Home Random Page


CATEGORIES:

BiologyChemistryConstructionCultureEcologyEconomyElectronicsFinanceGeographyHistoryInformaticsLawMathematicsMechanicsMedicineOtherPedagogyPhilosophyPhysicsPolicyPsychologySociologySportTourism






Durable Goods, Nondurable Goods; and Services

Products can be classified into three groups according to their durability or tangibility. Nondurable goodsare consumer goods that normally are consumed in one or a few uses, such as beer, soap, and salt. Durable goodsare consumer goods that are used over an extended period of time and that normally survive many uses. Examples include refrigerators, automobiles, and furniture. Servicesare activities, benefits, or satisfactions that are offered for sale, such as haircuts and home repairs. Services are essentially intangible and do not result in the ownership of anything.

Consumer Goods

Consumer goodsare those bought by final consumers for personal consump­tion. Marketers usually classify these goods based on consumer shopping habits. Consumer goods include convenience goods, shopping goods, specialty goods, and unsought goods'(see Figure 2)

Convenience goodsare consumer goods and services that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately, and with a minimum of comparison and buying effort. They are usually low priced and widely available^ Examples include tobacco products, soap, and newspapers. Convenience goods can be divided further into staples, impulse goods, and emergency goods.

Staples are goods that consumers buy on a regular basis, such as ketchup, toothpaste, or crackers. Impulse goods are purchased with little planning or search effort. These goods are normally available in many places because consumers seldom seek them out. Thus, candy bars and magazines are placed next to checkout counters because shoppers may not otherwise think of buying them. Emergency goods are purchased when a need is urgent — umbrellas during a rainstorm, or boots and shovels during the year's first snowstorm. Manufacturers of emergency goods will place them in many out­lets to make them readily available when the customer needs them.

Shopping goodsare consumer goods that the customer, in the process of selection and purchase, usually compares on such bases as suitability, quality, price, and style. When purchasing shopping goods, consumers spend considerable time and effort in gathering information and making comparisons, Examples include furniture, clothing, used cars, and major appliances. Shopping goods can be divided into uniform and no uniform goods. The buyer sees uniform shopping goods, such as major appliances, as similar in quality but different enough in price to justify shopping comparisons, the seller has to "talk price" to the buyer. However, when a consumer is shopping for clothing, furniture, and other no uniform goods, product features are often 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. The seller of no uniform shopping goods therefore must carry a wide assortment to satisfy individual tastes and must have well-trained salespeople to give information and advice to customers,

Specialty goodsare consumer goods with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a significant group of buyers 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. Jaguar, for example, is a specialty good because buyers are usually willing to travel great distances to buy one. Buyers normally do not compare specialty goods. They invest only the time needed to reach dealers carrying the wanted products. Although these dealers do not need convenient locations, they still must let buyers know where to find them.



Unsought goodsare consumer goods that the consumer either does not know about or knows about but does not normally think of buying. A new product like the digital audio tape player is unsought until the consumer becomes aware of it through; advertising, classic examples of known but unsought goods are life insurance and encyclopedias. By their very nature, .unsought goods require à lot of advertising, personal selling, and other marketing efforts. Some of the most advanced personal selling methods have developed out of the challenge of selling unsought goods.

Industrial Goods

Industrial goodsare those bought by individuals and organizations for further processing or for use in conducting a business. Thus, the distinction between a consumer good and an industrial good is based on the purpose for which the product is purchased. If a consumer buys a lawn mower for use around the home, the lawn mower is a consumer good. If the same consumer buys the same lawn mower for use in a landscaping business, the lawn mower is an industrial good^ ^Industrial goods can be classified according to how they enter the produc­tion process and according to what they cost. There are three groups: materials and parts, capital items, and supplies and services (see Figure 10-3).

Materials and partsare industrial goods that enter the manufacturer's product completely, either through further processing or as components. They fall into two classes: raw materials and manufactured materials and parts.

Raw materialsinclude farm products (wheat, cotton, livestock, fruits, and vegetables) and natural products (crude petroleum, iron ore). Farm products are supplied by many small producers who turn them over to marketing in termediaries that process and sell them. Natural products usually have great bulk and low unit value and require a lot of transportation to move them from pro­ducer to user. They are supplied by fewer and larger producers, who tend to market them directly to industrial users.

Manufactured materials and parts include component materials (iron, yarn, cement, wires) and component parts (small motors, tires, castings). Component materials usually are processed further — for example, pig iron is made into steel and yarn is woven into cloth/Component parts enter the finished product com­pletely with no further change in form, as when small motors are put into vac­uum cleaners and tires are added to automobiles. -Most manufactured materials and parts are sold directly to industrial users. Price and service are the major mar­keting factors, and branding and advertising tend to be less important

Capital itemsare industrial goods that partly enter the finished product. They include two groups: installations and accessory equipment. Installations consist of buildings (factories, offices) and fixed equipment (generators, drill presses, large computers, elevators). Because installations are major purchases, they usually are bought directly from the producer after a long decision period.)

Accessory equipment includes portable factory equipment and tools, (hand tools, lift trucks) and office equipment (fax machines, desks). These products do not become part of the finished product. They have a shorter life than installa­tions and simply aid in the production process^ Most sellers of accessory equip­ment use middlemen because the market is spread out geographically, the buyers are numerous, and the orders are small.

Supplies and servicesare industrial goods that do not enter the finished product at all. Supplies include operating supplies (lubricants, coal, computer paper).

Repair and maintenance items (paint, nails, brooms). Supplies are the convenience goods of the industrial field because they usually are purchased with a minimum of effort or comparison. Business services include maintenance and repair services (window cleaning) and business advisory services (legal, management consulting, and advertising). These services are usually supplied under contract. Maintenance services often are provided by small producers, and repair services are often available from the manufacturers of the original equipment.




\.w<pw*v]   ^ft.'\" \J  
       
Raw materials Manufactured materials and parts  
FIGURE 10-3 Classification of industrial goods

 


Date: 2016-01-14; view: 1347


<== previous page | next page ==>
PRODUCT CLASSIFICATIONS | Purpose and Preparation
doclecture.net - lectures - 2014-2024 year. Copyright infringement or personal data (0.008 sec.)