CHAPTER 10: PRODUCTS CONCEPTS

PRODUCT CONCEPTS

Before worrying about  strategies to expand the business, a company must first have abundant  products to sell. When the company has many products available, it reaches more consumers and it begins to orient the managers towards efficient business moves. It allows them to decide which type of goods and services should be produced and which ones should not, and it provides the managers with possible marketing strategies such as advertising, distribution etc. that will guide them into making their business successful. 

The marketing strategies that a company chooses to follow depends on the type of products that that company provides. For example the marketing strategies for industrial products and consumer goods are quite different. The consumer products are much more versatile and appeal to a larger number of people, thus the magnetizing strategies are more numerous.

Consumer goods are classified based on the need of the consumers for them. There are convenience products, which are usually inexpensive and used for basic needs and services. There are shopping products, which are not as inexpensive and common in need as the convenience products. There are many more categories that classify products based on their price and usage. Apparel retail companies usually have shopping products, which are classified in other subcategories within themselves based upon the different marketing strategies used to sell them.

Zara is an example of apparel retail companies that provides shopping goods. The products of Zara are not as basic and inexpensive as convenience products but they are not as particular and expensive as specialty products because Zara is a fashion imitator. Being a vertically integrated business Zara saves a lot of time and money on producing its products. This allows Zara to sell its clothes  in product lines, a group of related items-- approximately every two weeks  there is a new clothing line in every Zara store. Lately, Zara began to produce other items than clothes such as accessories, cosmetic products and home products. All of these products are sold in what is called a  product mix. Usually components of the product mix would require different marketing strategies, but this is not the case of this company. Zara uses the same strategy for all of them: the products are versatile available in every worldwide Zara store at an affordable price--so far it has resulted successful.