Module 4
Product Decisions
Product
A product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want or need.
A product is “a set of tangible and intangible attributes, including packaging,
colour, price, manufacturer’s prestige, retailer’s prestige, manufacturer’s and
retailer’s services, which the buyer may accept as offering satisfaction of wants
or needs.
Products that are marketed include physical goods, services, experiences,
events, persons, places, properties, organizations, information, and ideas.
Product Levels
Product Levels
Product Classification
Product Life Cycle
Product Life Cycle
Product Mix
Product mix, also known as product assortment, is the total
number of product lines that a company offers to its
customers. The product lines may range from one to many and
the company may have many products under the same
product line as well. All of these product lines when grouped
together form the product mix of the company
Dimensions of Product Mix
● Product width
● Product length
● Product depth
● Product consistency
Dimensions of Product Mix
Width
The width of an organisation's product mix pertains to the number
of product lines that the organisation is offering.
For example, Hindustan Uni Lever offers wide width of its home
care, personal care and beverage products. Width of HUL product
mix includes Personal wash, Laundry, Skin care, Hair care, Oral care,
Deodorants, Tea, and Coffee
Dimensions of Product Mix
Length
The length of an organisation's product mix pertains to the
total number of products or items in the product mix. As in the
diagram of Hindustan Uni Lever product mix, there are 23
products, hence, the length of product mix is 23.
Dimensions of Product Mix
Depth
The depth of an organisation's product mix pertains to the total
number of variants of each product offered in the line. Variants
includes size, colour, flavors, and other distinguishing
characteristics. For example, Close-up, brand of HUL is available in
three formations and in three sizes. Hence, the depth of Close-up
brand is 3*3 = 9.
Dimensions of Product Mix
Consistency
Consistency refers to how closely related each product lines are to
each other. It is in reference to their use, production,
and distribution channels. The consistency of product mix is
advantageous for firms attempting to position themselves as a niche
producer or distributor. In addition, consistency aids with ensuring a
firm’s brand image is synonymous with the product or service itself.
Dimensions of Product Mix- Example
The product mix shows a:
Width of 3
Length of 5
Product Line 1 Depth of 2
Product Line 2 Depth of 1
Product Line 3 Depth of 2
The mix is considered
consistent if the products
in all the product lines are
similar.
Example of Product Mix
Example of Product Mix - Britannia
Branding
Slide 7 of
What is a
Brand?
The popular Starbucks has earned its brand image from the
opinions of its customers.
The brand Starbucks stands for bolder, more flavorful
coffee.
Thus, you can see that Brands are “what the
consumers buy”, while products are “what
concern/companies make”.
Traditional Definition
It is a name, term, sign, symbol or a combination
of all these which differentiate the goods/services of one
seller or group of sellers from those of competitors.
Modern Definition
Brand is a promise that the product will perform as per
customer’s expectations.
Product Vs Brand
Product Brand
■Scope ■Brand personality
■Attribute ■User image
■Product users ■Emotional benefits
■Quality /values ■Self expressive benefits
■Functional benefits
■Brand customer
relationship
■Organizational associations
■Country of origin
■Symbols
What can be branded?
● Physical Goods – Nescafe. Toyota Corolla, Sunsilk
● Services- Jet Airways, Hilton hotels, MAHE Dubai
● Retailers- Shopper’s Stop, Lifestyle, Lulu Supermarket
● People – Amitabh Bacchan, Oprah
● Organisations- FIFA, WWF, RTA
● Sports Events – IPL, Olympics
● Geographic Locations- Dubai, Goa, Cairo
⚫ Art & Entertainment –Movies
⚫ Political Parties – Congress, BJP
Nature of Brands
■ Functional brands – Suzuki Maruti car as family
transportation at an affordable price
■ Image brand – When a up market product use by a
celebrity will attract customers to follow and use the same
brand, where they also will feel that they too belong to the
same class and league.
■ Experience brands – a brand can project the unique
experience customers will have on using it in order to
create value – feel like home
Brand Portfolio
A brand portfoliois the set/range of all brands a company
has in the market.
Brand Elements/Brand Nomenclature
Choosing Brand Elements
• Brand elements are those trademarkable devices that serve to identify
and differentiate the brand.
• Most strong brands employ multiple brand elements.
• Nike has the distinctive “swoosh” logo, the empowering
• “Just Do It” slogan, and the mythological “Nike” name based on the
winged goddess of victory.
• Brand elements can be chosen to build as much brand as possible.
• Based on its name alone, a consumer might expect ColorStay
lipsticks to be long-lasting.
Choosing Brand
Elements
Brand Building
Process
Stretchability and
Defensive
strategy
Brand Elements
Types of Brand Elements
● Brand Name
-Core indicator of the brand
- Basis for awareness
- Basis for communication effects
- Basis
for sales measurement
- A constant in marketing plan
● URLs
● Brand Logo
● Brand Character or Symbol
● Slogan
● Jingle
● Packaging
•Entire set of brand elements makes up the brand identity
•Each brand element plays a different role in building brand equity, so marketers
should “mix and match” to maximize brand equity
Packaging
The activity of designing and producing containers or
wrappers for a product.
⚫ Visual- colour, graphics and text
⚫ Size
⚫ Material
⚫ Shape
⚫ Weight
⚫ Tamper proof
⚫ Leak proof
Innovation in Packaging
Exercise- Bring any one innovative packing to class