Product

Product

How is product defined?

Can be defined as both tangible goods and intangible services generally created for the purpose of transaction.

How do Interactivity and Individual (the 2Is) impact product?

The 2Is allow a company to learn more about its customer, personalize a product to meet customer preferences, and offer CRM tools to provide more value for customers and cut costs for product sellers.

Websites which require customers to register to use the site have access to numerous tools to interact with the user as an individual.

•Once the user has registered, the site can recognize an individual customer both on the first and return visits.

•Using log files, a site can track a specific individual’s clickstream, i.e.where they go on a site, length of time spent, actual sequence of page views etc.•Based on such data, sellers greatly increase their ability to develop products based on their customers’ interests and preferences, especially in developing augmented products.•The Internet has also changed market research – today, syndicated reports can be found, assessed, and downloaded in a matter of minutes..  These reports are highly customizable and inexpensive relative to traditional research.

What are key marketing levers for product?

Customer Service Programs, Postsales Support

(Two primary benefits: can be used as a lever to provide a relevant basis for establishing an ongoing dialogue with the customer and enable an annuity stream which can be considerable )

Customer Care (Internet has enabled a radical shift from the traditional complaint management to customer care. / The Internet facilitates customer interaction, greatly reduces time to resolution and reduces costs)

Customer Relationship Management (The entire concept of CRM is to recognize individual customers, understand their value, apply sales and marketing resources that are in line with their value, and then let the customer train the enterprise in terms of  how they would like to interact and receive their products and services.

Loyalty Programs and Privileges (Purpose is to recognize and reward a company’s best customers by providing additional services in appreciation of their loyalty.  This in turn can increase a customer’s perceived value. )

Availability of Complementary Products (This assures the buyer of the basic product that has additional functionality, tools or other enhancements are available or will be available in the future thereby improving the potential value of the basic product. )

Upgrades (Upgrades have been effectively used to develop long-term customer relationships and offer the customer a better value proposition. / Important guidelines to note are that upgrades should be meaningful and relevant to the customer base, interface of upgrade should be similar to old product with no high learning curve to overcome and be upward compatible.)

Enabling Community (An active community around a product deepens the relationship between the product and the individuals in that community and can offer long-term, loyal and high-margin customers to a company. )

Additional Functionality (There are a number of enhanced functionalities that a website can use to augment a basic product and drive additional benefits to its visitors. Two general types: low-tech and broadband-enabled.

•Low-tech includes facilitated comparison shopping, product selection guides, live personal assistance or product demonstrations.

•The nascent stage of the Internet, slow connections and processing speeds are currently hindering the advancement of broadband applications such as simulcasting, web-conferencing, and streaming video capabilities.

Fulfillment Capabilities  (The Internet allows for greatly increased fulfillment capabilities as a result of the 2Is. E.g. a customer can be given the choice of multiple shipping addresses for one shopping session. )         

What does the overall product development process look like?

Customer needs, Production needs and capabilities, Research and Development, Competitors and Marketplace Forces

How can companies manage their product portfolio?

New product development, Enhancements and line extensions of current products and services, Development of existing products, Support of current products and services

How does marketing research fit within the product development process?

Test Marketing – Small-scale experiment in which a new product is introduced and supported by a clearly defined marketing mix. 

How can products enable a customer relationship?

Deploying the product development levers that are appropriate for the existing relationship and

Emphasizing the elements of the value proposition that are most relevant at a given stage of the relationship.