Marketing Term 2

Product Planning

The decisions made about what features should be used in selling of a business’s products, services, or ideas.

packaging, labeling, warranties, guarantees, branding, product mix

Product planning decisions relate to

Product Mix

All the different products that a company makes or sells.

Product Line

A group of closely related products manufactured or sold by a business.

Product Item

A specific model, brand, or size of a product within a product line.

Product Width

The number of different product lines a business manufactures or sells.

Product Depth

The number of product items in a product line.

price, product, place, promotion

4 P’s of the PRODUCT MIX

Width, Depth

Dimensions

Narrow, Broad

Width

Shallow, Deep

Depth

Width

number of product lines carried by a company.

Narrow

offering a limited number of product lines

Broad

many different product lines carried

Depth

number of products and the assortment of sizes, colors, and models offered in a product line.

Shallow

limited variety within a product line

Deep

extensive variety within a product line

Long

Many products

Short

Few products

Product mix

The particular assortment of products a business offers to meet its market’s needs and its company’s goals

Product class, Customer group, Price and/or quality, Distribution method

Product lines may be classified according to:

Product class

The product line consists of products with similar characteristics or functions.

Customer group

The product line consists of products that appeal to a certain target market.

Price and/or quality

Items in these product lines are in the same price bracket or of the same quality level.

Distribution method

These product lines are set up according to the outlets through which they are marketed.

Consistency

refers to how closely a company’s product lines are related in terms of: End of use, Target markets, Methods of distribution and production, price range

Expansion

A business may expand its product mix by adding additional product items or lines.

Contraction

means removing product items or lines from the product mix.

Alteration

This product-mix strategy involves making changes in the company’s products or lines.

Trading Up

When a company decides to add a higher priced product or line to its mix.

Trading Down

When a company decides to add a lower priced product or line to its mix.

Positioning

is a product-mix strategy that a business may use to create a certain image or impression of a product in the minds of consumers.