Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota

MP-603 Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Product and Brand Management Course Development Committee Chairman Prof. (Dr.)Vinay Kumar Pathak Vice-Chancellor Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Subject Convener and Coordinator Prof. (Dr.) P.K. Sharma Director (School of Commerce and Management), Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Editing and Course Writing Editor Ms. Monika Dubey Guest Faculty (SOCM) Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Unit Writers Unit No. Unit Writers Unit No. 1. Prof. (Dr.) Atul Dhingra (1, 2, 9, 11, 17) 4. Dr. Kawaldeep Dixit (5, 6, 7, 8) Head, Department of Management Studies, Professor and Dean CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar IIIM, Jaipur 2. Ms. Kalpana Nebhinani (3) 5. Mr. Rajan Arora (10, 12, 16, 18) Research Scholar (Commerce and Management) Managing Director University of Kota, Kota Triiumph Through Training (Pvt.) Ltd., Jaipur 3. Ms. Monika Dubey (4) 6. Dr. Bhumija Chauhan (13, 14, 15) Guest Faculty (SOCM) IIIM, Jaipur Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Academic and Administrative Management Prof. Vinay Kumar Pathak Prof. L.R.Gurjar Prof. Karan Singh Vice-Chancellor Director (Academic) Director (MPD) Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota Kota Kota Production November, 2014 ISBN- All right reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form by mimeograph or any other means, without permission in writing from the V.M.Open University, Kota. MP-603 Vardhaman Mahaveer Open University, Kota 1987 CONTENTS Product and Brand Management Unit No. Unit Name Page No. Unit – 1 Product : An Overview 1 Unit – 2 Product Development 15 Unit – 3 Product Labeling and Packaging 29 Unit – 4 Product Life Cycle 43 Unit – 5 Managing Brand 56 Unit – 6 Brand Building 73 Unit – 7 Brand Strategies 91 Unit – 8 Brand Extension 106 Unit – 9 Brand Positioning 121 Unit – 10 Brand Awareness 133 Unit – 11 Brand Equity 144 Unit – 12 Brand Value 158 Unit – 13 Brand Identity 167 Unit – 14 Brand Loyalty 179 Unit – 15 Brand Association 190 Unit – 16 Brand Revitalization 201 Unit – 17 Global Branding Decisions 214 Unit – 18 Brand Licensing and Franchising 227 Unit - 1 Product – An Overview Structure of Unit 1.0 Objectives 1.1 Introduction 1.2 What is a Product? 1.3 Levels of product 1.4 Products Classification 1.5 Product Hierarchy 1.6 Product lines 1.7 Brands and Branding Decisions 1.8 Packaging and Labeling 1.9 Warranties and Guarantees 1.10 Summary 1.11 Self Assessment Questions 1.12 Reference Books 1.0 Objectives After completing this unit, you would be able to: Understand what is a product; Know the levels of product; Learn about product classification; Know about product hierarchy; Know about product lines; Learn about brands and branding decisions ; 1.1 Introduction Products are all around us, and yet it is not easy to define precisely what a product is. The difficulty is that same product may have different significance for different people. Manufacturers may define product as the thing they sell, in terms of their physical or chemical characteristics. A more market oriented definition might be based on the role it plays in the buyer’s consumption system. The economist calls the product a bundle of utilities, which means everything the buyers, receives, including psychological utility as well as physical and chemical dimensions. Product is one of the key elements of marketing mix. Modern day marketers consider services, experiences, ideas, persons, places, events, properties, and organizations etc. as products and devise suitable marketing strategies for them also. Products become more important in the sense that customers primarily get interested in dealing with the company because they feel that its products are capable of serving their needs. Companies should also not forget that all the customer wants from a company is product that serves his needs. This lesson attempts to provide an overview of the product. 1 1.2 What is a Product? Marketing begins with the identification of consumer needs and wants, and culminates with successfully fulfilling those needs through the 4Ps of marketing. The concept of 4Ps of a marketing mix (product, price, place and promotion) was introduced by Jerome McCarthy. A marketer can satisfy the needs and wants of his customers by offering something in exchange for money. This offering is basically a product. The product is one of the important elements of the 4Ps of the marketing mix. It consists of a bundle of tangible and intangible attributes that satisfies consumers. A product can be a good, a service, an idea or a combination of all these. Goods are tangible in nature; a customer can touch and feel them. Depending upon the nature of goods they can be used either once or several times. Services are intangible, yet they provide utility/benefits to the consumer, for example postal services, legal services, health care etc. Services are perishable in nature and cannot be stored. For example, an airline ticket, a haircut etc. In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need. In retailing, products are called merchandise. In manufacturing, products are purchased as raw materials and sold as finished goods. Commodities are usually raw materials such as metals and agricultural products, but a commodity can also be anything widely available in the open market. In project management, products are the formal definition of the project deliverables that make up or contribute to delivering the objectives of the project. In general usage, product may refer to a single item or unit, a group of equivalent products, a grouping of goods or services, or an industrial classification for the goods or services. A product is anything that can be offered to a market to satisfy a want or need. This is a narrow definition of product and focuses on the physical or functional characteristics of a good or service. A broad view of product extends beyond physical or functional attributes. This broad product concept includes package design and labeling, symbols such as trademarks and brand names, and customer –service activities that add value for the customer. A product is nothing but a bundle of physical, service, and symbolic attributes designed to enhance buyers’ want satisfaction. Product is anything that is potentially valued by a target market for the benefits or satisfactions it provides, including objects, services, organizations, places, people and ideas. A product may be defined as a bundle of utilities consisting of various product features and accompanying services. The bundle of utilities or the physical and psychological satisfactions that the buyer receives is provided by the seller when he sells a particular product. According to Philip Kotler, “A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or a need.” Thus, anything, virtually anything can be covered within the ambit of attention (service or idea), acquisition (physical goods or tangible part of product), use (tangible or intangible part such as leased car when leasing is a service and car is a physical goods), or consumption (consumables such as food). In fact, the definition of product conveys more than just natural 2 meaning. It conveys the company’s business and therefore the related competitors. Products can be differentiated on various bases like: Form – Many products can be differentiated on the basis of size, shape or physical structure. Sizes specially matter in products like television, computers, automobiles etc. Features – Most products are offered with varying features that supplement its basic function. Companies must identify and add new features and improve the old ones to be one up in the competition. Quality – Products may be differentiated on the basis of quality like low, moderate, high, superior etc. Both performance and conformance quality is important. Performance quality is the level at which the product’s primary characteristics operate. Conformance quality is the degree to which all the product units are identical and meet the promised specifications. Durability – It is a measure of product’s expected operating life under natural or condition of use. Buyers generally prefer products that last long. Reliability – It is a measure of the probability that a product will not malfunction or fail within a specified time period. Buyers normally prefer reliable products. Reparability – It is a measure of the ease of fixing a product when it malfunctions or fails. After sale services, therefore, become important in purchase decision. Style – It describes the product’s looks and feel to the buyer. Latest styles normally are very important in case of readymade clothes, jewelry etc. Design – It is the totality of features that affect how a product looks and functions in terms of customer requirements. Designs are particularly important in marketing of apparels and consumer durables. Services – These are intangible components associated with products. Differentiation may be on the basis of ordering ease, delivery, installations, training, maintenance etc. 1.3 Levels of Product A product has many other dimensions besides its physical appearance. In fact, a product is like an onion with several layers and each of the layers contributes to the total product image. Each level adds more customer value and these levels constitute a customer value hierarchy. Philip Kotler and other marketing gurus are of the opinion that a product has five layers or dimensions which must be distinguished. 3 These dimensions are: (i) Core Benefit, (ii) Basic Product, (iii) Expected Product (iv) Augmented Product and (v) Potential Product Core Basic Expected Augmented Potential Figure 1.1: Levels of Products (i) Core Benefit - It is the most fundamental dimension of a product. It represents a bundle of benefits that satisfy the core need of prospective buyer.

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