1. Product Planning
Involves making decisions about those features that are needed to sell a business’s products, services, or ideas.

2. Developing New Products
Generating Ideas
Come from a variety of sources
Creativity and Brainstorming is essential
Screening Ideas
Ideas are evaluated and matched against the company’s overall objectives.

3. Developing New Products
Developing a Business Proposal
Consider a product’s potential sales, costs, and production requirements.
Developing the Product
The new idea takes physical shape
Marketers develop a marketing strategy.
Testing the Product with consumers

4. Developing New Products
Introducing the Product
The product has been researched successfully
This stage also is called commercialization.
Evaluating Customer Acceptance
Marketers track new product performance.

5. Developing Existing Products
Companies constantly review their product mix to see if they can further expand their product lines or modify existing products.
Two ways to do this:

6. Developing Existing Products
Line Extensions – new product lines, items, or services
Original Product
Newer Products

7. Developing Existing Products
Product Modifications – an alteration in a company’s existing product

8. Deleting a Product or Product Line
Obsolescence
Loss of appeal
Conflict with current company objectives
Replacement with new products
Lack of profit
Conflict with other products in the line

9. Product Mix
Includes all the different products that a company makes or sells.

10. Product Line
A group of closely related products manufactured and/or sold by a business.

11. Product Item
A specific model, brand, or size of a product within a product line.

12. Product Width
The number of different product lines a business manufactures or sells.
Width of the Gillette Product Mix
Oral Care
Blades & Razors
Personal Care
Batteries
Appliances

13. Product Depth
The number of product items offered within each product line.
Oral Care
Blades & Razors
Personal Care
Batteries
Appliances

14. Product Mix Strategies
The plan for how the business determines which products it will make or stock
May develop completely new products
May expand or modify their current product lines
May drop existing products