Product: Introduction

• A product is either a good or a service
• They are the means by which businesses meet the needs and wants of the customers
• Thus a product can be a good, idea, method, information, object or service created as a result of a process and serves a need or satisfies a want
• A product is more than a mere good for example a soap seller will be selling not only a good (soap) but also the idea that they are improving the consumer’s hygiene and even status
• After a business conducts marketing research it can either create a new product to meet the customer’s needs and wants or it can re-purpose an existing product
• Creating a new product is known as new product development
• Product form part of the four key components of the marketing mix
• Various aspects of a product can be adjustment in order to create the right recipe for the business’s success
• These factors include:
• The appearance of the product
• Its performance including:
  1. its efficiency
  2. reliability
  3. ease of use and operation
  4. safety
  5. ease of maintenance
• packaging
• branding
• the product mix
• Product mix-a complete range of all of a given business’s/organisation’s products
• It is made up of all the product lines of the given firm
• The product mix is also known as product portfolio
• In addition to fitting within the business’s marketing mix a product also has to:
• Be economical and viable to make and produce
• Meet legal requirements for example medical drugs have to be approved
• Meet environmental requirements
• Compete with competitor’s products

To access more topics go to the O Level Business Notes