Principles of Marketing (17th edition), T. Kotler & G. Armstrong
The summary
This summary includes the following chapters:
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 19
The summary covers the exam material of the exam (endterm) for the course Marketing
(EBP033A05) at the University of Groningen, a first-year course for the program Economics &
Business Economics. It is a clear overview of the structure of each chapter, explaining concepts
with a definition and explanation. Moreover, it offers crucial thought patterns that help you
answer exam questions. In advance, some pictures from the book have been added to ensure
that important concepts can be clearly understood not only by text, but also in the form of a
scheme or table.
I also have a summary available for the chapters of the midterm: chapters 1,2,3,5,6,7,18!
The author
I am a third year student of the program Economics & Business Economics at the University of
Groningen. I have a feeling for summarizing large parts of text in a structured and clear manner,
ensuring to transfer the knowledge the book offers in a more concise way. Hopefully this
summary will help many students!
1
, Marketing Mix: Product
Chapter 8: Products, Services and Brands: Building Customer Value
1. This chapter begins with a deceptively simple question: What is a product?
2. After addressing this question, we look at ways to classify products in consumer and business
markets.
3. Then we discuss the important decisions that marketers make regarding individual products,
product lines, and product mixes.
4. Next, we examine the characteristics and marketing requirements of a special form of
product—services.
5. Finally, we look into the critically important issue of how marketers build and manage product and
service brands.
- Product = Anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption
that might satisfy a want or need.
- include services, events, persons, places, organizations, and ideas or a mixture of these.
- Service = An activity, benefit, or satisfaction offered for sale that is essentially intangible and
does not result in the ownership of anything (examples: banking, hotel, airline travel, retail,
wireless communication, and home-repair services)
> Key element in overall market offering → This offering becomes the basis on which the company builds
profitable customer relationships.
- A company’s market offering often includes both tangible goods and services.
- To differentiate their offers, beyond simply making products and delivering services, companies
are creating and managing customer experiences w ith their brands or companies.
Product planners need to think about products and services on three levels:
1) Core customer value: what is the customer really buying? (iPad → They are buying
entertainment, self-expression, productivity, and connectivity—a mobile and personal window to
the world.)
2) Actual product: They need to develop product and service features, a design, a quality level, a
brand name, and packaging. (iPad itself)
3) Augmented product: build around 1&2 by offering additional consumer services and benefits
(iPad: complete connectivity solution, apps, accessories, etc.)
> all 3 steps to create customer value and a full and satisfying brand experience.
Products and services fall into two broad classes based on the types of consumers who use them
(distinction between purpose of product):
1. Consumer products = A product bought by final consumers for personal consumption.
a. convenience products = A consumer product that customers usually buy frequently,
immediately, and with minimal comparison and buying effort. (laundry detergent, candy,
magazines, and fast food)
i. Convenience products are usually low priced, and marketers place them in many
locations to make them readily available when customers need or want them.
b. shopping products = A consumer product that the customer, in the process of selecting
and purchasing, usually compares on such attributes as suitability, quality, price, and
style. (furniture, clothing, major appliances, and hotel services)
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