Product is one of the important elements of marketing mix.

A marketer can satisfy

consumer needs and wants through product. A product consists of both good and
service. Decisions on all other elements of marketing mix depend on product. For
example, price is set for the product; promotional efforts are directed to sell the
product; and distribution network is prepared for the product. Product is in the
center of marketing programme. Therefore, product has a major role in determining
overall success of marketing efforts.
A marketer tries to produce and sell such products that satisfy needs and wants of
the target market. Other words used for product are good, commodity, service,
article, or object. In marketing literature, product has comprehensive meaning.
Definitions of Product:
Term product has been variously defined by the experts in the field.
Let us examine some standard definitions:
1. Philip Kotler:
Product is anything that can be offered to someone to satisfy a need or a want.
2. William Stanton:
Product is complex of tangible and intangible attributes, including packaging,
colour, price, prestige, and services, that satisfy needs and wants of people.
3. W. Alderson:
Product is a bundle of utilities, consisting of various product features and
accompanying services.
4. We can also define the term as:
Product is a vehicle or medium that delivers service to customers.
5. Further it can be said:
Product is a bundle of benefits-physical and psychological- that marketer wants to
offer, or a bundle of expectations that consumers want to fulfill. Marketer can satisfy
needs and wants of target consumers by products. Product includes both good and
service. Normally, product is taken as a tangible object, such as a pen, television
set, bread, book, vehicle, table, etc. But, tangible product is a package of services
or benefits.
Marketer should consider product benefits and services, instead of product itself.
Importance lies in the services rendered by the product, and not tangible object
itself. People are not interested just possessing products, but the services rendered
by the products.

For examples, we do not buy a pen, but writing service. Similarly, we do not buy a
car, but transportation service. Just owning product is not enough. It must serve our
need and want. Thus, physical product is just a vehicle or medium that offer
services, benefits, and satisfaction to us.
Product can also be referred as a bundle of satisfaction, physical and
psychological both. Product includes:
1. Core Product:
Core product includes basic contents, benefits, qualities, or utilities.
2. Product-related Features:
They include colour, branding, packing, labeling, and varieties.
3. Product-related Services:
They include after-sales services, installation, guarantee and warrantee, free home
delivery, free repairing, and so forth. As per the definition, anything which can
satisfy need and want of consumers is a product. Thus, product may be in form of
physical object, person, idea, activity, or organisation that can provide any kind of
services that satisfy some customer needs or wants.
Characteristics of Product:
Careful analysis of concept of product essentially reveals following
features:
1. Product is one of the elements of marketing mix or programme.
2. Different people perceive it differently. Management, society, and consumers
have different expectations.
3. Product includes both good and service.
4. Marketer can actualize its goals by producing, selling, improving, and modifying
the product.
5. Product is a base for entire marketing programme.
6. In marketing terminology, product means a complete product that can be sold to
consumers. That means branding, labeling, colour, services, etc., constitute the
product.
7. Product includes total offers, including main qualities, features, and services.
8. It includes tangible and non-tangible features or benefits.

9. It is a vehicle or medium to offer benefits and satisfaction to consumers.

10. Important lies in services rendered by the product, and not ownership of
product. People buy services, and not the physical object.
Types of Product:
A company sells different products (goods and services) to its target market.
They can be classified into two groups, such as:
1. Consumer Product, and
2. Industrial Products
1. Consumer Products:
Consumer products are those items which are used by ultimate consumers or
households and they can be used without further commercial and engineering
processes.
Consumer products can be divided into four types as under:
i. Convenient Products:
Such products improve or enhance users convenience. They are used in a day-today life. They are frequently required and can be easily purchased. For example,
soaps, biscuits, toothpaste, razors and shaving creams, newspapers, etc. They are
purchased spontaneously, without much consideration, from nearby shops or retail
malls.
ii. Shopping Products:
These products require special time and shopping efforts. They are purchased
purposefully from special shops or markets. Quality, price, brand, fashion, style,
getup, colour, etc., are important criteria to be considered. They are to be chosen
among various alternatives or varieties. Gold and jewelleries, footwear, clothes, and
other durables (including refrigerator, television, wrist washes, etc.).
iii. Durable Products:
Durable products can last for a longer period and can be repeatedly used by one or
more persons. Television, computer, refrigerator, fans, electric irons, vehicles, etc.,
are examples of durable products. Brand, company image, price, qualities (including
safety, ease, economy, convenience, durability, etc.), features (including size,
colour, shape, weight, etc.), and after-sales services (including free installation,
home delivery, repairing, guarantee and warrantee, etc.) are important aspects the
customers consider while buying these products.

iv. Non-durable Products:

As against durable products, the non-durable products have short life. They must be
consumed within short time after they are manufactured. Fruits, vegetables,
flowers, cheese, milk, and other provisions are non-durable in nature. They are used
for once. They are also known as consumables. Mostly, many of them are nonbranded. They are frequently purchased products and can be easily bought from
nearby outlets. Freshness, packing, purity, and price are important criteria to
purchase these products.
v. Services:
Services are different than tangible objects. Intangibility, variability, inseparability,
perishability, etc., are main features of services. Services make our life safe and
comfortable. Trust, reliability, costs, regularity, and timing are important issues.
The police, the post office, the hospital, the banks and insurance companies, the
cinema, the utility services by local body, the transportation facilities, and other
helpers (like barber, cobbler, doctor, mechanic, etc.,) can be included in services. All
marketing fundamental are equally applicable to services. Marketing of services is
the emerging facet of modern marketing.
2. Industrial Products:
Industrial products are used as the inputs by manufacturing firms for further
processes on the products, or manufacturing other products. Some products are
both industrial as well as consumer products. Machinery, components, certain
chemicals, supplies and services, etc., are some industrial products.
Again, strict classification in term of industrial consumer and consumer products is
also not possible, For example, electricity, petroleum products, sugar, cloth, wheat,
computer, vehicles, etc., are used by industry as the inputs while the same products
are used by consumers for their daily use as well.
Some companies, for example, electricity, cements, petrol and coals, etc., sell their
products to industrial units as well as to consumers. As against consumer products,
the marketing of industrial products differs in many ways.
Industrial products include:
1. Machines and components
2. Raw-materials and supplies
3. Services and consultancies
4. Electricity and Fuels, etc.

Product concept: The product concept proposes that consumers will prefer
products that have better quality, performance and features as opposed to a normal
product. The concept is truly applicable in some niches such as electronics and
mobile handsets.
Thus companies following the product concept need to concentrate on their
technology such that they provide with excellent feature rich and innovative
products for optimum customer satisfaction.

Product mix:

The term product mix implies all the products offered by a firm for sale. It may
consist of one line products or several allied product lines.
Product line refers to an assortment or class of similar or related products and
services. They may be similar in technology, customers needs, channel used,
market served or in some other respect. An individual product in a line is known as
a product item. There are several product items in a product line.
Product mix has three important aspectswidth, depth and consistency. Width of
the product mix is measured by the number and variety of product lines offered by
a firm. It shows the degree of diversification of a firms activities. The depth of
product mix is determined by the number of items in a product line.
By offering several brands of a product, a firm can cater to widely varying needs
and tastes of customers and thereby beat its competitors. For instance, the range of
bathing soaps (Lifebouy, Lux, Rexona, Liril, etc.) offered by Hindustan Lever Ltd.
shows the depth of its product line while the width of its product mix consists of
Dalda Vanaspati, Close-up Toothpaste, Talcum powder, etc. in addition to the soaps.
The consistency of product mix refers to the degree of similarity between product
lines in terms of their end-use, production requirements, price ranges, distribution
channels, advertising media, etc.
These dimensions of the product mix serve as guides to decisions regarding the
additions and deletions of product items and line. By increasing the consistency of
product mix, a firm can reduce its costs of operations and acquire unparalleled
reputation in the market.