Managing Product Lines

I found this week of class to be very interesting. I did not expect to like marketing as much as I do. This week we talked about brands and the attachments we have with them. I think that is very true. Most brands of things I buy, I have some sort of a relationship with. For example, the PINK brand from Victoria Secret, I am especially attached too. I love most things they sell. Many of the products I own are PINK brand, including perfume, lipgloss, sweats and other things. To me PINK is cute and girly. Another brand I am attached to is Nestle, particularly Nestle Quik. Ever since I can remember my dad would make this chocolate sauce made from it and other ingredients to put on my ice cream. It was always a special treat we got to enjoy together. Now when I come home from school, I wait for him to get off work and we make it together. I always dish up the ice cream while he makes the sauce. When he was young, he had the same tradition with his mom. To me Quik represents home and my family and special time with my dad.

Creating New Innovative Products II

Innovation is a product that is thought to be new or different. Continuous innovation is a small modification to an already existing product, such as hybrid cars. Dynamically continuous innovation is a large modification to an already existing product, such as a plug-in car. Discontinuous innovation is a disruptive or major change to how we live, such as the invention of the car. Many innovations do not make it at all.

There are 7 steps to develop a product. The first step is idea generation, where you figure out how to meet unmet needs. Then you develop the initial concept and test it with focus groups. Third you develop a marketing strategy, including the 4Ps. Next is the assessment stage. You analyze competitors, find a differential benefit and analyze potential demand. In step five, the product is refined and a distribution plan is created. Test marketing is the next step. The product is tested in limited markets. The final step in developing a product is commercialization. In commercialization the product is fully launched and full production is made.

Creating New Innovative Products

A product is more than just what is in the package. The product includes everything received along with the product, like the brand name and the benefits. Marketers must focus on the benefits consumers want and then create a product that can offer those benefits. There are different types of benefits a product can offer. The core product is all of the benefits the customer will receive. Emobenefits are emotional based benefits, such as motivational or belonging slogans. The actual product is what you actually get. The augmented product is the support features the product comes with, such as a warranty or insurance.

Products can be classified different ways. The can be classified by how long they will last. Another way they can be classified is by how the consumer buys them. Some products are staples, necessary items and others are impulse buys, which are unnecessary but fun. There are also emergency buys, specialty products, and unsought products, among others. Examples of unsought products are retirement funds and insurances, stuff you don't want until you need it.

Target Marketing

In order to make your product seem special to one group or segment, you can't market it to everyone. In order to be successful you need to adjust your marketing mix to make it fit a specific segment of the population. Once you figure out which one of your segments of your target has the money and need for your product, you can market it to them.

There are 3 steps in the target marketing process; segmentation, targeting and positioning. In the first step you identify and describe each market segment. You divide your consumers into groups based on demographics and psychographics. Another way to segment is by gender. Many products are made specifically for men or women. Then you choose segments you can market to. Claritas is a service that will help find a segment to target. Claritas knows about what products a group is likely to buy.

The next step in the process is to evaluate the segments and decide which to target. There are 3 additional steps within this step; evaluate segment for need and demand, develop segment profile, and choose a targeting strategy. You must make sure your segment needs your product and has the money to purchase it. In the profile, you must ensure your segment is different from other segments. Then you must decide your strategy. It can be undifferentiated which means you appeal to the masses, differentiated meaning a different product for different people, or concentrated, which is for just one segment.

The third and last step in the target marketing process is positioning. Positioning requires you to evaluate your competition and come up with a differential benefit consumers can't get from the competition. Then you develop a marketing mix to appeal to your segment. You then evaluate response to your product and change your strategy if necessary.

Your brand must be positioned in a place where potential customers will see it and want it. Promotional materials are also necessary to make consumers think they need it or that it is better than other options. You also want to create a brand personality for your product. A brand personality is a distinct image that capture's your brands personality.

Victoria's Secret has a brand personality. VS is sexy and classy. Its the way to be desirable.

B2B Marketing

Business to business marketing is much more complex than business to consumer marketing. In business to business, a business sells something to another business who plans to sell it. Teams make the purchase together in B2B rather than an individual deciding to buy a pair of shoes. B2B can involve non-profits, producers, governments and resellers. B2Bs still go through the 5 steps of purchase behavior but their steps are slightly different. B2B can also be done online, called e-commerce.

This chapter is more confusing to me than the others have been. The process seems more complicated than B2C. I was unable to attend class this week which makes things even more difficult.

Consumer Behavior

This chapter focused on why we buy what we buy. There is a 5 step decision making process people go through when they buy things. The steps are recognizing the need, searching for information, evaluating alternatives, making the choice and last post-purchase disorder. Sometime people later question themselves about their purchase and there is a gap between the satisfaction they feel and what they expected. I did not know that this was an actual step people go through. I have often felt this way after buying something, especially something expensive. I use much higher effort when purchasing products that cost more money, even if I know I need them.

People buy products for many different reasons. Some are internal, others are social. Internal reasons include perception, motivation, learning, attitudes, among others. Social reasons are social class, group memberships and other belonging needs. I thought it was very interesting to learn that the temperature of a store can affect your purchase behavior! Psychographics are when companies use our activities, interests and opinions to divide us into market segments. I thought this was the most interesting chapter we have studied so far. I've never given much thought to why I buy the things I do, but next time I am shopping I will probably think about it!

The perfume bottle is a good example of something that would be high effort for me. I really want it but I don't want to spend the money to buy it. The sketchers ad shows reasons why people buy things...if you buy those shoes you can be sexy and Christina Aguilera wears them so you can be like her.

Marketing Research

Marketing research helps companies gather information to find ways to make their product grow. There are 7 steps in Marketing Research. Marketing information systems helps them know what info they need to gather and actions to gather it. There are 4 different ways to gather data in MIS: internal company data, marketing intelligence, marketing research and acquired databases. Marketing decision support system is different than MIS because it can be used to predict consumer behavior and looks for patterns and trends. Data mining is also part of this chapter. It involves sifting through data to create segments of consumers.

I thought that the picture on the left was funny and true in some cases. It seems like some companies believe in "exaggerating" to sell more of their product!