Perspectives of Product Strategies

I. Product-Positioning Strategy

Definition: Placing a brand in that part of the market where it will have a favorable reception compared with competing brands. Objectives: (a) To position the product in the market so that it stands apart from competing brands. (b) To position the product so that it tells customers what you stand for, what you are, and how you would like customers to evaluate you. In the case of positioning multiple brands: (a) To seek growth by offering varied products in differing segments of the market. (b) To avoid competitive threats to a single brand. Requirements: Use of marketing mix variables, especially design and communication efforts. (a) Successful management of a single brand requires positioning the brand in the market so that it can stand competition from the toughest rival and maintaining its unique position by creating the aura of a distinctive product. (b) Successful management of multiple brands requires careful positioning in the market so that multiple brands do not compete with nor cannibalize each other. Thus it is important to be careful in segmenting the market and to position an individual product as uniquely suited to a particular segment through design and promotion. Expected Results: (a) Meet as much as possible the needs of specific segments of the market. (b) Limit sudden changes in sales. (c) Make customers faithful to the brands.

II. Product-Repositioning Strategy

Definition: Reviewing the current positioning of the product and its marketing mix and seeking a new position for it that seems more appropriate. Objectives: (a) To increase the life of the product. (b) To correct an original positioning mistake. Requirements: (a) If this strategy is directed toward existing customers, repositioning is sought through promotion of more varied uses of the product. (b) If the business unit wants to reach new users, this strategy requires that the product be presented with a different twist to the people who have not been favorably inclined toward it. In doing so, care should be taken to see that, in the process of enticing new customers, current ones are not alienated. (c) If this strategy aims at presenting new uses of the product, it requires searching for latent uses of the product, if any. Although all products may not have latent uses, there are products that may be used for purposes not originally intended. Expected Results: (a) Among existing customers: increase in sales growth and profitability. (b) Among new users: enlargement of the overall market, thus putting the product on a growth route, and increased profitability. (c) New product uses: increased sales, market share, and profitability.

III.Product-Overlap Strategy

Definition: Competing against one’s own brand through introduction of competing products, use of private labeling, and selling to original-equipment manufacturers. Objectives: (a) To attract more customers to the product and thereby increase the overall market. (b) To work at full capacity and spread overhead. (c) To sell to competitors; to realize economies of scale and cost reduction. Requirements: (a) Each competing product must have its own marketing organization to compete in the market. (b) Private brands should not become profit drains. (c) Each brand should find its special niche in the market. If that doesn’t happen, it will create confusion among customers and sales will be hurt. (d) In the long run, one of the brands may be withdrawn, yielding its position to the other brand. Expected Results: (a) Increased market share. (b) Increased growth.

IV. Product-Scope Strategy

Definition: The product-scope strategy deals with the perspectives of the product mix of a company. The product-scope strategy is determined by taking into account the overall mission of the business unit. The company may adopt a single-product strategy, a multiple-product strategy, or a system-of-products strategy. Objectives: (a) Single product: to increase economies of scale by developing specialization. (b) Multiple products: to cover the risk of potential obsolescence of the single product by adding additional products. (c) System of products: to increase the dependence of the customer on the company’s products as well as to prevent competitors from moving into the market. Requirements: (a) Single product: company must stay up-to-date on the product and even become the technology leader to avoid obsolescence. (b) Multiple products: products must complement one another in a portfolio of products. (c) System of products: company must have a close understanding of customer needs and uses of the products. Expected Results: Increased growth, market share, and profits with all three strategies. With system-of-products strategy, the company achieves monopolistic control over the market, which may lead to some problems with the Justice Department, and enlarges the concept of its product/market opportunities.

V.Product-Design Strategy

Definition: The product-design strategy deals with the degree of standardization of a product. The company has a choice among the following strategic options: standard product, customized product, and standard product with modifications. Objectives: (a) Standard product: to increase economies of scale of the company. (b) Customized product: to compete against mass producers of standardized products through product-design flexibility. (c) Standard product with modifications: to combine the benefits of the two previous strategies. Requirements: Close analysis of product/market perspectives and environmental changes, especially technological changes. Expected Results: Increase in growth, market share, and profits. In addition, the third strategy allows the company to keep close contacts with the market and gain experience in developing new standard products.

VI. Product-Elimination Strategy

Definition: Cuts in the composition of a company’s business unit product portfolio by pruning the number of products within a line or by totally divesting a division or business. Objectives: To eliminate undesirable products because their contribution to fixed cost and profit is too low, because their future performance looks grim, or because they do not fit in the business’s overall strategy. The productelimination strategy aims at shaping the best possible mix of products and balancing the total business. Requirements: No special resources are required to eliminate a product or a division. However, because it is impossible to reverse the decision once the elimination has been achieved, an in-depth analysis must be done to determine (a) the causes of current problems; (b) the possible alternatives, other than elimination, that may solve problems (e.g., Are any improvements in the marketing mix possible?); and (c) the repercussions that elimination may have on remaining products or units (e.g., Is the product being considered for elimination complementary to another product in the portfolio? What are the side effects on the company’s image? What are the social costs of an elimination?). Expected Results: In the short run, cost savings from production runs, reduced inventories, and in some cases an improved return on investment can be expected. In the long run, the sales of the remaining products may increase because more efforts are now concentrated on them.

VII. New-Product Strategy

Definition: A set of operations that introduces (a) within the business, a product new to its previous line of products; (b) on the market, a product that provides a new type of satisfaction. Three alternatives emerge from the above: product improvement/modification, product imitation, and product innovation. Objectives: To meet new needs and to sustain competitive pressures on existing products. In the first case, the new-product strategy is an offensive one; in the second case, it is a defensive one. Requirements: A new-product strategy is difficult to implement if a “new product development system” does not exist within a company. Five components of this system should be assessed: (a) corporate aspirations toward new products, (b) organizational openness to creativity, (c) environmental favor toward creativity, (d) screening method for new ideas, and (e) evaluation process. Expected Results: Increased market share and profitability.

VIII. Diversification Strategy

Definition: Developing unfamiliar products and markets through (a) concentric diversification (products introduced are related to existing ones in terms of marketing or technology), (b) horizontal diversification (new products are unrelated to existing ones but are sold to the same customers), and (c) conglomerate diversification (products are entirely new). Objectives: Diversification strategies respond to the desire for (a) growth when current products/markets have reached maturity, (b) stability by spreading the risks of fluctuations in earnings, (c) security when the company may fear backward integration from one of its major customers, and (d) credibility to have more weight in capital markets. Requirements: In order to reduce the risks inherent in a diversification strategy, a business unit should (a) diversify its activities only if current product/market opportunities are limited, (b) have good knowledge of the area in which it diversifies, (c) provide the products introduced with adequate support, and (d) forecast the effects of diversification on existing lines of products. Expected Results: (a) Increase in sales. (b) Greater profitability and flexibility.

IX. Value-Marketing Strategy

Definition: The value-marketing strategy concerns delivering on promises made for the product or service. These promises involve product quality, customer service, and meeting time commitments. Objectives: Value-marketing strategies are directed toward seeking total customer satisfaction. It means striving for excellence to meet customer expectations. Requirements: (a) Examine customer value perspectives. (b) Design programs to meet customer quality, service, and time requirements. (c) Train employees and distributors to deliver on promises. Expected Results: This strategy enhances customer satisfaction, which leads to customer loyalty and, hence, to higher market share. This strategy makes the firm less vulnerable to price wars, permitting the firm to charge higher prices and, thus, earn higher profits.