INTRODUCTION
Marketing, the process by which a product or service originates and is then priced, promoted, and distributed to consumers. In large corporations the principal marketing functions precede the manufacture of a product. They involve market research and product development, design, and testing.
Marketing concentrates primarily on the buyers, or consumers. After determining the customers’ needs and desires, marketers develop strategies that are designed to educate customers about a product’s most important features, persuade them to buy it, and then to enhance their satisfaction with the purchase. Where marketing once stopped with the sale, today businesses believe that it is more profitable to sell to existing customers than to new ones. As a result, marketing now also involves finding ways to turn one-time purchasers into lifelong customers.
Marketing includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the decision-making regarding product lines, pricing, promotion, and servicing. In most of these areas marketing has overall authority; in others, as in product-line development, its function is primarily advisory. In addition, the marketing department of a business firm is responsible for the physical distribution of the products, determining the channels of distribution that will be used, and supervising the profitable flow of goods from the factory or warehouse.
TAILORING THE PRODUCT
Merchandise that is generally similar in style or design, but may vary in such elements as size, price, and quality is collectively known as a product line. Most marketers believe that product lines must be closely correlated with consumer needs and wants.
Firms tend to change product items and lines after a period of time to gain a competitive advantage, to respond to changes in the economic climate, or to increase sales by encouraging consumers to buy a new model. For example, if the economy weakens, a manufacturer might use cheaper parts to make a product more affordable. Sometimes, however, manufacturers will alter the style rather than the quality of the item. Hemlines on dresses, for example, might go up or down, or the appearance or functionality of an automobile might be altered. The practice of changing the appearance of goods or introducing inferior parts or poor workmanship in order to motivate consumers to replace products is known as planned obsolescence. Some people object that this practice leads to waste or can be unethical. Manufacturers reply that consumers are conditioned to expect such changes and welcome the variety they offer, or they deny that poor quality was intentional.
The popularity of all products eventually wanes. In fact, successful products go through what is called a product life cycle, which describes the course of a product’s sales from its introduction and growth through maturity and decline. Some fad products such as Beanie Babies go through all four stages in a very short period. For others, such as phonograph records, the stages extend over decades.
Because products are always aging and sales of even the most successful products eventually decline, firms must continually develop and introduce new items. One study found that over 13,000 new products are introduced each year. But despite the millions of dollars that United States and Canadian companies invest in product research and consumer testing, it is estimated that more than 30 percent of new products fail at launch and 60 percent are never fully accepted by consumers and disappear after a few years. The high failure rate influences the pricing of successful products because profits from these products must help cover the development costs of products that fail.
PRICING THE PRODUCT
The two basic components that affect product pricing are costs of manufacture and competition in selling. It is unprofitable to sell a product below the manufacturer’s production costs and unfeasible to sell it at a price higher than that at which comparable merchandise is being offered. Other variables also affect pricing. Company policy may require a minimum profit on new product lines or a specified return on investments, or discounts may be offered on purchases in quantity.
Attempts to maintain resale prices were facilitated for many years in the United States under federal and state fair trade laws. Since 1975, however, these laws have been nullified, thereby prohibiting manufacturers from controlling the prices set by wholesalers and retailers. Such control can still be maintained if the manufacturers wish to market directly through their own outlets, but this is seldom feasible except for the largest manufacturers.
Attempts have also been made, generally at government insistence, to maintain product-price competition in order to minimize the danger of injuring small businesses. Therefore, the legal department of a marketing organization reviews pricing decisions.
PROMOTING THE PRODUCT
Advertising, personal (face-to-face) or direct selling, sales promotion, and relationship building are the primary methods companies use to promote their products.
Marketing, the process by which a product or service originates and is then priced, promoted, and distributed to consumers. In large corporations the principal marketing functions precede the manufacture of a product. They involve market research and product development, design, and testing.
Marketing concentrates primarily on the buyers, or consumers. After determining the customers’ needs and desires, marketers develop strategies that are designed to educate customers about a product’s most important features, persuade them to buy it, and then to enhance their satisfaction with the purchase. Where marketing once stopped with the sale, today businesses believe that it is more profitable to sell to existing customers than to new ones. As a result, marketing now also involves finding ways to turn one-time purchasers into lifelong customers.
Marketing includes planning, organizing, directing, and controlling the decision-making regarding product lines, pricing, promotion, and servicing. In most of these areas marketing has overall authority; in others, as in product-line development, its function is primarily advisory. In addition, the marketing department of a business firm is responsible for the physical distribution of the products, determining the channels of distribution that will be used, and supervising the profitable flow of goods from the factory or warehouse.
TAILORING THE PRODUCT
Merchandise that is generally similar in style or design, but may vary in such elements as size, price, and quality is collectively known as a product line. Most marketers believe that product lines must be closely correlated with consumer needs and wants.
Firms tend to change product items and lines after a period of time to gain a competitive advantage, to respond to changes in the economic climate, or to increase sales by encouraging consumers to buy a new model. For example, if the economy weakens, a manufacturer might use cheaper parts to make a product more affordable. Sometimes, however, manufacturers will alter the style rather than the quality of the item. Hemlines on dresses, for example, might go up or down, or the appearance or functionality of an automobile might be altered. The practice of changing the appearance of goods or introducing inferior parts or poor workmanship in order to motivate consumers to replace products is known as planned obsolescence. Some people object that this practice leads to waste or can be unethical. Manufacturers reply that consumers are conditioned to expect such changes and welcome the variety they offer, or they deny that poor quality was intentional.
The popularity of all products eventually wanes. In fact, successful products go through what is called a product life cycle, which describes the course of a product’s sales from its introduction and growth through maturity and decline. Some fad products such as Beanie Babies go through all four stages in a very short period. For others, such as phonograph records, the stages extend over decades.
Because products are always aging and sales of even the most successful products eventually decline, firms must continually develop and introduce new items. One study found that over 13,000 new products are introduced each year. But despite the millions of dollars that United States and Canadian companies invest in product research and consumer testing, it is estimated that more than 30 percent of new products fail at launch and 60 percent are never fully accepted by consumers and disappear after a few years. The high failure rate influences the pricing of successful products because profits from these products must help cover the development costs of products that fail.
PRICING THE PRODUCT
The two basic components that affect product pricing are costs of manufacture and competition in selling. It is unprofitable to sell a product below the manufacturer’s production costs and unfeasible to sell it at a price higher than that at which comparable merchandise is being offered. Other variables also affect pricing. Company policy may require a minimum profit on new product lines or a specified return on investments, or discounts may be offered on purchases in quantity.
Attempts to maintain resale prices were facilitated for many years in the United States under federal and state fair trade laws. Since 1975, however, these laws have been nullified, thereby prohibiting manufacturers from controlling the prices set by wholesalers and retailers. Such control can still be maintained if the manufacturers wish to market directly through their own outlets, but this is seldom feasible except for the largest manufacturers.
Attempts have also been made, generally at government insistence, to maintain product-price competition in order to minimize the danger of injuring small businesses. Therefore, the legal department of a marketing organization reviews pricing decisions.
PROMOTING THE PRODUCT
Advertising, personal (face-to-face) or direct selling, sales promotion, and relationship building are the primary methods companies use to promote their products.
