1. ENTREPRENEURSHIP I

2. Product/service management is a marketing function that involves obtaining, developing, maintaining, and improving a product or service mix in response to market opportunities.

3. Improved sales and profits Improved market share and competitiveness New customers Less exposure to financial risk

4. 1) Develop New Products 2) Monitor Existing Products 3) Eliminate Weak Products (aka Product Discontinuation)

5. Customer needs and wants Company goals and strategies Costs and available resources Competition The product itself Government regulations Stage in the product life cycle (introduction, growth, maturity, and decline)

6. Positioning – the strategy in which a business creates a certain image or impression of a product in the mind of the customer. Gives the product an image

7. Products can be either a good or a service….. Goods are tangible objects that can be manufactured & produced for resale.

8. Products can be either a good or a service….. Services are intangible activities performed by other people in exchange for payment. TWO TYPES: Product-related: the service is attached to some sort of tangible good (ie. Cell phone & service) Pure: the service is not attached to any tangible good The service itself is the business’s primary product (i.e banks)

9. Identify a product that is similar to the good or service that you plan to offer/provide. Conduct research on the product, and complete the answers to the following questions: a. What is the product that you chose to research? b. Is the product a good or a service? c. If the product is a service, is it a product-related service or a pure service? d. What factors affect product/service management for this particular product? e. What information can you learn about how this product was developed? Where did the company obtain it? How long did development take? How much did it cost? How long has it been on the market? f. How is this product performing currently? If you were its product/service manager, what changes, if any, would you make?