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**files (3)**
– ## AdvancedMarketingMKT5301UnitVIPowerPointPresentation.docx
– ## UnitVStudyGuide.pdf
– UnitVIStudyGuide.pdf
**## AdvancedMarketingMKT5301UnitVIPowerPointPresentation.docx**
2
Advanced Marketing MKT 5301
**Unit VI PowerPoint Presentation**
This marketing plan proposal presentation measures your mastery of ULOs 2.4, 3.6, 4.2, 4.3, and 7.1.
Throughout this course, you have learned about the elements of a marketing plan. This assignment will provide you with the opportunity to research the marketing methodology of an existing publicly traded company. Using a publicly traded, global company of your choice will provide you with access to a greater amount of information to complete this assignment. As you research this company, apply the theoretical learning from this course.
In this presentation, you will propose a new marketing plan for an existing product offered by the company. Your presentation will include the following information:
· Company introduction: Introduce the company and product to the audience.
· Competitive Analysis: Inform the audience of your selected company’s competitors, and how each is differentiated. Identify two strengths and two weaknesses of the selected company, compared to a minimum of two of the company’s competitors’ strengths or weaknesses.
· Proposed Marketing Strategies: Describe the product of the company you selected for the marketing plan. Describe the current pricing strategy and describe if you will change the strategy. Describe the current promotional strategy (traditional and digital) and address if you will change the strategy.
· Competitive Advantage: Identify whether the company has a competitive advantage in each of the areas of the four Ps. Remember that the company could have a competitive advantage in one area and not in another. Include supporting rationale.
Your PowerPoint presentation should be at least 8 slides in length, not counting the title and reference slides. For each content slide, be concise; use bullets, graphics, and images to entice engagement from your audience.
For each content slide, you must utilize the slide notes by proving a written explanation of the slide topic(s) in detail. You must use at least one source from the CSU Online Library to support your presentation. Follow APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment.
**## UnitVStudyGuide.pdf**
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
3. Analyze the use of marketing strategies in the management of global customer brand equity.
3.6 Assess whether a company holds a competitive advantage.
3. Compare the development of innovative new products on competitive product strategies.
4.2 Examine how innovative new product development impacts a marketing strategy.
4.3 Contrast competitive companies’ marketing and product strategies.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 8: Designing and Managing Products
Chapter 9: Designing and Managing Services—Read the following sections:
• The Nature of Services
• The New Services Realities
Unit Lesson
What do you think about when you hear product offering? Your first reaction is probably a mental picture of
the physical product itself. While this is a part of the product offering, it goes beyond this to also include
services, quality of the product, installation, warranty, delivery, packaging, and the brand.
Within the product offering, differentiation is a key element in order to maintain a competitive advantage with
respect to the product. Kotler and Keller (2016) discuss aspects of product differentiation on p. 371 of the
textbook. Companies absolutely need to maintain a differentiated product in order to provide consumers with
the rationale for purchasing your product over the competitors’ products. As consumers review each of these
differentiating elements within the product category, they determine whether these factors carry a higher
value proposition than the product’s competitors.
Packaging plays an important role in the product strategy. It not only protects the product but also enhances
it. This is accomplished by sending a message with the end goal to influence the purchase. Additionally,
packaging provides necessary information about the product to not only align with regulatory agencies’ rules
about ingredients but also to expedite the buying process. This might be accomplished with the use of
Universal Product Codes (UPCs) that allow for fast scanning of multiple products and work as an accurate
and timely system of inventory management. Take a moment to view the video Out of the Box Samsung.mp4
(transcript for Out of the Box Samsung.mp4 video).
In the video, the target market is an older demographic who might struggle with putting together and operating
a new cell phone. The packaging mimics packages with which this elderly demographic is typically quite
familiar.
In earlier units, there was an introduction to brand management, which uses marketing techniques to increase
the perceived value of a product or service over time. This perception is driven by multiple factors including
the quality of the product or service, pricing, and distribution techniques, as well as the packaging strategies.
Marketing managers work very hard to protect their brand to ensure this positive perception. Their goal is to
ensure that every use of their name, logo, or message aligns with the overall company persona they are
looking to project. This supports the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC). Marketing
managers are also striving for the target market to develop a relationship with the brand, leading to brand
UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Managing Innovative Product
and Service Offerings
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
preference. Communication is essential in this relationship as the company is looking to build trust with the
target market as they continue to reinforce the product or service brand personality.
Product managers or brand managers within large corporations are involved with the oversight associated
with this product system, which is defined as a group of related products that are somewhat compatible with
each other. Conversely, the product mix or product assortment refer to all of the products the company offers.
Decisions are executed on the width of the product mix, which equates to how many different product lines
the company will offer. Another area of consideration is that of the length of the product line, which looks at
the number of items in the product mix. The depth is also considered, which looks at how many different
options are offered for each product. Finally, the consistency analyzes how related the products actually are
to one another.
As the world continues to be more competitive and society becomes more time poor, companies look to
differentiate their product offerings based on the services provided. This could be as simple as on-time
delivery or a faster response time to inquiries. At the end of the day, it is all about providing the customer with
services that the particular target market desires, which will build a lasting relationship with the company and
brand. As discussed in Chapter 8 of the textbook, products can be made up of 100% tangible goods, such as
a box of Kleenex or a loaf of bread. Alternatively, services can make up 100% of a brand, such as hair styling
or an athletic club membership. There is also a blend where a physical product is provided in conjunction with
a service. An example of this might be a restaurant where you receive the actual food, and the service
provided is the cooking and serving of the food.
The United States has become an increasingly heavy service-based society. Government, nonprofit,
business, and manufacturing sectors have all added to this situation. Each of these areas has seen an
increase in the service side of their business. Employment in professional and business services alone has
averaged up to 47,000 each month in 2018 and 34,000 each month in 2019 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2019).
What is your favorite new product that a company has offered lately? Do you remember the can koozies, as
shown in the image below? They would sometimes fit on your drink of choice and sometimes would not. They
most certainly did not work on bottles.
(AWesleyFord, n.d.)
This Freaker USA website displays a new product that serves a similar purpose (to keep drinks cool), but the
product fits on containers of any size, and the product is available in a plethora of unique designs.
Besides being an innovative product, read the story of the aforementioned product, and review some of the
video marketing techniques. A word of warning—the company may be off-the-wall, but their marketing is most
certainly effective.
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
One example of a mature product offering is laundry detergent. Tide came up with the Tide Pods concept,
which is a small, dissolvable, single-use package of detergent. While this product costs the consumers about
25% more per load, the question remains regarding whether the value of convenience is worth the extra cost
(Glazer, 2012). Other products come about with respect to our need to be green and sustainable. Still, other
innovative ideas are created through the need for continued medical advancements.
After a new product is commercialized, it moves through what is called a product life cycle. This cycle
describes the changes that the new product goes through and how sales are impacted at each stage. With
this in mind, the marketing efforts at each stage must also change. Take a look at the product life cycle and
the characteristics associated with each stage.
Each stage has unique characteristics; therefore, the wise marketer will exert different efforts at each stage.
Within the market introduction area, the content of the marketing should be informational and intense as the
consumer does not necessarily even know about the product offering. In the growth stage, the customer
knows about the product but now has the option of choosing from your competitors. The marketing content at
this stage should include facts that differentiate your product offering from the competitors’ products. During
the marketing maturity stage, the content should continue to influence and maintain a bit of goodwill in order
to maintain past customers. Finally, during the sales decline, marketing content should include incentives for
coming back to your product and possibly include price reductions such as buy-one-get-one-free deals.
Before a product or service gets to the point of commercialization, the company moves through a new product
development process to ensure the idea is worth bringing to commercialization. This begins with idea
generation where the product or service idea is formulated. These ideas come from a variety of different
places, beginning with market research, customers or users, competitors, other markets, employees,
suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, and even family members.
The next step in the process is the screening, which involves an evaluation process that might include a
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, which was discussed earlier in this
course. The idea here is to ascertain if this new product or service idea really fits with the company objectives
and market trends.
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
The third step is the idea evaluation where the sophisticated evaluation process begins. This might involve
concept testing or even focus-group research of customers to understand their reactions to this new
product/service idea. Additionally, rough estimates of costs, sales, and projected profits will be analyzed.
The next stage is that of development where a prototype is put together to see if the product is a viable
product. If the new product is a service, the details of the training of staff and the sequencing of the process
will be compiled for review. During this stage, research and development is critical as the product
specifications are analyzed and the viability of the product or service is finalized.
As expected, final edits on the return-on-investment (ROI) numbers are also compiled. If the product has
made it through all of these stages, the product is commercialized. Remember, the purpose of the new
product development process is to remove or edit the new product or service as it moves through each stage.
As the product or service moves from one stage to another, it costs the company money with respect to
resources in the development. If the product is not a viable product, the company would prefer to stop the
process before it makes it through the process and is commercialized. At commercialization, the product is
finalized, and production begins. The marketing plan is implemented, and the final ROI numbers are
submitted. At this point, the product begins the product life cycle discussed earlier in this lesson.
Up to this point, the discussion of innovation and new product development has been vertical in nature. The
reality is that innovation and new product development should be combined in one collaborative effort.
Marketing managers need to begin with a focused and actionable vision to provide the roadmap to innovation.
To maximize innovative creativity with the new product development ideas, objectives should be initiated by
multiple functional areas of the business. Examples could include the marketing department compiling a
strategy to penetrate a new market segment. Research and development (R&D) could drive innovation of a
new technology that disrupts the capabilities of the product and the industry as a whole. Apple products are a
good example of this. Through this process, measurement metrics need to be agreed on and established to
ensure the appropriate ROI on new product innovations.
Conclusion
New products should represent a value proposition to the consumer. Innovation is key to the development of
products and services that will disrupt the industry and validate profit maximization. Investing the time in
properly aligning new products with the brand identity will protect the brand, ensuring appropriate brand and
product management.
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 5
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
References
AWesleyFord. (n.d.). ID 39480122 [Illustration]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-
photography-aluminum-can-koozie-illustration-great-mock-ups-image39480122
Glazer, E. (2012, February 23). Tide rides convenience wave: Procter & Gamble bets consumers will pay
more for premeasured detergent. Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204778604577239350705596884
Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., & Chernev, A. (2022). Marketing management (16th ed.). Pearson.
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780135887035
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Current employment statistic highlights.
https://www.bls.gov/ces/publications/highlights/2019/current-employment-statistics-highlights-08-
2019.pdf
Suggested Unit Resources
You are encouraged to review the chapter below, which will provide additional details on topics covered in the
unit lesson regarding new market offerings.
Chapter 18: Developing New Market Offerings
**UnitVIStudyGuide.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/unitvistudyguide-pdf-10288169)
**UnitVIStudyGuide.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/unitvistudyguide-pdf-10288169)
**## AdvancedMarketingMKT5301UnitVIPowerPointPresentation.docx**
2
Advanced Marketing MKT 5301
**Unit VI PowerPoint Presentation**
This marketing plan proposal presentation measures your mastery of ULOs 2.4, 3.6, 4.2, 4.3, and 7.1.
Throughout this course, you have learned about the elements of a marketing plan. This assignment will provide you with the opportunity to research the marketing methodology of an existing publicly traded company. Using a publicly traded, global company of your choice will provide you with access to a greater amount of information to complete this assignment. As you research this company, apply the theoretical learning from this course.
In this presentation, you will propose a new marketing plan for an existing product offered by the company. Your presentation will include the following information:
· Company introduction: Introduce the company and product to the audience.
· Competitive Analysis: Inform the audience of your selected company’s competitors, and how each is differentiated. Identify two strengths and two weaknesses of the selected company, compared to a minimum of two of the company’s competitors’ strengths or weaknesses.
· Proposed Marketing Strategies: Describe the product of the company you selected for the marketing plan. Describe the current pricing strategy and describe if you will change the strategy. Describe the current promotional strategy (traditional and digital) and address if you will change the strategy.
· Competitive Advantage: Identify whether the company has a competitive advantage in each of the areas of the four Ps. Remember that the company could have a competitive advantage in one area and not in another. Include supporting rationale.
Your PowerPoint presentation should be at least 8 slides in length, not counting the title and reference slides. For each content slide, be concise; use bullets, graphics, and images to entice engagement from your audience.
For each content slide, you must utilize the slide notes by proving a written explanation of the slide topic(s) in detail. You must use at least one source from the CSU Online Library to support your presentation. Follow APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment.
**## UnitVStudyGuide.pdf**
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
3. Analyze the use of marketing strategies in the management of global customer brand equity.
3.6 Assess whether a company holds a competitive advantage.
3. Compare the development of innovative new products on competitive product strategies.
4.2 Examine how innovative new product development impacts a marketing strategy.
4.3 Contrast competitive companies’ marketing and product strategies.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 8: Designing and Managing Products
Chapter 9: Designing and Managing Services—Read the following sections:
• The Nature of Services
• The New Services Realities
Unit Lesson
What do you think about when you hear product offering? Your first reaction is probably a mental picture of
the physical product itself. While this is a part of the product offering, it goes beyond this to also include
services, quality of the product, installation, warranty, delivery, packaging, and the brand.
Within the product offering, differentiation is a key element in order to maintain a competitive advantage with
respect to the product. Kotler and Keller (2016) discuss aspects of product differentiation on p. 371 of the
textbook. Companies absolutely need to maintain a differentiated product in order to provide consumers with
the rationale for purchasing your product over the competitors’ products. As consumers review each of these
differentiating elements within the product category, they determine whether these factors carry a higher
value proposition than the product’s competitors.
Packaging plays an important role in the product strategy. It not only protects the product but also enhances
it. This is accomplished by sending a message with the end goal to influence the purchase. Additionally,
packaging provides necessary information about the product to not only align with regulatory agencies’ rules
about ingredients but also to expedite the buying process. This might be accomplished with the use of
Universal Product Codes (UPCs) that allow for fast scanning of multiple products and work as an accurate
and timely system of inventory management. Take a moment to view the video Out of the Box Samsung.mp4
(transcript for Out of the Box Samsung.mp4 video).
In the video, the target market is an older demographic who might struggle with putting together and operating
a new cell phone. The packaging mimics packages with which this elderly demographic is typically quite
familiar.
In earlier units, there was an introduction to brand management, which uses marketing techniques to increase
the perceived value of a product or service over time. This perception is driven by multiple factors including
the quality of the product or service, pricing, and distribution techniques, as well as the packaging strategies.
Marketing managers work very hard to protect their brand to ensure this positive perception. Their goal is to
ensure that every use of their name, logo, or message aligns with the overall company persona they are
looking to project. This supports the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC). Marketing
managers are also striving for the target market to develop a relationship with the brand, leading to brand
UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Managing Innovative Product
and Service Offerings
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
preference. Communication is essential in this relationship as the company is looking to build trust with the
target market as they continue to reinforce the product or service brand personality.
Product managers or brand managers within large corporations are involved with the oversight associated
with this product system, which is defined as a group of related products that are somewhat compatible with
each other. Conversely, the product mix or product assortment refer to all of the products the company offers.
Decisions are executed on the width of the product mix, which equates to how many different product lines
the company will offer. Another area of consideration is that of the length of the product line, which looks at
the number of items in the product mix. The depth is also considered, which looks at how many different
options are offered for each product. Finally, the consistency analyzes how related the products actually are
to one another.
As the world continues to be more competitive and society becomes more time poor, companies look to
differentiate their product offerings based on the services provided. This could be as simple as on-time
delivery or a faster response time to inquiries. At the end of the day, it is all about providing the customer with
services that the particular target market desires, which will build a lasting relationship with the company and
brand. As discussed in Chapter 8 of the textbook, products can be made up of 100% tangible goods, such as
a box of Kleenex or a loaf of bread. Alternatively, services can make up 100% of a brand, such as hair styling
or an athletic club membership. There is also a blend where a physical product is provided in conjunction with
a service. An example of this might be a restaurant where you receive the actual food, and the service
provided is the cooking and serving of the food.
The United States has become an increasingly heavy service-based society. Government, nonprofit,
business, and manufacturing sectors have all added to this situation. Each of these areas has seen an
increase in the service side of their business. Employment in professional and business services alone has
averaged up to 47,000 each month in 2018 and 34,000 each month in 2019 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2019).
What is your favorite new product that a company has offered lately? Do you remember the can koozies, as
shown in the image below? They would sometimes fit on your drink of choice and sometimes would not. They
most certainly did not work on bottles.
(AWesleyFord, n.d.)
This Freaker USA website displays a new product that serves a similar purpose (to keep drinks cool), but the
product fits on containers of any size, and the product is available in a plethora of unique designs.
Besides being an innovative product, read the story of the aforementioned product, and review some of the
video marketing techniques. A word of warning—the company may be off-the-wall, but their marketing is most
certainly effective.
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 3
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
One example of a mature product offering is laundry detergent. Tide came up with the Tide Pods concept,
which is a small, dissolvable, single-use package of detergent. While this product costs the consumers about
25% more per load, the question remains regarding whether the value of convenience is worth the extra cost
(Glazer, 2012). Other products come about with respect to our need to be green and sustainable. Still, other
innovative ideas are created through the need for continued medical advancements.
After a new product is commercialized, it moves through what is called a product life cycle. This cycle
describes the changes that the new product goes through and how sales are impacted at each stage. With
this in mind, the marketing efforts at each stage must also change. Take a look at the product life cycle and
the characteristics associated with each stage.
Each stage has unique characteristics; therefore, the wise marketer will exert different efforts at each stage.
Within the market introduction area, the content of the marketing should be informational and intense as the
consumer does not necessarily even know about the product offering. In the growth stage, the customer
knows about the product but now has the option of choosing from your competitors. The marketing content at
this stage should include facts that differentiate your product offering from the competitors’ products. During
the marketing maturity stage, the content should continue to influence and maintain a bit of goodwill in order
to maintain past customers. Finally, during the sales decline, marketing content should include incentives for
coming back to your product and possibly include price reductions such as buy-one-get-one-free deals.
Before a product or service gets to the point of commercialization, the company moves through a new product
development process to ensure the idea is worth bringing to commercialization. This begins with idea
generation where the product or service idea is formulated. These ideas come from a variety of different
places, beginning with market research, customers or users, competitors, other markets, employees,
suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, and even family members.
The next step in the process is the screening, which involves an evaluation process that might include a
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, which was discussed earlier in this
course. The idea here is to ascertain if this new product or service idea really fits with the company objectives
and market trends.
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 4
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
The third step is the idea evaluation where the sophisticated evaluation process begins. This might involve
concept testing or even focus-group research of customers to understand their reactions to this new
product/service idea. Additionally, rough estimates of costs, sales, and projected profits will be analyzed.
The next stage is that of development where a prototype is put together to see if the product is a viable
product. If the new product is a service, the details of the training of staff and the sequencing of the process
will be compiled for review. During this stage, research and development is critical as the product
specifications are analyzed and the viability of the product or service is finalized.
As expected, final edits on the return-on-investment (ROI) numbers are also compiled. If the product has
made it through all of these stages, the product is commercialized. Remember, the purpose of the new
product development process is to remove or edit the new product or service as it moves through each stage.
As the product or service moves from one stage to another, it costs the company money with respect to
resources in the development. If the product is not a viable product, the company would prefer to stop the
process before it makes it through the process and is commercialized. At commercialization, the product is
finalized, and production begins. The marketing plan is implemented, and the final ROI numbers are
submitted. At this point, the product begins the product life cycle discussed earlier in this lesson.
Up to this point, the discussion of innovation and new product development has been vertical in nature. The
reality is that innovation and new product development should be combined in one collaborative effort.
Marketing managers need to begin with a focused and actionable vision to provide the roadmap to innovation.
To maximize innovative creativity with the new product development ideas, objectives should be initiated by
multiple functional areas of the business. Examples could include the marketing department compiling a
strategy to penetrate a new market segment. Research and development (R&D) could drive innovation of a
new technology that disrupts the capabilities of the product and the industry as a whole. Apple products are a
good example of this. Through this process, measurement metrics need to be agreed on and established to
ensure the appropriate ROI on new product innovations.
Conclusion
New products should represent a value proposition to the consumer. Innovation is key to the development of
products and services that will disrupt the industry and validate profit maximization. Investing the time in
properly aligning new products with the brand identity will protect the brand, ensuring appropriate brand and
product management.
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 5
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
References
AWesleyFord. (n.d.). ID 39480122 [Illustration]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-
photography-aluminum-can-koozie-illustration-great-mock-ups-image39480122
Glazer, E. (2012, February 23). Tide rides convenience wave: Procter & Gamble bets consumers will pay
more for premeasured detergent. Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204778604577239350705596884
Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., & Chernev, A. (2022). Marketing management (16th ed.). Pearson.
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780135887035
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Current employment statistic highlights.
https://www.bls.gov/ces/publications/highlights/2019/current-employment-statistics-highlights-08-
2019.pdf
Suggested Unit Resources
You are encouraged to review the chapter below, which will provide additional details on topics covered in the
unit lesson regarding new market offerings.
Chapter 18: Developing New Market Offerings
**UnitVIStudyGuide.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/unitvistudyguide-pdf-10288169)
**## AdvancedMarketingMKT5301UnitVIPowerPointPresentation.docx**
2
Advanced Marketing MKT 5301
**Unit VI PowerPoint Presentation**
This marketing plan proposal presentation measures your mastery of ULOs 2.4, 3.6, 4.2, 4.3, and 7.1.
Throughout this course, you have learned about the elements of a marketing plan. This assignment will provide you with the opportunity to research the marketing methodology of an existing publicly traded company. Using a publicly traded, global company of your choice will provide you with access to a greater amount of information to complete this assignment. As you research this company, apply the theoretical learning from this course.
In this presentation, you will propose a new marketing plan for an existing product offered by the company. Your presentation will include the following information:
· Company introduction: Introduce the company and product to the audience.
· Competitive Analysis: Inform the audience of your selected company’s competitors, and how each is differentiated. Identify two strengths and two weaknesses of the selected company, compared to a minimum of two of the company’s competitors’ strengths or weaknesses.
· Proposed Marketing Strategies: Describe the product of the company you selected for the marketing plan. Describe the current pricing strategy and describe if you will change the strategy. Describe the current promotional strategy (traditional and digital) and address if you will change the strategy.
· Competitive Advantage: Identify whether the company has a competitive advantage in each of the areas of the four Ps. Remember that the company could have a competitive advantage in one area and not in another. Include supporting rationale.
Your PowerPoint presentation should be at least 8 slides in length, not counting the title and reference slides. For each content slide, be concise; use bullets, graphics, and images to entice engagement from your audience.
For each content slide, you must utilize the slide notes by proving a written explanation of the slide topic(s) in detail. You must use at least one source from the CSU Online Library to support your presentation. Follow APA Style when creating citations and references for this assignment.
**## UnitVStudyGuide.pdf**
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 1
Course Learning Outcomes for Unit V
Upon completion of this unit, students should be able to:
3. Analyze the use of marketing strategies in the management of global customer brand equity.
3.6 Assess whether a company holds a competitive advantage.
3. Compare the development of innovative new products on competitive product strategies.
4.2 Examine how innovative new product development impacts a marketing strategy.
4.3 Contrast competitive companies’ marketing and product strategies.
Required Unit Resources
Chapter 8: Designing and Managing Products
Chapter 9: Designing and Managing Services—Read the following sections:
• The Nature of Services
• The New Services Realities
Unit Lesson
What do you think about when you hear product offering? Your first reaction is probably a mental picture of
the physical product itself. While this is a part of the product offering, it goes beyond this to also include
services, quality of the product, installation, warranty, delivery, packaging, and the brand.
Within the product offering, differentiation is a key element in order to maintain a competitive advantage with
respect to the product. Kotler and Keller (2016) discuss aspects of product differentiation on p. 371 of the
textbook. Companies absolutely need to maintain a differentiated product in order to provide consumers with
the rationale for purchasing your product over the competitors’ products. As consumers review each of these
differentiating elements within the product category, they determine whether these factors carry a higher
value proposition than the product’s competitors.
Packaging plays an important role in the product strategy. It not only protects the product but also enhances
it. This is accomplished by sending a message with the end goal to influence the purchase. Additionally,
packaging provides necessary information about the product to not only align with regulatory agencies’ rules
about ingredients but also to expedite the buying process. This might be accomplished with the use of
Universal Product Codes (UPCs) that allow for fast scanning of multiple products and work as an accurate
and timely system of inventory management. Take a moment to view the video Out of the Box Samsung.mp4
(transcript for Out of the Box Samsung.mp4 video).
In the video, the target market is an older demographic who might struggle with putting together and operating
a new cell phone. The packaging mimics packages with which this elderly demographic is typically quite
familiar.
In earlier units, there was an introduction to brand management, which uses marketing techniques to increase
the perceived value of a product or service over time. This perception is driven by multiple factors including
the quality of the product or service, pricing, and distribution techniques, as well as the packaging strategies.
Marketing managers work very hard to protect their brand to ensure this positive perception. Their goal is to
ensure that every use of their name, logo, or message aligns with the overall company persona they are
looking to project. This supports the concept of integrated marketing communications (IMC). Marketing
managers are also striving for the target market to develop a relationship with the brand, leading to brand
UNIT V STUDY GUIDE
Managing Innovative Product
and Service Offerings
MKT 5301, Advanced Marketing 2
UNIT x STUDY GUIDE
Title
preference. Communication is essential in this relationship as the company is looking to build trust with the
target market as they continue to reinforce the product or service brand personality.
Product managers or brand managers within large corporations are involved with the oversight associated
with this product system, which is defined as a group of related products that are somewhat compatible with
each other. Conversely, the product mix or product assortment refer to all of the products the company offers.
Decisions are executed on the width of the product mix, which equates to how many different product lines
the company will offer. Another area of consideration is that of the length of the product line, which looks at
the number of items in the product mix. The depth is also considered, which looks at how many different
options are offered for each product. Finally, the consistency analyzes how related the products actually are
to one another.
As the world continues to be more competitive and society becomes more time poor, companies look to
differentiate their product offerings based on the services provided. This could be as simple as on-time
delivery or a faster response time to inquiries. At the end of the day, it is all about providing the customer with
services that the particular target market desires, which will build a lasting relationship with the company and
brand. As discussed in Chapter 8 of the textbook, products can be made up of 100% tangible goods, such as
a box of Kleenex or a loaf of bread. Alternatively, services can make up 100% of a brand, such as hair styling
or an athletic club membership. There is also a blend where a physical product is provided in conjunction with
a service. An example of this might be a restaurant where you receive the actual food, and the service
provided is the cooking and serving of the food.
The United States has become an increasingly heavy service-based society. Government, nonprofit,
business, and manufacturing sectors have all added to this situation. Each of these areas has seen an
increase in the service side of their business. Employment in professional and business services alone has
averaged up to 47,000 each month in 2018 and 34,000 each month in 2019 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
2019).
What is your favorite new product that a company has offered lately? Do you remember the can koozies, as
shown in the image below? They would sometimes fit on your drink of choice and sometimes would not. They
most certainly did not work on bottles.
(AWesleyFord, n.d.)
This Freaker USA website displays a new product that serves a similar purpose (to keep drinks cool), but the
product fits on containers of any size, and the product is available in a plethora of unique designs.
Besides being an innovative product, read the story of the aforementioned product, and review some of the
video marketing techniques. A word of warning—the company may be off-the-wall, but their marketing is most
certainly effective.
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One example of a mature product offering is laundry detergent. Tide came up with the Tide Pods concept,
which is a small, dissolvable, single-use package of detergent. While this product costs the consumers about
25% more per load, the question remains regarding whether the value of convenience is worth the extra cost
(Glazer, 2012). Other products come about with respect to our need to be green and sustainable. Still, other
innovative ideas are created through the need for continued medical advancements.
After a new product is commercialized, it moves through what is called a product life cycle. This cycle
describes the changes that the new product goes through and how sales are impacted at each stage. With
this in mind, the marketing efforts at each stage must also change. Take a look at the product life cycle and
the characteristics associated with each stage.
Each stage has unique characteristics; therefore, the wise marketer will exert different efforts at each stage.
Within the market introduction area, the content of the marketing should be informational and intense as the
consumer does not necessarily even know about the product offering. In the growth stage, the customer
knows about the product but now has the option of choosing from your competitors. The marketing content at
this stage should include facts that differentiate your product offering from the competitors’ products. During
the marketing maturity stage, the content should continue to influence and maintain a bit of goodwill in order
to maintain past customers. Finally, during the sales decline, marketing content should include incentives for
coming back to your product and possibly include price reductions such as buy-one-get-one-free deals.
Before a product or service gets to the point of commercialization, the company moves through a new product
development process to ensure the idea is worth bringing to commercialization. This begins with idea
generation where the product or service idea is formulated. These ideas come from a variety of different
places, beginning with market research, customers or users, competitors, other markets, employees,
suppliers, wholesalers, distributors, and even family members.
The next step in the process is the screening, which involves an evaluation process that might include a
SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis, which was discussed earlier in this
course. The idea here is to ascertain if this new product or service idea really fits with the company objectives
and market trends.
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The third step is the idea evaluation where the sophisticated evaluation process begins. This might involve
concept testing or even focus-group research of customers to understand their reactions to this new
product/service idea. Additionally, rough estimates of costs, sales, and projected profits will be analyzed.
The next stage is that of development where a prototype is put together to see if the product is a viable
product. If the new product is a service, the details of the training of staff and the sequencing of the process
will be compiled for review. During this stage, research and development is critical as the product
specifications are analyzed and the viability of the product or service is finalized.
As expected, final edits on the return-on-investment (ROI) numbers are also compiled. If the product has
made it through all of these stages, the product is commercialized. Remember, the purpose of the new
product development process is to remove or edit the new product or service as it moves through each stage.
As the product or service moves from one stage to another, it costs the company money with respect to
resources in the development. If the product is not a viable product, the company would prefer to stop the
process before it makes it through the process and is commercialized. At commercialization, the product is
finalized, and production begins. The marketing plan is implemented, and the final ROI numbers are
submitted. At this point, the product begins the product life cycle discussed earlier in this lesson.
Up to this point, the discussion of innovation and new product development has been vertical in nature. The
reality is that innovation and new product development should be combined in one collaborative effort.
Marketing managers need to begin with a focused and actionable vision to provide the roadmap to innovation.
To maximize innovative creativity with the new product development ideas, objectives should be initiated by
multiple functional areas of the business. Examples could include the marketing department compiling a
strategy to penetrate a new market segment. Research and development (R&D) could drive innovation of a
new technology that disrupts the capabilities of the product and the industry as a whole. Apple products are a
good example of this. Through this process, measurement metrics need to be agreed on and established to
ensure the appropriate ROI on new product innovations.
Conclusion
New products should represent a value proposition to the consumer. Innovation is key to the development of
products and services that will disrupt the industry and validate profit maximization. Investing the time in
properly aligning new products with the brand identity will protect the brand, ensuring appropriate brand and
product management.
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References
AWesleyFord. (n.d.). ID 39480122 [Illustration]. Dreamstime. https://www.dreamstime.com/stock-
photography-aluminum-can-koozie-illustration-great-mock-ups-image39480122
Glazer, E. (2012, February 23). Tide rides convenience wave: Procter & Gamble bets consumers will pay
more for premeasured detergent. Wall Street Journal.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052970204778604577239350705596884
Kotler, P., Keller, K. L., & Chernev, A. (2022). Marketing management (16th ed.). Pearson.
https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/#/books/9780135887035
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (2019). Current employment statistic highlights.
https://www.bls.gov/ces/publications/highlights/2019/current-employment-statistics-highlights-08-
2019.pdf
Suggested Unit Resources
You are encouraged to review the chapter below, which will provide additional details on topics covered in the
unit lesson regarding new market offerings.
Chapter 18: Developing New Market Offerings
**UnitVIStudyGuide.pdf**
This file is too large to display. [View in new window](https://www.sweetstudy.com/files/unitvistudyguide-pdf-10288169)