1. Product Decisions week 7
Chapter 8

2. Product Decisions
 Marketing mix describes how a business uses and
manipulates the 4ps to market their product.
 Businesses employ different strategies when marketing
products compared to services.
 As a physical product, marketers need to consider
packaging, labelling and branding involved in marketing the
overall product.

3. Products in the marketing Mix
 “Anything that can be offered to a market for
attention, acquisition use or consumption that might satisfy a
need or want.”
 Marketers refer to products as having three levels;
1. The core product – immediate benefits
2. Actual Product – quality, product features, styling, brand
name and packaging.
3. the augmented product – extras of product

4. Product Classifications
 Marketers have developed four product classifications in the consumer
markets designed to assist in selecting a suitable marketing strategy:
1. Convenience – goods bought regularly therefore familiar with type of
purchase e.g milk
2. Shopping – consumer will spend more time comparing and
considering the various alternatives. Concluded on value for
money, quality and sustainability. E.g new jeans
3. Specialty – looking for a particular brand and luxury characteristic.
They are expensive, exclusive and are only available to limited
distributions. E,g Luxury car or boat
4. Unsought products – not previously thought of by consumer or it is
unaware of its existence. Example: new technologies to upgrade dvd
player.

5. Individual Product Decisions
 Business needs to be involved in a decision making process
for completing the overall product for market.
 Decisions faced by the marketer preparing their individual
products for market include issues surrounding:
- Product attributes
- Branding
- Packaging
- Labelling
- Product support services

6.  When a customer considers a familiar brand they enjoy
there will be four levels:
1. Attributes
2. Benefits
3. Values associated with brand
4. conjure personality – type of person who would use it

7. Brand Strategies for Businesses
 There are four main brand strategies available to
businesses:
1. Line Extension Strategy = existing product, no brand name
2. Multibrand Strategy = existing product with a new brand
name
3. Brand Extension = new product with an existing brand
4. New Brands Strategy = for new products and new brands

8. Product decision process
 Consider packaging that is most appropriate for product
 what level of product support services will be offered to the
consumers.

9. Product Line and Product Mix
decisions
 Turn our attention on decision made for groups of products
called product lines.
 Product lines have similar elements such as price, or
function. E.g different types of nokia phones
 Businesses sometimes stretch product lines upwards and
downwards, meaning having quality expensive items as well
as lower price items to widen target market.