Durable: One that usually lasts over many uses, such as appliances, cars, phones

Nondurable: An item consumed in one or a few uses, such as food products and fuel

Consumer: Products purchased by the ultimate consumer

Business(B2B): Products that organizations but that assist in providing other products for resale

Some products can be considered both consumer and business items

Like Apple imac computer can be sold to consumers for personal use or to business firms for office use 

effort consumer spends on decision

attributes used in making purchase decision

frequency of purchase

Convenience product:  Items purchases frequently, conveniently, & with minimum shopping effort

Shopping products: Consumer compares several alternatives on criteria such as price, quality, or style

Specialty products: Consumer makes a special effort to search out and buy

Unsought products: Consumer does not know about or knows about but does not initially want

Components: become part of final product

Support products: assist in producing other goods & services

Specific product that has a unique brand, size, or price 

A group of products or service items that are closely related because they satisfy a class of needs, are used together, are sold to the same customer group, are distributed through the same outlets, or fall within a given price range 

Consists of all the product lines offered by an organization 

Newness compared with existing products 

If a product is functionally different from existing products, it can be defined as new 

Newness in legal terms 

The FTC advises the term new be limited to use with a product up to six months after it enters regular distribution 

Newness from the organization’s perspective 

3 levels:

Least (product line extension)

Significant Jump in innovation or technology

true innovation

Newness from the consumer’s perspective 

according to the degree of learning required by the consumer 

continuous: dont need to learn new behavior

dramatically continuous: minor behavior change required; Ads show difference and how its better (ex: wash machine that uses less water)

Discontinuous: customer must learn entirely new behavior; you must educate customer w trials and personal selling

 identifies a well-defined target market, specific customers’ needs, wants, and preferences, and what the product will be and do 

• Insignificant points of diff (ppl cant tell y its special)
• incomplete protocol has vague product and invisable market
• not satisfying customers in key areas
• overestimating how good a market is
• bad timing
• poor quality
• poor execution of marketing mix
• no access (channels) to buyers

• Not really listening to the “voice of the customer”
• Skipping stages in the new-product process
• Pushing a poorly conceived product into the market to generate quick revenue
• Encountering “groupthink” in task force and committee meetings
• Not learning critical takeaway lessons from past failures 

Diffusion of innovation 

What influences the spread of new product diffusion?

• High relative advantage (most important factor)
• High communicability (unique looking products communicates by observation)
• Low complexity
• Compatibility with norms and values
• Low perceived risk 

1. new product strategy development
2. idea generation
3. screening and evaluation
4. business analysis
5. development
6. marketing testing
7. commercialization

• defines the role for a new product in terms of the firm’s overall objectives
• firm uses both a SWOT analysis and environmental scanning to assess its strengths and weaknesses relative to the trends it identifies as opportunities or threats
• The outcome defines the vital “protocol” for each new product idea

organization finds and executes creative new-product ideas by developing strategic relationships with outside individuals and organizations

Customer experience management (CEM)

The process of managing the entire customer experience within the firm 

Concept tests

(external approach to screening and eval)

consist of preliminary testing of a new-product idea rather than an actual product

useful with minor modifications of existing products than with new, innovative products

how does the customer perceive the product? Who would use it? How would it be used?

• Specifies the features of the product and the marketing strategy needed to bring it to market and make financial projections 

• the last checkpoint before major resources are invested to create a protype 

Test marketing: Involves offering a product for sale on a limited basis in a defined area (try diff ways of marketing and see if ppl will buy it)

Sim test markets(STMs): Simulates a full-scale test market but in a limited fashion

Regional rollouts 

Introducing the product sequentially into geographical areas of the United States 

Slotting fee 

A payment a manufacturer makes to place a new item on a retailer’s shelf 

A penalty a manufacturer makes to compensate a retailer for sales its valuable shelf space failed to make 

Cross-functional team members who conduct the simultaneous development of both the product and the production process stay with the product from conception to production 

Uses a “do it, try it, fix it” approach

Encourages continuing improvement even after the initial design 

1. Awareness: heard of it (use promotion)
2. Knowledge: know what it is (use promotion)
3. Linking: positive attitude (use prod design, repositioning & promotion)
4. Preference: liking more than alternatives (use prod design, repositioning & promotion)
5. Trial: use at least once (use distribution and price)
6. Adoption: use on regular basis (use prod quality and price)