Marketing Concepts: Explain the Product Layers - Academic Essay Writing Assessment Answers

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Task:

Explain the Product Layers [including appropriate examples]. Also provide a summary of the Product Components concept, then select three of its components and explain them using appropriate examples.

Introduction

Provide some context & background. Include a definition of marketing and its various objectives. Introducing the marketing concept is also appropriate here. Also include a definition of the total product.

State the purpose of the essay and introduce the dominant themes. Which of the underlying concepts of the Total Product Concept are being addressed i.e. the Product Layers and the Product Components and which three components you will be explaining in addressing the topic statement. Explain the scope or limitations of your paper. The introduction should be concise and avoid any detailed discussion

Discussion

This should involve a logical explanation of the Product Layers concept from this unit, including appropriate examples.

Next give an overall summary of the Product Components concept from this unit.

Having provided this brief explanation of the Product Components concept it is now appropriate that you introduce and explain three of its components [you select which three] -this needs to be done in some detail. Where possible, use examples to illustrate the points you have made – if they are your own examples rather than those utilised in class all the better.

This may take some thought and analysis.

The first places to look as reference sources for the above are the relevant chapters of the e-book The Marketing Concept 2016 and lecture slides relevant to the concepts.

Whilst in-text referencing is required throughout your work, in this section you will often be in-text referencing the e-book The Marketing Concept 2016 as well as some of the key journal articles beyond this.

Note: as this is a ‘business style’ essay figures & tables etc may be included.

Conclusions

This should draw together all the main points you have made in your discussion. It should link your presented information and provide conclusions.

No new material should be introduced here.

Introduction

Marketing is a concept that all companies should embrace in their operations. It refers to the communication process between a company and the consumer. Also, marketing is creating awareness to the consumers about the existence of a product that is being sold by a company. Marketing is geared towards increasing the profile of the company to the consumers in the market. Without marketing efforts, consumers will not be aware of the existence of the company and its operations. The company will not be in a position to make sales on the products it produces. There are ways of conducting an effective marketing campaign. Marketing efforts should be directed towards the target market of the company (Gundlach & Wilkie, 2010). The target market includes the specific a group of people in the market who consume the products. This paper will address the various functions of marketing and the categories of marketing that exist. Marketing is also made up of various layers that are geared towards making the marketing concept more efficient and effective.

Discussions

Product Layers

The product is any that can be offered to the market by a company. It can be a good or a service. The product is geared towards satisfying the needs of the consumers in the market. In the manufacturing industry, products are raw materials. In the retailing industry, products are called merchandise. This refers to the finished goods that are offered to the market for consumption purposes. Products often have layers to ease in the marketing operations of the companies. Products can also be categorized into different groups (Chernenko & Sunderam, 2012). These groups have developed to ease the process by which products are identified in the market. Also, companies can identify the specific product they are offering to the market. Products can be divided into three main categories. They include the core product, actual product, and the augmented product.

Core Product

This is not the tangible aspect of the product. It cannot be touched by anyone. This part of a product describes the benefit incorporated into the product itself. The benefit is the aspect of the product that makes it valuable to a consumer in the market. For example, the core product in a car is the convenience it gives the consumer in that they can travel to any destination they wish whenever they want. In this case, convenience is intangible. It can only feel by the consumer. This is the main component that makes the car as a product valuable to the consumer.

Actual Product

This refers to the aspect of the product that is tangible. It is not felt, but it can be seen and touched by the consumer. For example, the car itself is the actual product. A car is what the consumer takes out on a test drive and what they buy. This actual product provides the highest level of convenience to the consumer.

Augmented Product

This refers to the non-physical part of a product. This is the value added part of the product that a consumer would pay a premium to have. For example, a car manufacturer would provide a warranty service with the sold vehicle to the consumers. This means that the consumer will get free service tune-ups of the bought vehicle whenever they return it to the seller within a specified period. This period is usually within one year (Yamashita et al, 2012). The manufacturer can also add after sales services such as free delivery to the consumer’s desired location. However, the features in the augmented product can be modified to fit the requirements of the individual.

Features and Benefits of Products

Products are usually designed to incorporate various benefits and characteristics that will help in making it highly attractive to the market. Products usually incorporate a large number of features, but only have a small number of benefits to the actual consumer. For example, a vehicle can have numerous features installed. A car can have a music system, LCD panel, leather seats and a footrest, among others. However, the consumer may only be interested in being able to move around at will. In this scenario, not all the other features incorporated into the vehicle are relevant to the particular consumer (Milne, Bahl & Rohm, 2008). On the other hand, there may be other consumers that are interested in some of the added features. For this reason, the marketer will work to discover the consumer's preferences in the product. The marketers will then advise the manufacturer on the areas to place more emphasis on when producing the product. Also, the marketer will use this information to promote the product in the market. When marketing the product in the market, the marketer will present the product in a manner that the consumer will be convinced of the benefits that the product will bring to them.

Market Environment

The market is divided into various categories where consumers are grouped by their interests I the market. The marketer is obligated to determine the market segments and group all the consumers into their relevant segments. This will increase the level of customization for a product in a bid to conform to the consumer's requirements (Schlegelmilch & Öberseder, 2010). However, the marketer should be in a position to assess the situation in the market and determine the best product to promote in that market. The product is designed to satisfy all the needs of the consumers. The market is divided into two segments. The micro-environment and the macro-environment.

Micro-environment

The microenvironment refers to the environment within the premises of the company. These areas may include various departments and offices within the company. Each of the departments within a company has a significant influence on the marketing decision-making process. For example, a marketer can first test the viability of a newly formed product by selling them to local company staff members in the various company departments (Pirinsky & Wang, 2011). Depending on the performance of the product, the marketer can roll out the product to the public market outside the company. Before a product is presented to the market, a research exercise is conducted to determine the product that is best suited to the market. This environment is used to test the product before it is availed in the market. This will give the marketer and an opportunity to rectify any faults that may be present in the product during the manufacturing process. The process will ensure that the product presented in the market is highly effective and efficient.

Macro-environment

This refers to the environment that is outside the company. It includes the larger society. However, it also affects the microenvironment. The environment comprises of various elements within the marketing environment. These elements include political, economical, social, technological, environment, and legal elements (PESTEL). All these are factors that have the capability of affecting the viability of the product within the market. Also, these elements affect the perception of the product by the consumer in the market. The government is responsible for the political effect that the product experiences in the market (Bush, Bush & Orr, 2010). The government may pass regulations that require companies to adhere to specific ingredients or follow specific instructions while producing the product. For example, the government can pass legislation that requires all alcoholic products not to be sold to persons under the age of 18 years. This will affect the marketing structure of the product in that the target market will include people who are over 18 years of age.

Economically, the product may be affected depending on the financial status of the company. The financial status of the consumers in the market also plays a role in the success of the product. For example, the consumers may not have adequate funds to buy the product sold by the marketer. This will hinder the progress of the product in the market. The society also plays a crucial in influencing the marketing processes of a company. The products are developed to meet the needs of the consumers in the society (Liu, Ram, Lusch & Brusco, 2010). For this reason, they affect the structure of the product. Technology plays a role in that products are continuously becoming advanced and more efficient and effective for the consumption of the consumers. The environment consists of the surroundings in which the company exists. The company should make the surrounding environment a priority in their operations. The legal environment also affects the company and its products in the sense that the government can establish laws that govern the production and consumption of certain products.

Marketing Philosophy

The marketing philosophy is comprised of three elements. They include market definition, market evolution and the objectives of the marketers.

Market Definition

The marketers have the responsibility of defining the target market. Defining the market is crucial for the progress of the marketing practice in a company (Menzly & Ozbas, 2010). This will help the marketers to identify the correct market and tailor their products to meet the needs of the consumer sin the target market. The marketing philosophy is more than the business structure. It is ways of thinking and how the mind is structured. In defining the market, a marketer should be in a position to know and identify all the needs and wants of the consumers.

Marketing Evolution

Since the first identification of the marketing concept, the practice has experienced evolution and progress over the years. The practice of marketing has over the years witnessed major events that have marked significant instances in the practice. Throughout history, the market has witnessed the changes in the consumers with regards to their positions in the market. The market has had consumers alone, then they became producers and consumers, then they became producers or consumers (Fanning, 2015). The current state of the market comprises of either producers or consumers. During the inception of marketing, consumers in the market were not aware that they could be producers as well. They did not have the necessary skills required to produce goods and services for consumption. However, the market evolved to comprise of both producers and consumers.

Marketing objectives

Marketing has always had a goal to sell goods and services to the consumers in the market. Marketing is referred to as an academic discipline. As a business discipline, the marketing concept has continued to evolve into the marketplace where consumers have been experiencing changes in their tastes and preferences. The marketing concept began looking at the factors that were beyond the delivered goods. Instead, the practice began placing its focus on how the goods were delivered. The services sector has developed high levels of employment, which have helped to improve the status of the society. Marketing has a financial objective of increasing the sales revenue for the company. Also, it has a strategic and communication objective of product leadership and attracting more customers to the company. All these objectives are geared towards ensuring that the company remains profitable and relevant in the market.

Conclusion

Marketing plays a crucial role in any company. It ensures that a company generates adequate sales revenue through increased sales. Marketing can achieve this by promoting products to the consumers in the market and also attracting new customers. Marketers can achieve this by ensuring that the produce goods and service that meet the needs of the consumers. Consumers should feel satisfied by the products they consume in the market. This is what will keep them loyal to a specific company. The market can also be divided into various segments for convenience on the part of a marketer. The target market is used by a marketer to place more focus while promoting goods and services produced by a company.