Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Session 5 - Product and Brand Strategy
Session 5 - Product and Brand Strategy
Business Markets
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Three levels of a Product
Augmented features is the non-physical part of the product
might include coordinated cost-reduction programs, technical
assistance, delivery schedule guarantees, and cooperative
advertising.
6
Industrial Product Life-cycle and Strategies
A typical product life cycle is depicted below
Product Life Cycle
• The behavior of the product life-cycle depends on three factors
(i) Changing needs of customers
(ii) Changes in technology, and
(iii) Changing competition
• The product life-cycle concept highlights
a. The need for different marketing strategies at different stages of the
life cycle of the product.
b. The importance of long-term planning for a new product.
B2C: Summary of Product Life Cycle Characteristics, Objectives, and
Strategies (2 of 2)
Strategies
Blank
Reduce to
Build product Build awareness and Stress brand differences minimal level
Communications awareness and trial interest in the mass and benefits and needed to
among early adopters encourage brand
and dealers market switching retain
customers
Phase out
Build selective Build intensive Build more intensive
Distribution unprofitable
distribution distribution distribution
outlets
Comparison…
Tools B2C Introduction B2B Introduction
Growth Stage
• Add additional features/benefits to the product for wider market coverage
• Increase distribution to cover more segments
• Reduce price to penetrate the market
• Do Promotion to remind and reinforce
PLC and Marketing Strategies
Maturity Stage
• Focus on product differentiation (e.g. superior quality of product and service ).
• Intensify distribution for entering new markets.
• Reduce costs to keep prices competitive.
Decline Stage
• Harvest, divest / withdraw the product, or develop a substitute product.
• Minimize promotion and distribution to reduce costs.
• Satisfy existing customers better than competitors.
• As price competition is severe, cut price.
Developing Product Strategies for Existing Products
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• Use perceptual mapping for assessing the relative strengths and weaknesses of
existing products via-a-vis competitors .
Decide product strategies from the following
alternatives:
• Continue the product and marketing strategy
• Modify the product and / or change marketing strategy
• Drop the product
• Add new product or product lines
Branding in Business Markets
What is a Brand?
• It is a name, symbol, design, or combination, intended to
identify the goods and services of one seller and
differentiate them from those of the competitors.
• In short, a brand identifies the seller.
What is a brand equity?
• It is the value (or worth) of a brand.
Purpose of branding
• To identify and differentiate a product / service / business
organization from its competitors.
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Brand Equity :Preferential Actions by Customers