Study Notes MKTG1001 What is a Product? - A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use or consumption that might satisfy a want or need - Products include more than just tangible objects, including service, events, persons, places, organisations, ideas or mixes of these - Services are a form of product consisting of benefits, activities or satisfactions offered for sale that are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything Products, Services and Experiences - Product is a key element in the overall market offering - Marketing mix planning begins with building an offering that brings value to target customers (becomes the basis for which the company builds profitable customer relationships) - Products can be: 1. Pure tangible i.e. soap with little to no services accompany the product 2. Pure services i.e. airline for which the offer consists primarily of service - To differentiate their offers, marketers are creating and managing customer experiences with their brands or company - Example: Disney has manufactured dreams and memories through movies and theme parks - Restructuring of traditional goods to create experiences - Example: Recent change in the financial status of the REDgroup which owns Borders Australia, visiting Borders involves customers browsing books while enjoying a cup of coffee and a wide range of in store events, offer book signings and meet authors on occasion, book club and story time for children, even ti-chi - A brand, product or service is more than just a physical thing