Definition of ‘Product’
A product is an item that is offered to purchase. A product could be an item or service. It may be physical or in cyber or virtual forms.
Each product is created at a cost, and everyone is offered at a cost. The price set is based on the market and the quality and the marketing strategy, and the audience that it is targeting.
Every product has a lifespan, after which it will require replacement and a period after which it needs to be reinvented.
In FMCG terminology, the term “brand” refers to a product that can be transformed, relaunched, or extended to ensure it is better suited to its particular market and the times, but generally maintaining the product to be identical.
Description: A product must be helpful to users who will have an immediate need for it. The product must perform what it’s supposed to, and it must do so in a high-quality manner.
A product needs to be advertised: Users and potential customers should understand why they should utilize it, the benefits they can get out of it, and what it can bring to their daily lives. Advertising and branding are the best ways to accomplish this.
A product must have an identity a name that people can remember and connect to. A product that is named is a brand. It allows it to stand out from the sea of names and products.
A product must be adaptable to the changing trends, times, and changes in segmentation; the products must adapt to be more relevant and maintain their income stream.
Goods, Services, or Ideas
The physical item can be delivered to a buyer and entail an ownership transfer from the seller to the customer.
A service is an unmaterial event that results in a substantial alteration in the buyer’s state due to the supplier of the services.
The idea (intellectual property) are the creations of the mind that has commercial worth but can be traded or sold only as an idea, not as a resultant service or product.
This includes copyrighted properties such as artistic or literary works and ideational property such as patents, appellations or appellations, business practices, industrial processes.
Product Classification: Tangible or Intangible
A product is classified as intangible or tangible.
A tangible item is an object made of material visible through touching, such as a structure or vehicle or even a gadget. The majority of goods are tangible. For instance, the soccer ball is tangible.
Intangible goods are a product that is seen in a way, such as the insurance plan. Intangible data products may also be classified as “virtual digital goods” (“VDG”) that are stored on the computer’s OS and are accessible to users in traditional file types, including JPG or MP3 files. Virtual digital products require additional transformation or application processing by programmers.
Therefore their use could be subject to licensing or rights to digital transfer. On the other hand, genuine digital products (“RDG”) could exist in the presentational components, which is independent of the conventional file type.
Digital goods are generally considered 3-D objects or items subject to control by the user and virtual transfers within the visual media software platform. Concepts or services are non-tangible.
Product Classification: By Use or By Association
In its online catalogue retail, Sears, Roebuck and Company organize its merchandise in “departments”, then present the products to prospective buyers by function.
Every item has a Sears item number, as well as a manufacturer’s model number. Sears utilizes departmental and product groups to let customers search for products based on purpose or brand within the traditional department store design.
” In the insurance industry, products, lines of business are defined by the type of risk insurance like commercial insurance, auto insurance or life insurance.
An item line can be described as “a line of products that are closely linked, or because they operate similarly and are sold to the same customers or are promoted via the same kinds of outlets, or are within a certain price range.
“Many businesses provide a variety of product lines that are unique to one company or be common to the industry they operate in. In 2002, the US Census compiled revenue figures for the insurance and finance industry based on various product lines, including “accident, health and medical insurance premiums” as well as “income of secured loans to consumers.
Importance of Product
- Element of marketing mix: The product is the most crucial element in the marketing mix. Other elements like promotion, price, or the mix of places are influenced based on the product.
- Initiates market planning: The product is the base and the Centre of all marketing plans. Every marketing activity, including advertising, sales promotion, and distribution, is determined by the product’s characteristics.
- Competitive weapon: Product is an effective weapon for business owners to compete with market competition. Businesses that can efficiently produce their products can provide superior quality and lower prices that attract more customers.
- Means of consumption and satisfaction: Product is the primary source of consumption and satisfaction for customers. Customers purchase and consume various items to satisfy their many requirements.
- Key to market success: The quality of the product is a critical factor in achieving success in the marketplace. If a company can offer products that are in line with the needs of their customers, then the product will be widely recognized. This will draw more customers and provide an opportunity for growth for the business.
- Essential from a social viewpoint: It is essential for society because it gives a lot of benefits to the people who use it. It meets the needs of the society, enhances the standard of life for people and serves as a job to a massive variety of people engaged in different processes that the item.
For further reading you may go this article From Deals to Dollars: How Merchant Bankers Drive Corporate Growth.