Chapter 9 Summary

This chapter provides an overview of how to manage existing products and services. In order to fully understand how to manage existing products it is necessary to determine what type of products are offered. On the consumer side, products can be classified as convenience, shopping, specialty, and unsought goods. Classifications on the industrial side are installations, accessory equipment, component parts and materials, raw materials, supplies, and business services. Another method of categorizing consumer products is by whether they are durable or nondurable goods.

In addition to classifying products as either consumer or industrial oriented, marketing managers must be able to determine what stage of the product life cycle they are in. Products, just like people, go through stages in their life. The first stage is introduction where the product enters the marketplace. The second stage is referred to as growth. In this stage sales climb rapidly and more and more buyers begin trying the product. As sales begin to level off, the product enters the maturity stage. The final stage, decline, sees sales fall.

Having an understanding of the types of products and of which stage of the product life cycle they are in, the marketing manager must also evaluate the influence that brands have on the buying process. A brand is a name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one selleršs good or service as distinct form those of other sellers. Many consumers are very brand conscious and are loyal to whatever product/service carries that particular brand (Campbell Soup, Nautica, Oscar Meyer, Microsoft, etc.)

Another issue in managing existing products and services is product mix. A firm's product mix is the full set of products offered for sale by a firm. A firm's product mix is defined by its width, depth, and consistency. Width refers to the number of product lines handled by the firm, whereas depth is the average number of products in each product line. Consistency means the similarity of the product lines in terms of raw materials, production requirements, and distribution channels.