Introducing and Managing the Product

When a new product is developed and offered, a company must consider what will develop the product's value to the customer, whether the customer is a consumer or another business. Marketers must always ask where a new product will fit in their current lineup and how the new product will serve as an extension of an existing brand. Take the car manufacturer BMW. They make sporty luxury vehicles aimed at the upper-middle and wealthy classes.

CLASSIFICATION OF PRODUCTS

It should be apparent that the process of developing successful marketing programs for individual products is extremely difficult. In response to this difficulty, a variety of classification systems have evolved that, hopefully, suggest appropriate strategies. The two most common classifications are: (1) consumer goods versus industrial goods, and (2) goods products (i.e. durables and nondurables) versus service products.