Product Strategy

Presented by: Prof Joydeep Biswas

Marketing Management - II
Learning Objectives

Product Overview

Product Classification

Product Decisions

Product Augmentation

Packaging Case
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

What is a Product?

• A product is anything that can be offered to a market to

satisfy a want or need, including physical goods,
services, experiences, events, persons, places,
properties, organizations, information, and ideas.
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Components of Product Offering

 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Classification – Consumer

• Convenience
• (i) Staples (ii) Impulse (iii) Emergency

• Shopping
• (i) Homogenous (ii) Heterogeneous

• Specialty

• Unsought
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Classification – Industrial

• Materials and Parts
• Raw materials – (i) Farm products (ii) Natural Products
• Manufactured – (i) Materials (ii) Components

• Capital Items
• Installations
• Equipment

• Supplies or Business Services

• Maintenance – (i) Maintenance and Repair (ii) Operating
• Business services – (i) Maintenance and Repair (ii) Advisory
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Classification - Durability

• Durable goods

• Non-durable goods

• Services
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Five Product Levels

Core product: How would you describe purpose of

your product?

Generic product: How would you describe the

qualities of your product?

Expected product: What will your

customers expectations of the product be?

Augmented product: What sets your

product apart from the competition?

Potential product: What transformations may

your product undergo in the future?
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Decisions
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Decisions – Product Mix

 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Mix - Terminology

• Product Mix Width - number of different product lines.

• Length of Product Line – total number of items in the product mix.

Average length of a line is total length by number of lines.

• Depth of Product Mix – number of variants offered of each

product in the line. Average depth is obtained by averaging the
number of variants within a product line.

• Consistency of Product Mix - how closely related are the

company’s product lines in terms of characteristics, production
process, distribution channels etc
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Decisions at Product Mix Level

• Which product categories should we offer?

• What are the groups and classes of customers for which our
products are intended to serve?

• Do we seek to serve our markets as full-line suppliers or limited

line specialists?
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Decisions at Product Line Level

• What is the limit beyond which no product should be added?

• To what extent should the products be differentiated?

• What is the number of different variants to be offered?

• Should we keep in the line unprofitable products in order to keep

a customer happy or should we let the competitors have them?
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Decisions at Branding Level

Brand Extension versus Line Extension

Line Extension - Yes Line Extension - No

Brand Extension - Yes Example Example

Brand Extension - No Example XXXXXXXXXXXX

 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Decisions - New Product

• New-to-the-world products

• New product line

• Additions to existing product lines

• Improvements /revisions of existing products

• Repositioning

• Cost reductions
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Decisions – Augmentation

 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Augmentation Strategy
• Physical Augmentation

• Service Augmentation

• Availability Augmentation

• Brand Augmentation

• Packaging Augmentation
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Augmentation Strategy
• Physical Augmentation

• Service Augmentation

• Availability Augmentation

• Brand Augmentation

• Packaging Augmentation
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Physical Augmentation
• Functional features
• Product form
• Features
• Customization

• Quality attributes
• Performance Quality
• Conformance Quality
• Durability
• Reliability

• Design and style

 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Product Decisions – Augmentation

 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Augmentation Strategy
• Physical Augmentation

• Service Augmentation

• Availability Augmentation

• Brand Augmentation

• Packaging Augmentation
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Service Augmentation
• Pre-purchase services
• Ordering ease
• Trials
• Customer consulting
• Post-purchase services
• Delivery
• Installation
• Customer training
• Maintenance and repair
• Returns
• Ancillary Services
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Availability Augmentation
• Place Utility

• Time Utility

• Form Utility

• Possession Utility
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Brand Augmentation
• Whether to establish own brand or engage with re-seller brand?
• Whether to establish a family brand or specific brand for each
product? - (i) Pure corporate brand (ii) Combination
• Whether to use ‘Brand Extension’ or a new brand name for a new
product?
• Whether to co-brand? - (i) Same company (ii) Joint venture (iii) Retail
• Whether to do ingredient branding or not?
• Brand persona decisions like identity, image, positioning,
personality and equity
• Brand element decisions like brand name, colour, logo, font,
theme line, shape, graphics, sound, smell etc
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Packaging Augmentation
• Packaging objectives
• Identify the brand
• Convey descriptive and persuasive information
• Facilitate product transportation and protection
• Assist at-home storage
• Efficiency in stock-listing, pricing and ordering and covers some
aspects of labelling
• Aid product consumption
• Containment and protection
 Overview Product Classification Product Decisions Product Augmentation Packaging Case

Packaging Augmentation
• Packaging materials
• Package size
• Package shape
• Package colour, texture and graphic art
• Other packaging components such as ‘ease of opening’, ‘ease of
use’, ‘re-usability’
Learning Outcomes – Session 1 & 2

Product Overview

Product Classification

Product Decisions

Product Augmentation

Packaging Case