Shopping products
There are numerous ways to classify consumer products and one of them is to determine the consumer buying behavior for a particular product and subsequently classify the product as per the buying behavior. The classification is not between products, rather the classification of consumer products is based on the differences between the consumers who buy the product. This is mainly because it is the consumers behavior which is important.
So as per this understanding what can be shopping products? Shopping products generally involve more time, cost and efforts from the consumers part as they are considered as a higher risk proposition by the consumer. Lets take a TV for example – Before buying a TV, a customer will have a look at all different brands, products and product features. Once the customer knows what kind of features he is looking for, he would compare the costing of each brand. Finally after he has been convinced of one particular product and its value for money, he will go ahead with the purchase.
Seven characteristics of services
There are several characteristics which differentiate a service from a product. These are Perishability, Heterogeneity, Intangibility and ownership. Here we discuss further 7 characteristics which are critical and help you understand a service product better.
1) Services are sold exclusively on the basis of benefits they offer – Why is it that Accenture has such a high brand equity? This is because of one single thing which they have commanded over time – Trust. Thus this is one benefit to the service of Accenture which other companies can hardly give. Therefore, word of mouth publicity and a good reputation are some benefits which are critical to make a service brand over time. The first restaurant you try, is one recommended by your friend.
2) Services cannot be made available in advance – If you were running a restaurant, can you make all the dishes one day in advance and then serve the customer when he comes? No you cant. All you can do is make the ingredients. Even fast food restaurants take care that the food is replenished every single day. The simple reason behind this is that services cannot be stored. They cannot be given in advance. They can be given only when a purchase of the services has been made.
Leveraging the power of specialty products
Each and every marketer out there wants a product which the customer demands himself. The best product for a start up company can be one wherein there is automatic demand for the product. The products having an automatic demand or in other words, products for which the customers will go out of their way, are known as specialty products.
The doctor to whom you go every time you have an illness, the accountant who helps you with tax planning and your company lawyer are an example of Specialty product. These are people whom you search. They are not people who search you. Off course, there is competition in this sector too. But is there any competition for the best surgeon out there? Or the best tax consultant? No. The consumer themselves approach them.
What is Product portfolio
A product portfolio is comprised of all the products which an organization has. A product portfolio may comprise of different categories of products, different product lines and finally the individual product itself. Management is needed on all the three levels of a product portfolio. You need managers for managing individual products, managing product lines and finally the top level management which manages the complete portfolio.
SWOT of Infosys, TCS, HCL, Wipro & Cognizant for 2012
Dear Friends, this an excellent SWOT done by the team at Economic times for Infosys, TCS, HCL, Wipro, Cognizant. Complete credit goes to them. I didnt want any of my readers to miss this article so i am directly copy pasting it here. Please take out some time to go through it.
Infosys Technologies SWOT
Strength: Early positioning as high end differentiated player thanks to Nandan Nilekani and NR Narayana Murthy, investors and customers prefer the company for its established processes and predictability.
Weakness: Lagging peers in making strategic, ‘game-changing’ acquisitions, consulting business has not delivered the results, losing price premiums, lost its No.2 position in the US market to Cognizant last year.
Product Differentiation
As discussed in a previous article, a product is made up of three levels. The Core product, the actual product and the augmented product. Product differentiation deals with making changes in the marketing mix of a product so as to differentiate it from whatever the competition is offering OR to offer a product which stands out in the market.
To make it simple, compare two products of completely unrelated categories. Coca Cola and Apple. Coca cola has had numerous competitors, direct or indirect, in the cola market over years (Pepsi being strongest amongst them). But the reason it is still the top brand is because of the value it provides, its brand equity along with its distribution network. This becomes an example of a product which wants to differentiate itself from its competition. On the other hand we have a company like Apple. Apple too has direct and indirect competition. But apple is known to make innovative products such that it has a completely unique selling proposition. Apple’s product are differentiated directly at the core level. This is the reason why Apple receives so much respect in the technology market and so much love from its users.
Sugar free natura seduces the diet conscious
How would you like it if your sugar seduces you with a sexy voice? You would definitely love it wont you. I am sure that this excellent ad by Sugar free natura would be reminding all the diabetics out there that you need to ignore that sexy seductress – Sugar. And you can do that only with the Sugar free natura diet sugar.
Book Recommendations – Marketing professional services by Philip kotler
Marketing professional services is a book by Philip kotler which covers all aspects of Services marketing in depth with several chapters dedicated to the numerous strategies and tactics of Services marketing. Due to its intangible nature, services marketing is much more tougher than marketing a product. As with any Philip Kotler book, this book too takes the reader through case studies, lessons and live examples.
Launch of Biztech91.com – A business and technology blog
Dear Friends, I am glad to announce that we have finally launched Biztech91.com. A site focused on Business and technology with a sprinkling of several other subjects. Here is what Biztech91 will offer over time
- Business – Including latest news as well as market analysis
- Technology – With special focus on gadgets, business softwares as well as internet marketing
- Industry / Sector article – Sector specific articles focused on FMCG, consumer durables and other sectors.
- Entrepreneurs – Specific articles on how to start your business and how to be successful as an entrepreneur
- Strategies – Business strategies for small as well as enterprise businesses
- Finance – A look at financing micro focused as per the needs of a small time businessman
- Opinions and Polls – Time to time opinion posts as well polls from our readers. Your opinion matters.
I hope that, like marketing91, you would also support us for Biztech91. Do not miss the start of something so good. Like Marketing91, i am sire that biztech91 would also exceed your expectations as far as content value is concerned.
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– Hitesh Bhasin
