The marketing mix: product

Question 1

What is the marketing mix?

Answer 1

The marketing mix is a term which is used to describe all the activities which go into marketing a product or service.

Question 2

What are the 4 elements of the marketing mix?

Answer 2

• Product
• Price
• Promotion
• Place

Question 3

What are the costs and benefits of developing new products in the marketing mix?

Answer 3

The product itself is the most important element in the marketing mix. Without a product that meets customer needs, the rest of the marketing mix is unlikely to be able to achieve marketing success.

Question 4

What are the main types of products?

Answer 4

• Consumer goods
• Consumer services
• Producer goods
• Producer services

Question 5

What is a consumer good?

Answer 5

These are goods which are bought by consumers for their own use.

Question 6

What is a consumer service?

Answer 6

These are services that are bought by consumers for their own use.

Question 7

What are producer goods?

Answer 7

These are goods that are produced for other businesses to use.

Question 8

What are producer services?

Answer 8

These are services that are produced to help other businesses.

Question 9

What is the role of product decisions in the marketing mix?

Answer 9

• The product needs to satisfy consumer wants and needs. If it does not then it will not sell.
• The product also needs to be of the right quality so consumers are willing to pay the price for it.
• The product must not be so difficult to make that the costs of production are greater than the price charged for it.
• Design of the product is very important as the quality needs to be appropriate for the brand image.

Question 10

What is the USP?

Answer 10

The USP (unique selling point) is the special feature of a product that differentiates it from the products of competitors.

Question 11

What is the brand name?

Answer 11

The brand name is the unique name of a product that distinguishes it from other brands.

Question 12

What is brand loyalty?

Answer 12

Brand loyalty is when consumers keep buying the same brand again and again instead of choosing a competitor’s brand.

Question 13

What is brand image?

Answer 13

Brand image is an image or product which gives it a personality of its own and distinguishes it from its competitors’ brands.

Question 14

What is the importance of brand image?

Answer 14

• Developing a strong brand involves creating a unique and identifiable name, design, symbol or other feature that differentiates a product/service or company from its competitors
• Brand image can help a business to add value as customers are often willing to pay higher prices for brands they recognise and trust

Question 15

What is packaging?

Answer 15

Packaging is the physical container or wrapping for a product. It is also used for promotion and selling appeal.

Question 16

What is the role of packaging?

Answer 16

• Promotes the brand image
• Protects the product
• Make the product easy to use
• Labelling - legal and ethical elements
• Make the product easy to transport/stand in shops

Question 17

What are the main stages of the product life cycle?

Answer 17

• Development
• Introduction
• Growth
• Maturity
• Saturation
• Decline

Question 18

What is development in the product life cycle?

Answer 18

• The prototype is tested and market research is carried out before the product is launched onto the market.
• There are no sales at this time.

Question 19

What is introduction in the product life cycle?

Answer 19

• Sales for a product grow slowly at first because most consumers are not aware of its existence.
• Informative advertising is used until the product becomes known
• Price skimming may be used if the product is a new development and there are no competitors
• No profits are made at this point as development costs have not yet been covered.

Question 20

What is growth in the product life cycle?

Answer 20

• Sales start to grow rapidly.
• The advertising is changed to persuasive advertising to encourage brand loyalty.
• Prices are reduced a little as new competitors enter the market and try to take some customers
• Profits start to be made as the development costs are covered.

Question 21

What is maturity in the product life cycle?

Answer 21

• Sales now increase only slowly
• Comptetition becomes intense
• Pricing strategies are now more competitive or promotional pricing
• A lot of advertising is used to maintain sales growth
• Profits are at their highest

Question 22

What is saturation in the product life cycle?

Answer 22

• Sales reach saturation point and stabilise at their highest point
• Competition is high but there are no new competitors
• Competitive pricing is used
• A high and stable level of advertising is used
• Profits start to fall as sales are static and prices have to be reduced to be competitive

Question 23

What is the decline in the product life cycle?

Answer 23

• Sales of the product decline as new products come along or because the product has lost its appeal
• The product is usually withdrawn from the market when sales become so low and prices have been reduced so far that it becomes unprofitable to produce the product
• Advertising is reduced then stopped

Question 24

What is the product life cycle?

Answer 24

The product life cycle describes the stages a product will pass through.

Question 25

What is an extension strategy?

Answer 25

An extension strategy is a way of keeping a product at the maturity stage of the life cycle and extending the cycle.

Question 26

What are the main extension strategies?

Answer 26

• Introduce new variations e.g. child version
• Sell into new markets e.g. other countries
• Make small changes to the product e.g. colour
• Use a new advertising campaign
• Introduce new improved versions of the old product e.g. iPhone 4, 5, 6, etc.
• Sell through different channels e.g. internet