Many products generally have a characteristic known as perishable distinctiveness. This means that a product which is distinct when new degenerates over the years into a common commodity. The process by which the distinctiveness gradually disappears as the product merges with other competitive products, has been rightly termed by Joel Dean as “the cycle of competitive degeneration”. The cycle begins with the invention of a new product and is often followed by patent protection, and further development to make it saleable. This is usually followed by a rapid expansion in its sales as the product gains market acceptance. Then competitors enter the field with imitation and rival products and the distinctiveness of the new product starts diminishing.… Read the rest
Marketing Principles
Improve, Buy or Drop a Product
If a product is not showing profitable performance, the company may consider one of the alternatives, viz., improve, buy or drop the product.
ImproveIf the firm continues to make the product, it may be required to make improvement in its production or distribution so as to yield adequate return. Improvement may mean re-designing the product or producing it at a lower cost. Product improvement is particularly necessary when the existing product has become apparently obsolete or out of fashion. Indian companies need to continuously upgrade their products and technology to withstand the pace of change in their business environment and to meet the challenges thrown up by the emergence of a buyer’ market. … Read the rest
The Concept of New Product Development
Definitions of New Product Development
- New Product Development is a process which is designed to develop, test and consider the viability of products which are new to the market in order to ensure the growth or survival of the organization.
- New Product Development can be defined as the process of innovating and inventing new ideas and concepts, with a view to developing a successful new product in the anticipation of customer needs.
- The new product development can be defined as the term used to describe the complete process of bringing a new product or service to market.
There are two parallel paths involved in the new product development process.… Read the rest
Introduction to Market Segmentation
Market is composed by the customers and sellers, and different customers may have different needs, characteristics, behavior or buying attitudes. Each customer is a separate entity, they have unique wants. Therefore, sellers may divide a market into different groups of individual markets. Every consumer group is a market segment, each segment are the tendency of buyers with similar wants or needs. They divide the market into distinct groups who have distinct needs, wants, behavior or who might want different products and services. This action is known as marketing segmentation.
The modern concept of market segmentation was put forward by Phillip Kotler, who states that market segmentation is the “sub dividing of a market into homogenous subsets of customers, where any subset may be conceivably be selected as a market target to be reached with a distinct marketing mix“.… Read the rest
Methods of Marketing Research
Marketing research is a systematic and objective study of problems pertaining to the marketing of goods and services. It is applicable to any area of marketing. Research is the only tool an organization has to keep in contact with its external operating environment. In order to be proactive and change with the environment simple questions need to be asked:
- What are the customer needs and how are they changing? How to meet these changing needs? What do the customers think about existing products or services? What more are they looking at?
- What are the competitors doing to retain customers in this environment?
Marketing Research – Definition, Importance and Process
Definition of Marketing Research
Marketing research is a key to the evolution of successful marketing strategies and programmes. It is an important tool to study buyer behavior, changes in consumer lifestyles and consumption patterns, brand loyalty and forecast market changes. Research is also used to study competition and analyze the competitor product’s positioning and how to gain competitive advantage. Recently, marketing research is being used to help create and enhance brand equity.
According to Philip Kotler, Marketing research is systematic problem analysis, model building and fact finding for the purposes of important decision making and control in the marketing of goods and services.… Read the rest