Product Classification

Task 1. Complete the text with the words in the box.

LESSON 4

1. differ in	5. making comparisons	9. shopping comparisons	13. advertising	17. customers need
2. a regular basis	6. major innovations	10. are placed	14. wanted products	18. group of buyers
3. quality	7. well-trained salespeople	11. unique characteristics	15. widely available	19. talk price
4. shopping products	8. personal consumption	12. personal selling	16. low priced	20. marketing strategies

In developing (1) for their products and services, marketers have developed several product-classification schemes. First, marketers divide products and services into two broad classes based on the types of consumers that use them— consumer products and industrial products.

Consumer products are those bought by final consumers for (2). Marketers usually classify these goods further based on how consumers go about buying them. Consumer products include convenience products, shopping products, specialty products, and unsought products. These products (3) the ways consumers buy them; therefore they differ in how they are marketed (see Table 9—1).

Convenience products are consumer products and services that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort. They are usually (4) and widely available. Examples include soap, candy, and newspapers. Convenience products can be divided further into staples, impulse products, and emergency products. Staples are products that consumers buy on (5), such as ketchup, toothpaste, or crackers. Impulse products are purchased with little planning or search effort. These products are normally (6). Thus, candy bars and magazines (7) next to checkout counters in many stores because shoppers may not otherwise think of buying them. Customers buy emergency products when their need is urgent— umbrellas during a rainstorm, or boots and shovels during the year’s first snow-storm. Manufacturers of emergency products place them in many outlets to make them readily available when

(8) them.

Shopping products are less frequently purchased consumer products that customers compare carefully on suitability, (9), price, and style. When buying shopping products, consumers spend much time and effort in gathering information and (10). Examples include furniture, clothing, used cars, and major appliances. Shop­ping products can be divided into homogeneous and heterogeneous products. The buyer sees homogeneous shopping products, such as major appliances, as similar in quality but different enough in price to justify (11). The seller has to «(12)» to the buyer. However, when shopping for heterogeneous products such as clothing and furniture, customers usually find product features more important than price. If the buyer wants a new suit, the cut, fit, and look are likely to be more important than small price differences. Therefore, a seller of heterogeneous (13) must carry a wide assortmentto satisfy individualtastes and must have (14) to give information and advice to customers.

Specialty products are consumer products with (15) orbrand identification for which a significant (16) is willing to make a special purchase effort. Examples include specific brands and types of cars, high-priced photographic equipment, and custom-made men’s suits. A Rolls-Royce, for example, is a specialty product because buyers are usually willing to travel great distances to buy one. Buyers normally do not compare specialty products. They invest only the time needed to reach dealers carrying the (17). Although these dealers do not need convenient locations, they still must let buyers know where to find them.

Unsought products are consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or knows about but does not normally think of buying. Most (18) are unsought until the consumer becomes aware of them through (19). Classic examples of known but unsought products are life insurance and blood donations to the Red Cross. By their very nature, unsought products require a lot of advertising, (20), and other marketing efforts. Some of the most advanced personal selling methods have developed out of the challenge of selling unsought products.

Industrial products are those purchased for further processing or for use in conducting a business. Thus, the distinction between a consumer product and an industrial product is based on the purpose for which the product is bought. If a consumer buys a lawn mower for use around home, the lawn mower is a consumer product. If the same consumer buys the same lawn mower for use in a landscaping business, the lawn mower is an industrial product.

Дата добавления: 2015-08-31