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Encyclopedia > Consumer products


In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need. However it is much more than just a physical object. It is the complete bundle of benefits or satisfactions that buyers perceive they will obtain if they purchase the product. It is the sum of all physical, psychological, symbolic, and service attributes. It has been suggested that Product marketing be merged into this article or section. ... A physical marketplace in Portugal enables buyers and sellers of produce to do business with each other. ...


A product is similar to goods. In accounting, goods are physical objects that are available in the marketplace. This differentiates them from a service, which is a non-material product. The term goods is used primarily by those that wish to abstract from the details of a given product. As such it is useful in accounting and economic models. The term product is used primarily by those that wish to examine the details and richness of a specific market offering. As such it is useful to marketers, managers, and quality control specialists. A good in economics is any object or service that, upon consumption, increases utility, and therefore can be sold at a price in a market. ... Accountancy (profession) or accounting (methodology) is the measurement, disclosure or provision of assurance about information that helps managers and other decision makers make resource allocation decisions. ... In economics and marketing, a service is the non-material equivalent of a good. ...


A "man" can also be an "experience", which like a service is intangible. However an experience is unique to the receiving individual, based upon their history. Example: amusement parks offer rides (product), acceptance of credit cards (service), and audience participation at the dolphin show (experience). My value of the dolphin show is different from yours, and to the extent I value it more, will trade more for it (money). In economics and marketing, a service is the non-material equivalent of a good. ...


The word "product" is also used as a pejorative term to describe teenagers who have homogenized themselves in the sense they have become indistinguishable due to their clothing, possessions, and brands they choose to display (at least at first glance). Look up pejorative in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with homogeneity (physics). ... McDonalds, represented by the Golden Arches, is one of the worlds most famous brands In marketing, a brand is the symbolic embodiment of all the information connected with a company, product or service. ...


Three aspects

There are three aspects to any product or service:

  1. Core Benefit
    • In-use benefits
    • Psychological benefits (e.g., self-image enhancement, hope, status, self worth)
    • Problem reduction benefits (e.g., safety, convenience)
  2. Tangible Product or Service
    • Product attributes and features
    • Quality
    • Styling
    • Packaging protection and label information
    • Brand name
  3. Augmented Product or Service
    • Warranty
    • Installation
    • Delivery
    • Credit availability
    • After-sale service and maintenance

Classifying products

Product management involves developing strategies and tactics that will increase product demand (referred to as primary demand) over the product's life cycle. One useful technique in understanding a product is the Aspinwall Classification System. It classifies and rates products based on five variables: Product management is a function within a company dealing with the day-to-day management and welfare of a product or family of products at all stages of the product lifecycle. ... The conditions a product is sold under will change over time. ...

  1. Replacement rate (how frequently is the product repurchased?)
  2. Gross margin (how much profit is obtained from each product?)
  3. Buyer goal adjustment (how flexible are the buyers' purchasing habits in regards to this product?)
  4. Duration of product satisfaction (how long will the product produce benefits for the user?)
  5. Duration of buyer search behaviour (how long will they shop for the product?)

Types of products

There are several types of products:

  • Consumer products: used by end users
  • Industrial products: used in the production of other goods
  • Convenience goods: purchased frequently and with minimal effort
  • Impulse goods:purchase stimulated by immediate sensory cues
  • Emergency goods: goods required immediately
  • Shopping goods:some comparison with other goods
  • Specialty goods: extensive comparisons with other goods and a lengthy information search
  • Unsought goods: e.g., cemetery plots, insurance
  • Perishable goods: goods that will deteriorate quickly even without use
  • Durable goods: goods that survive multiple use occasions
  • Non-durable/consumption/consumable goods: goods that are used up in one occasion
  • Capital goods: installations, equipment, and buildings
  • Parts and materials: goods that go into a finished product
  • Supplies and services: goods that facilitate production
  • Commodities: undifferentiated goods (e.g., wheat, gold, sugar)
  • By-products: a product that results from the manufacture of another product

See also

The discipline of brand management was started at Procter & Gamble as a result of a famous memo by Neil H. McElroy. ... Whole product doughnut diagram In marketing, a whole product is a generic product augmented by everything that is needed for the customer to have a compelling reason to buy. ...

Finding related topics


  Results from FactBites:
 
EPA: Mercury: Consumer Products (899 words)
While some manufacturers have reduced or eliminated their use of mercury in products, there are still many existing items in the marketplace that contain mercury.
Other products that may contain mercury include laboratory solutions; manometers, barometers, and other gauges; thermostat probes; and high-pressure sodium lamps, metal halide lamps, neon lamps and mercury vapor lamps.
Mercury in Products - In recent years, there has been a growing focus on the need to decrease the use of mercury in household and commercial products and to prevent the mercury in existing products from entering the waste stream.
FCIC - Recalls (6621 words)
Products with small parts intended for children under 3 years old are prohibited due to a choking hazard.
The products being recalled are displayed in a clear plastic cup with the products name displayed on the side of the lid and the side of the cup.
Customers who have this product in their possession should stop using it immediately and contact their physician if they have experienced any problems that may be related to taking this product.
  More results at FactBites »

 

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