need more encouragement to
make purchases that they need less frequently, companies
selling specialty and informed purchase products may need
to allocate more time and money to market their products.
 4) Invention
• When deciding which products to produce, a
company might consider product classifications.
• Because the marketing efforts for each type of
product varies, a company may aim to specialize in
one type of advertisement, which limits which
products they make.
• The demand of a product, which has a role in how
professionals create product classifications, can also
influence a company's decision regarding the
invention of a product.
What are the four classifications of products?

• Convenience Goods
• Shopping Goods
• Specialty Goods
• Unsought Goods
 1. Specialty Goods
• A specialty good is the only product of its kind on the
market.
• This means consumers don't usually feel the need to
compare and deliberate as much as they would with
shopping products.
• For example, iPhones are a specialty good because of
Apple’s strong brand identity, unique features, and
operating system.
• Other examples of specialty goods include luxury cars,
gourmet food brands, and designer clothing.
 2. Convenience Goods
• Convenience goods are products that consumers
buy repeatedly without much thought.
• Once consumers choose their brand of choice,
they typically stick to it unless they see a reason
to switch.
• Examples of convenience goods include:
• Washing detergents, toilet roll, soap,
toothpaste, sugar
 3. Unsought Goods
• Unsought products are goods that people aren't usually excited to
buy.
• These products have utility, but they're usually not fun purchases.
• Good examples of unsought goods include fire extinguishers,
insurance, etc.
• People often buy unsought goods out of a sense of fear, danger, or
utility.
• For instance, you wouldn't go online to search for the "new and
best" fire extinguisher.
• You'd only buy one due to the fear of a potential fire.
• People also buy unsought goods like refrigerators or toasters
because the old ones stopped working
 4) Shopping Goods
• Shopping goods are products shoppers typically spend more
time researching and comparing before they buy.
• Unlike convenience goods, these are rarely impulse
purchases.
• Shopping goods can be affordable items, like clothes and
home decor.
• For example, if you have an event coming up and you want
to get a nice pair of shoes, this doesn’t fall under impulse
purchases.
• Instead, you'll want to try it on, consider whether the price
is worth it, and even get input from your loved ones.
 4) Shopping Goods (continued)
• Shopping goods can also be a one-off purchase
with a higher economic impact.
• These are higher-end goods like cars and houses.
• Since it's an expensive and important purchase,
you'll spend a good amount of time deliberating
on it.
• For example, when buying a house you'll attend
different open houses, and compare the pros and
cons of your final selection
 New Product Development
• New Product Development (NPD) is the a set of design,
engineering, and research processes which combine to create
and launch a new product to market.
• Unlike regular product development, NPD is specifically about
developing a brand new idea and seeing it through the entire
product development process.
• Simply put, NPD refers to the complete process of bringing a
new product to market.
• This can apply to developing an entirely new product,
improving an existing one to keep it attractive and competitive.
• It can also mean introducing an old product to a new market
Regular Product Development v New Product
Development
• While regular product development refers to
building a product that already has a proof of
concept, new product development focuses
on developing an entirely new idea—from
idea generation to development to launch
 NPD Stages
• Idea Generation
• Idea Screening
• Concept Development & Testing
• Marketing Strategy & Business Analysis
• Product Development
• Test Marketing
• Product Launch
 1) Idea Generation
• Idea generation involves brainstorming for new
product ideas or ways to improve an existing
product.
• During product discovery, companies examine
market trends, conduct research, and dig deep into
users' wants and needs to identify a problem and
propose innovative solutions.
• A SWOT analysis is used to identify the problematic
areas of a product and understand where the
greatest opportunities lie.
 1) Idea Generation (b)
• There are two primary sources of generating
new ideas.
• - Internal ideas come from different areas
within the company—such as marketing,
customer support, the sales team, or the
technical department.
• - External ideas come from outside sources,
such as studying your competitors and, most
importantly, feedback from your target audience
 2) Idea screening
• The second step of NPD revolves around screening all generated
ideas and picking only the ones with the highest chance of
success.
• Deciding which ideas to pursue and discard depends on many
factors.
• Factors include expected benefits to consumers, product
improvements most needed, technical feasibility, or marketing
potential.
• This stage is best carried out within the company.
• Experts from different teams can help check aspects such as the
technical requirements, resources needed, and marketability of
the idea.
 3) Concept Development and Testing

• All ideas passing the screening stage are

developed into concepts.
• A product concept is a detailed description or
blueprint of your idea.
• It should indicate the target market for your
product, the features and benefits of your
solution that may appeal to your customers.
• It also has the proposed price for the product
3)Concept Development and Testing(b)
• A concept should also contain the estimated cost of
designing, developing, and launching the product.
• Developing alternative product concepts will help company
determine how attractive each concept is to customers and
select the one that would provide them the highest value.
• Once you’ve developed concepts, test each of them with a
select group of consumers.
• Concept testing is a great way to validate product ideas
with users before investing time and resources into
building them
 4)Marketing strategy & business analysis
• It’s time to put together an initial marketing strategy to
introduce the product to the market and analyze the value of
your solution.
• - Marketing strategy serves to guide the positioning, pricing,
and promotion of your new product.
• Once the marketing strategy is planned, product management
can evaluate the business attractiveness of the product idea.
• - The business analysis comprises a review of the sales
forecasts, expected costs, and profit projections.
• If they satisfy the company’s objectives, the product can move
to the product development stage
 5) Product development
• Product development stage consists of
developing the product concept into a
finished, marketable product.
• Your product development process and the
stages you’ll go through will depend on your
company’s preference for development.
• It could be agile product development,
waterfall, or another viable alternative
 Agile v Waterfall
• The main difference between Agile and
Waterfall is that the Waterfall approach breaks
down the project into linear, sequential phases.
• Each phase begins when the previous one is
completed, and there's no overlapping in the
stages.
• On the contrary, Agile divides a project into
sprints and promotes continuous development
and testing in the product development process.
 5)Product Development (b)
• This stage usually involves creating the
prototype and testing it with users to see how
they interact with it and collect feedback.
• Prototype testing allows product teams to
validate design decisions and uncover any
flaws or usability issues before handing the
designs to the development team.
 6) Test marketing
• Test marketing involves releasing the finished product to a
sample market to evaluate its performance under the
predetermined marketing strategy.
• The goal of test marketing stage is to validate the entire
concept behind the new product and get ready to launch the
product.
• There are two testing methods you can employ:
• 1) Alpha testing is software testing used to identify bugs
before releasing the product to the public
• 2) Beta testing is an opportunity for actual users to use the
product and give their feedback about it
 7. Product launch
• At this point, you’re ready to introduce your
new product to the market.
• Ensure the product, marketing, sales, and
customer support teams are in place to
guarantee a successful launch and monitor its
performance.
• At this point, a go-to-market strategy is
essential
 Go-to-market strategy
• A Go-to-Market strategy fuses together all of the elements that
drive a business, such as marketing, content marketing,
customer intel, and brand development.
• It provides an action plan of how you can better reach your
customers.
• A solid Go-to-Market strategy heightens your market awareness
and ensures you don’t waste money, time, and resources
releasing a product to the market that isn’t necessary.
• It helps you launch your product into a new market,
reposition/relaunch your brand, or improve existing product
sales.
Elements of Go-to-market strategy
• Market definition: Which markets will you be targeting when
selling the product or service?
• Customers: Who is the target audience/target market, and
what do the demographics look like within these markets?
• Distribution model: How do you intend on delivering the
product or service to the customer?
• Product messaging and positioning: What is being sold and
what is its unique value or primary difference when
compared to other products or services in the market??
• Price: How much should the product or service cost for each
customer group?
 Tips for creating a successful product
development process
1) Align around the same vision
• The most important part is to align the
product vision and the company goal
• Everyone in the team should understand
where they are moving and what principles to
follow during the product development
process.
 2) Understand customers’ needs
• At every stage of the product development
process, there is one critical driving factor:
• The customer.
• Identify what your customers need, which
features would help them the most, and how to
make your product appealing to them.
• Collecting product feedback and insights helps
you ensure that the end product meets customer
expectations and fulfills their needs.
 3) Build a strong team
• Product development is a creative process at
its core.
• Better results often come from teams being
able to create a process together.
• One expert says: the foundational parts of a
great product development process are often
the intangible, human elements that help
create motivation, focus, and impact
 4) Set a timeline
• Developing new products is a time-consuming
activity, especially if you want to deliver a high-quality
product.
• How much time you need will depend on several
factors.
• These include the complexity of the product, the
industry, the company stage, and the resources
available.
• Therefore, the team should work within a set timeline
 Conclusion
• Having an efficient new product development
process is essential to bringing your final
product to the market.
• By following the afore-mentioned steps and
expert tips and adapting them to your
business strategy, you can build a successful
product.
 Product Life Cycle (PLC)
• Product life cycle refers to the length of time from the
time a product is introduced to consumers into the
market until it's removed from the shelves.
• This concept is used by management and marketing
professionals as a factor in deciding when it is
appropriate to increase advertising, reduce prices,
expand to new markets, or redesign packaging.
• The process of strategizing ways to continuously
support and maintain a product is called product life
cycle management.
 Product Lice Cycle (b)
• The product life cycle is the succession of
stages that a product goes through during its
existence, starting from development and
ultimately ending in decline.
• Business owners and marketers use the
product life cycle to make important decisions
and strategies on advertising budgets, product
prices, and packaging.
 PLC Stages
• In the marketing industry, the typical depiction
of the product life cycle only has four main
stages — Introduction, Growth, Maturity, and
Decline.
• In other instances, PLC is known to have six
stages, namely:
1) Development 2) Introduction 3) Growth 4)
Maturity 5) Saturation 5) Decline
PLC Stages
 1. Development
• This is typically New Product Development
stage.
• This phase can last for a long time, depending
on the complexity of the product, how new it is,
and the competition.
• For a completely new product, the
development stage is particularly difficult
because the first pioneer of a product isn’t
always as successful as later iterations
 2. Introduction
• The introduction stage happens when a product is launched
in the marketplace.
• This is when marketing teams begin building product
awareness and targeting potential customers.
• Typically, when a product is introduced, sales are low and
demand builds slowly.
• In this phase, marketers focus on promotion and marketing
campaigns, distribution channels and building product and
brand awareness.
• If marketing strategies are successful, the product goes into
the next stage — growth
 3. Growth
• During growth stage, consumers have accepted
the product and are beginning to truly buy in.
• That means demand and profits are growing,
hopefully at a steadily rapid pace.
• At this stage, the market for the product is
expanding and competition begins developing.
• Potential competitors will see success and will
want to join in.
 3. Growth(b)
• During this phase, marketing campaigns often
shift from getting customers’ buy-in to
establishing a brand presence so consumers
choose them over developing competitors.
• Additionally, the company will begin to open
new distribution channels and add more
features and support services.
 4. Maturity
• The maturity stage is when the sales begin to level off
from the rapid growth period.
• At this point, companies begin to reduce their prices
so they can stay competitive amid growing
competition.
• The company becomes more efficient and learns from
the mistakes made in the introduction and growth
stages.
• Marketing campaigns are typically focused on
differentiation rather than awareness
 4. Maturity (b)
• Product features might be enhanced, prices might be
lowered, and distribution becomes more intensive.
• The products begin to enter the most profitable stage,
cost of production declines while sales increase.
• Continuously improve upon the product as adoption
grows.
• Let consumers know in the marketing strategy that the
product they love is better than it was before. This will
protect you during the next stage — saturation.
 5. Saturation
• During the product saturation stage, competitors
have begun to take a portion of the market.
• Therefore, products will experience neither
growth nor decline in sales.
• Most consumers are using a product, but there
are many competing companies.
• At this point, marketers want the product to
become the brand preference so that it doesn’t
enter the decline stage.
 5. Saturation (b)
• When the market has become saturated, you’ll
need to focus on differentiation in features,
brand awareness, price, and customer service.
• Competition is highest at this stage, so it’s critical
to ensure superiority of your product.
• If innovation at the product level isn’t possible
(because the product only needs minor tweaks
at this point), then invest in customer service and
use customer testimonials in your marketing.
 6. Decline
• If the product doesn't become the preferred
brand in a marketplace, you'll typically
experience a decline.
• Sales will decrease during the heightened
competition, which is hard to overcome.
• Additionally, new trends emerge as time goes on.
• At this stage, the company will either discontinue
its product, sell the company, or innovate and
iterate on its product in some way.
 Decline Stage Marketing Strategy
• In the marketing strategy, the company can emphasize the
superiority of the solution to successfully get out of this
stage.
• To extend the product life cycle, successful companies can
also implement new promotion strategies, reduce prices,
add new features to increase their value proposition,
explore new markets, or adjust brand packaging.
• The best companies will usually have products at several
points in the product life cycle at any given time.
• Some companies look to other countries to begin the cycle
anew.
 Benefits of Product Life Cycle
• Facilitates better marketing investments and
decisions
• It signals need for adjustments to product
• Easier to make long-term plans
• Allows for better decision-making with
accurate information on performance
• Easier to streamline processes within the
company
 Product Life Cycle Limitations
• It’s difficult to tell how long each stage will last
• Not all products will move through the stages at
the same pace.
- Eg, a product may take longer to decline than
others.
• Managers risk not dedicating enough effort and
resources into a particular product if they think it
will decline, creating planned obsolescence –
even if customers still use it.
 Conclusion
• PLC is important because it informs company
management and decision-makers how well a
product is performing and what strategic
actions it will take to succeed.
• This helps the company to allocate resources
like staff, budgets, shows which products
should be prioritized, and where the company
should innovate next.
 PLC Example -Typewriter
• Development: Idea was developed in 1575.
• Introduction: Late 1800s, commercial typewriters were introduced
• Growth: It became famous and widely used in offices, businesses,
and private homes.
• Maturity: Typewriters were in maturity phase for nearly 80 years,
because it was the preferred product for typing communications
until the 1980s.
• Saturation: Typewriters began to face fierce competition with
computers in the 1990s.
• Decline: Product couldn't withstand competition of emerging
technologies, and eventually it was discontinued
 Product Life Cycle
• B