Products, Services, and Brands Building Customer Value

7 - 2 Product Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need Services: Activities, benefits, or satisfactions offered for sale Intangible and do not result in ownership of anything

7 - 3 Products, Services, and Experiences Market offerings include both tangible goods and services. Companies create and manage customer experiences with their brands or companies. To differentiate their offers from that of the competitors

7 - 4 Three Levels of Product

7 - 5 Product and Service Classifications Consumer products: Bought by final consumers for personal consumption Industrial products: Bought by individuals and organizations for further processing or for use in conducting a business Materials and parts, capital items, and supplies and services

7 - 6 Marketing Considerations for Consumer Products

7 - 7 Other Marketable Entities Organization marketing Person marketing Place marketingSocial marketing

7 - 8 Product and Service Decisions Individual Product Decisions Product Line Decisions Product Mix Decisions

7 - 9 Individual Product Decisions

Product Line Decisions Product line: Closely related products that: Have similar functions and customer groups Are sold through similar outlets or fall within given price ranges Product line length - Number of items in the product line Product line filling Product line stretching

Product Mix (or Product Portfolio) Set of all product lines and items that a particular seller offers for sale

Product Mix Decisions Number of different product lines the company carries Width Total number of items a company carries within its product lines Length Number of versions offered for each product in the line Depth Relativity of the various product lines in end use, production requirements, distribution channels, or some other aspect Consistency

Four Service Characteristics

Service Profit Chain Links service firm profits with employee and customer satisfaction The links include: Internal service quality Satisfied and productive service employees Greater service value Satisfied and loyal customers Healthy service profits and growth

Three Types of Service Marketing

Marketing Tasks for Service Companies Developing a differentiated offer, delivery, and image Managing service differentiation Delivering consistently higher quality than the competitors Managing service quality Training current employees or hiring new ones Increasing the quantity of service by giving up some quality Harnessing the power of technology Managing service productivity

Brand Equity The differential effect that knowing the brand name has on customer response to the product or its marketing With positive brand equity, consumers react more favorably to the brand than to an unbranded version of the same product. With negative brand equity, consumers react less favorably to the brand than to an unbranded version.

Brand Equity Consumer perception dimensions include: Differentiation Relevance Knowledge Esteem Brand valuation is the estimation of the total financial value of a brand. Customer equity is the value of customer relationships that the brand creates.

Major Brand Strategy Decisions Brand positioning Attributes Benefits Beliefs and values Brand name selection Selection Protection Brand sponsorship Manufacturer’s brand Private brand Licensing Co-branding Brand development Line extensions Brand extensions Multibrands New brands

Brand Positioning and Brand Name Selection Marketers should establish a mission and vision for the brand when positioning it. Desirable qualities for a brand name should: Be based on the product’s benefits and qualities Be easy to pronounce, recognize, and remember Be distinctive and extendable Translate easily into foreign languages Be capable of registration and legal protection

Brand Sponsorship Marketed under the manufacturer’s own name National brands Created and owned by a reseller of a product or service Store brands Use names and symbols created by other companies or well- known movie characters or celebrities for a fee Licensing Use the established brand names of two different companies on the same product Co-branding

Brand Development Strategies

Managing Brands Communicate the brand’s positioning Manage all brand touch points Train employees to be customer centered Audit the brands’ strengths and weaknesses