Managing successful products and brands product

Managing Successful Products and Brands
• Product Lifecycle:
o Introduction Stage – sales grow slowly, profit is minimal, one product (inform, educate)
o Growth Stage – Rapid increase in sales, more competition/products (pts of difference)
o Maturity Stage – full product line, defend market share/profit (reminder oriented)
o Decline Stage – only best sellers, stay profitable, minimal promotion
• Product adopters of lifecycle
o Innovators – venturesome; higher educated; use multiple information sources (2.5%)
o Early Adopters – leaders in social setting; slightly above average education (13.5%)
o Early Majority – deliberate; many informal social contacts (34%)
o Late Majority – skeptical; below average social status (34%)
o Laggards – fear of debt; neighbors/friends are information sources (16%)
• Product Modification – altering a product’s characteristic (quality, performance, appearance) to
increase its value to customers and increase sales
• Market Modification – a company tries to find new customers, increase a product’s use among
existing customers, or create new use situations
• Branding – a basic marketing decision where an organization uses a name, phrase, design,
symbols, or combination of these to identify its products and distinguish them from those of
competitors
• Brand Equity – the added value a brand name gives to a product beyond the functional benefits
provided
• Brand Equity Pyramid:
o (Top) Consumer-Brand Connection
o (2 nd ) Consumer Judgments, Consumer Feelings
o (3 rd ) Brand Performance, Brand Imagery
o (Bottom) Brand Awareness
• Brand Name – any word, device, or combination used to distinguish a seller’s goods/services
o The name should suggest the product benefits (Easy Off, Glass Plus, Cling-Free)
o The name should be memorable, distinctive, and positive (Ford Mustang )
o The name should fit the company or product image (Sharp, Duracell)
o The name should have no legal/regulatory restrictions (US Food and Drug Administration
can’t use the word heart in food brand names)
o The name should be simple and emotional (Axe deodorant, Bic pens; Joy and Obsession
Perfumes)
• Branding strategies:
o Multiproduct Branding – a company uses one name for all its products in a product class
(Microsoft)

o Multibranding – giving each product a distinct name (Disney uses Miramax and
Touchstone Pictures)
o Private Branding – sells products under the brand name of a wholesaler/retailer
(Richelieu Foods makes pizza and other foods for other companies like Sam’s and BJ’s)
o Mixed Branding – a firm markets products under its own name and that of a reseller
because the part attracted to the reseller is different from its own market (Elizabeth Arden
sells skin care products at Wal-Mart)
• Challenges and concerns with packaging
o Connecting with Customers: packages/labels must be continually updated
o Environmental Concerns: due to widespread concern of solid waste growth and shortage
of landfills, amount/composition/disposal of packing material has a lot of attention
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