Core Concepts of Marketing

CLASSIFICATIONOF PRODUCTS 155

ConsumerGoodsandIndustrialGoods

Thetraditionalclassificationofproductsis todichotomizeallproductsasbeingeithercon-
sumergoodsorindustrialgoods.Whenwepurchaseproductsforourownconsumptionor
thatofourfamilywithnointentionofsellingtheseproductstoothers,wearereferringto
consumergoods.Conversely,industrialgoodsarepurchasedbyanindividualororganiza-
tioninordertomodifythemorsimplydistributethemtotheultimateconsumerinorder
tomakea profitormeetsomeotherobjective.

ClassificationofConsumerGoods

A classificationiongusedinmarketingseparatesproductstargetedat consumersintothree
groups:convenience,shopping,andspecialty.lAconvenience goodisonethatrequiresa
minimumamountofeffortonthepartoftheconsumer.Extensivedistributionisthepri-
marymarketingstrategy.Theproductmustbeavailableineveryconceivableoutletandmust
beeasilyaccessibleintheseoutlets. Vendingmachinestypicallydispenseconveniencegoods,
asdoautomatictellermachines.Theseproductsareusuallyoflowunitvalue,theyarehighly
standardized,andfrequentlytheyarenationallyadvertised.Yet,thekeyistoconvinceresellers,

i.e.,wholesalersandretailers,tocarrytheproduct.Iftheproductisnotavailablewhen,

where,andina formdesirablebytheconsumer,theconvenienceproductwillfail.
Fromtheconsumer'sperspective,littletime,planning,oreffortgointobuyingcon-
veniencegoods.Consequently,marketersmustestablisha highlevelofbrandawareness
andrecognition. Thisis accomplishedthroughextensivemassadvertising,salespromotion
devicessuchascouponsandpoint-of-purchasedisplays,andeffectivepackaging.Thefact
thatmanyofourproductpurchasesareoftenonimpulseisevidencethatthesestrategies
work.Availabilityisalsoimportant.Consumershavecometoexpecta widespectrumof
productstobeconvenientlylocatedat theirloca~supermarkets, rangingfrompackagedgoods
useddaily,e.g.,breadandsoftdrinks,toproductspurchasedrarelyorinanemergencysuch
assnowshovels,carpetcleaners,andflowers.
Incontrast, consumerswanttobeabletocompareproductscategorizedasshopping
goods.Automobiles,appliances,furniture,andhomesareinthisgroup. Shoppersarewill-
ingtogotosomelengthstocomparevalues,andthereforethesegoodsneednotbedis-
tributedsowidely.Althoughmanyshoppinggoodsarenationallyadvertised,oftenit is the
abilityoftheretailertodifferentiateitselfthatcreatesthesale.Thedifferentiationcouldbe
equatedwitha strongbrandname,suchasSearsRoebuckorMarshallField;effectivemer-
chandising;aggressivepersonalselling;ortheavailabilityofcredit.Discounting,orpro-
motionalprice-cutting,isa characteristicofmanyshoppinggoodsbecauseofretailers'desire
toprovideattractiveshoppingvalues.Intheend,productturn-overisslowerandretailers
havea greatdealoftheircapitaltied-upininventory.Thiscombinedwiththenecessityto
pricediscountandprovideexceptionalservicemeansthatretailersexpectstrongsupport
frommanufacturerswithshoppinggoods.
Specialtygoodsrepresentthethirdproductclassification.Fromtheconsumer's per-
spective, theseproductsaresouniquethattheywillgotoanylengthstoseekoutandpur-
chasethem. Almostwithoutexception,priceis nota principlefactoraffectingthesalesof
specialty goods. Althoughtheseproductsmaybecustom-made(e .g.,a hairpiece)orone-
of-a-kind(e.g., a statue),it isalsopossiblethatthemarketerhasbeenverysuccessfulin
differentiatingtheproductinthemindoftheconsumer.Criscoshortening,forinstance,may
beconsideredtobea uniqueproductinthemindofa consumerandtheconsumerwould
payanypriceforit.Sucha consumerwouldnotaccepta substituteandwouldbewilling
togotoanotherstoreorputofftheirpiebakinguntiltheproductarrives.Anotherexam-
plemightbethestrongattachmentsomepeoplefeeltowarda particularhairstylistorbar-
ber.A personmaywaita longtimeforthatindividualandmightevenmovewiththatperson