Basic Marketing: A Global Managerial Approach

Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e

9. Elements of Product
   Planning for Goods and
   Services

Text © The McGraw−Hill

Companies, 2002

Elements of Product Planning for Goods and Services 249

Target

market

Place Promotion Price

Brand Package Warranty

Type of brand: Protection

Promotion

Enhancement

None, limited,

Individual or full, extended

family

Manufacturer or

dealer

Physical

good/service

Features

Benefits

Quality level

Accessories

Installation

Instructions

Product line

Product

Product idea

Exhibit 9-1

Strategy Planning for

Product

To better satisfy its customers’

needs and make traveling more

enjoyable, this French railroad’s

service includes door-to-door

delivery of the passenger’s

luggage. The ad says “your

luggage is old enough to travel

by itself. It’s up to us to ensure

you’d rather go by train.”

Product quality and

customer needs

good with the right features, useful instructions, a convenient package, a trustwor-

thy warranty, and perhaps even a familiar name that has satisfied the consumer in

the past.

Product quality should also be determined by how customers view the product.

From a marketing perspective, qualitymeans a product’s ability to satisfy a customer’s

needs or requirements. This definition focuses on the customer—and how the cus-

tomer thinks a product will fit some purpose. For example, the “best” satellite TV

service may not be the one with the highest number of channels but the one that

includes a local channel that a consumer wants to watch. Similarly, the best-quality

clothing for casual wear on campus may be a pair of jeans, not a pair of dress slacks

made of a higher-grade fabric.