Product development
Product development is vital aspect in any organization because it helps organizations appropriately position their products and services in the competitive market. Product development is equally a basis for which marketers are able to improve product necessary features. On the other hand, product development help companies minimize production expenses and increase product selling ability while enhancing company profile. However, at Clipboard Tablet Company, Joe Schmoe had adopted strategies that were incompetent and could not augment any value for products X5, X6 and X7. This is to say Joe Schmoe had put in place a system that didn’t work to better the company. Products should be differentiated in terms of quality or how clients perceive them. Basically, customers’ favorite factors are based on somewhat few attributes of a product category. Thus marketers use a few quality features as a platform on which they compete with business rivals. This implies that trying to differentiate on numerous features can be puzzling to clients contributing to feature weariness. Decisions concerning quality attributes to be used by a company depend largely on the market as well as positioning. In the event that products, classifications, users and users are adequately recognized, marketing strategy can be used to assess client needs and preferences. This is not the case with X5, X6 and X7 products as the marketing vice president did not conduct R&D to ensure client needs are fulfilled and also to keep the pace with new strategies of marketing. Additionally, R&D is important because it helps organizations to differentiate their products from business rivals and gain a competitive edge. In some cases, particularly when the aim is to design products that differ significantly from previous ones, Joe Schmoe approach is not appropriate to obtain the necessary facts required in the development of products X5, X6 and X7. Considering such scenarios, new strategies should have been formulated more than what clients can understand and interpret expectations yet to be recognized. The use of strategies like emphatic and ethnography to respond to competitors who use client-based decision procedures can blind-fold firms to the requirements of clients. This is the worst mistake Joe Schmoe might have done.
Branding
Branding helps in the identification and it is important in the identification of products of one company from others. This is an important element because it leads to price hike hence defining a competitive edge, something that Joe Schmoe failed to put into consideration by not being able to use rebranding approach as well as R&D allocation. Branding helps companies in determining efficiency of marketing strategies specifically those that deal with promotion. Conversely, they lead to high profitability since it is generally inexpensive to retain clients compared to getting new customers. Branding helps companies to increase their position in the market place that entails brand name, brand loyalty, and perceived quality. Therefore, considering the value increasing ability of branding, it is not amazing that growing attention is given to the management of brands, in particular formulating a pleasing brand identity. There are several branding strategies that companies can use, either brand individual product or family brand identity. Branding individual product requires companies to give every product a distinct name like the case of Clipboard Tablet Company products (X5, X6 and X7). This type of branding minimizes failure risks. Additionally, individual branding helps companies’ to compete through several entries in a similar product line. When formulating new brands, companies must clearly specify the product or formulate a brand whose description must be developed. The former technique is easier as well as economical to create awareness in the market and gain client assessment at the beginning; however it is likely to restrict the flexibility to adjust to varying market conditions. Moreover, the former technique is regarded as generic and also dull because it difficult to create and differentiate a brand. However, the latter technique, where the brand has a distinct image, is probably suitable than generic technique in the current competitive and changing market. Both corporate identity and branding can help a company stand out from its business rivals and present it with a lasting advantage. Corporate identity entails aspects such as communication, personality and impressions estimated by a company. It is determined by a company’s mission, operational competencies, quality and product design, marketing, communication channels among other aspects. So as to estimate positive, vibrant and consistent identity, companies are diverse, in the sense that they have established policies to assist them in ensuring that all their operations are conveyed and reflect their distinct values and proficiencies. Such corporate identity helps companies produce synergies that increase efficiency and effective of the company’s marketing strategies. By highlighting on a popular core of corporate values and proficiencies, impression produced by every individual product’s packaging and advertising can be important in strengthening the company’s impressions to its clients, shareholders and the large public.
Packaging
Product packaging serves many purposes; promoting objective, protection, facilitates use, and description. Due to growing competition and the ever changing market, packaging is currently considered as product extension as well as an approach of identifying and differentiating products that result in client loyalty and increased sales. Something that Joe Schmoe failed to implement. In most case, it facilitates easy usage of products. On the other hand, packaging increases safety of clients. At purchasing point it gives a given product greater promotional opportunities. A number of potential clients are likely to see packaging than advertising. Many companies are also trying to formulate a general packaging trend, thus create a high impact on customers. Since clients buy most of their products from supermarkets impulsively, packaging is of particular relevancy for such products.
Managing Product Lines for Customer Appeal and Profit Performance
Depending on the size of the product line, whether short or long, it largely depends on the level of market segmentation and how the firm desires to position itself. It also depends on the phase of product-market evolution. During early stages, a short product line is suitable this is due to the intricacies of controlling a long line. Moreover, it is profitable because of the economies of scale and simplifies a given company inventories and members. Although, a short product line is risk due to competitors dividing the market and produce quality products to satisfy the requirements of these divisions. As a result, for short product line to thrive and survive they must distinctively position themselves against their business rivals- in this case, the company must be maintain differential advantage of the product line. Currently, firms are pursuing product extension techniques. This is because they aim at expanding, reduce competition, meet the needs of clients and maintain strong control of shelf space, thus making it hard for rivals to grow its line. This challenge is that as line expands, it more intricate to position distinct product to prevent cannibalization that minimizes the scale impacts realize by older products, hence heavily affect performance of the line.
References
London (2012) A sponsorship game, 2012. Available from: <http:www.clarkstonconsulting.com/insight…> (accessed 13th August, 2013)
Kabalarian Philosophy. (1995) Choosing a successful business name. Available from: <http://www.kabalarians.com/../kalex-intro.cfm> (accessed 13th August, 2013)
Siddiqui, H. (2011) McDonald’s Marketing Strategy of Innovation and Trendsetting. Available from: <hammadsiddiquiblog.com/follow-mcdon…> (accessed 13th August, 2013
Shimp, T.A. (2008). Advertising, promotion, and other aspects of integrated marketing communications. Connecticut: Cengage Learning.
