Perreault−McCarthy: Basic
Marketing: A
Global−Managerial
Approach, 14/e- Elements of Product
Planning for Goods and
Services
Text © The McGraw−Hill
Companies, 2002260 Chapter 9
Professional servicesare specialized services that support a firm’s operations.
They are usually expense items. Engineering or management consulting services can
improve the plant layout or the company’s efficiency. Information technology
services can maintain a company’s networks and websites. Design services can
suggest a new look for products or promotion materials. Advertising agencies can
help promote the firm’s products. And food services can improve morale.
Here the servicepart of the product is emphasized. Goods may be supplied—as
coffee and doughnuts are with food service—but the customer is primarily inter-
ested in the service.
Managers compare the cost of buying professional services outside the firm (“out-
sourcing”) to the cost of having company people do them. For special skills needed
only occasionally, an outsider can be the best source. Further, during the last decade,
many firms have tried to cut costs by downsizing the number of people that they
employ; in many cases, work that was previously done by an employee is now pro-
vided as a service by an independent supplier. Clearly, the number of service
specialists is growing in our complex economy.There are so many brands—and we’re so used to seeing them—that we take
them for granted. But branding is an important decision area, so we will treat it in
some detail.Brandingmeans the use of a name, term, symbol, or design—or a combination
of these—to identify a product. It includes the use of brand names, trademarks, and
practically all other means of product identification.
Brand name has a narrower meaning. A brand name is a word, letter, or a group
of words or letters. Examples include America Online (AOL), WD-40, 3M Post-its,
and PT Cruiser.
Trademark is a legal term. A trademarkincludes only those words, symbols, or
marks that are legally registered for use by a single company. A service markis the
same as a trademark except that it refers to a service offering.
The word Buickcan be used to explain these differences. The Buick car is branded
under the brand name Buick (whether it’s spoken or printed in any manner). When
“Buick” is printed in a certain kind of script, however, it becomes a trademark. A
trademark need not be attached to the product. It need not even be a word—it can
be a symbol. Exhibit 9-5 shows some common trademarks.
These differences may seem technical. But they are very important to business
firms that spend a lot of money to protect and promote their brands.Well-recognized brands make shopping easier. Think of trying to buy groceries,
for example, if you had to evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each of
25,000 items every time you went to a supermarket. Many customers are willing to
buy new things—but having gambled and won, they like to buy a sure thing the
next time.
Brand promotion has advantages for branders as well as customers. A good brand
reduces the marketer’s selling time and effort. And sometimes a firm’s brand name
is the only element in its marketing mix that a competitor can’t copy. Also, good
brands can improve the company’s image—speeding acceptance of new products
marketed under the same name. For example, many consumers quickly triedWhat is branding?
Brands meet needs
Branding Needs a Strategy Decision Too
Professional
services—pay to
get it done