product development, product life cycle, product audit

 product development, product life cycle, product audit

Business organizations exist with the primary objective of making a profit through the manufacturing and selling of products and services (McKee & Konell, 2018). Additionally, the issue of product management ought to be taken seriously if the organization wants to be successful and competitive at all times. This week I gained valuable insights and knowledge about product development, product life cycle, product audit, and lastly, on organizing product management.

A product can be defined as a sum of physical, psychological, and sociological satisfaction that the buyer gets from purchasing and consumption. Additionally, a product can be viewed in the following aspects. First is a tangible product that refers to a physical commodity or service that is offered to the buyer. Second, are extended products, which refers to a tangible commodity along with a cluster of services associated with the commodity. The third category is a generic product where the buyer expects to get essential benefits with the product.

Issues in product classification

There are many issues that organizations consider when classifying products(Peter & Donnelly, 2018). Through product classification, organizations come up with reliable and robust marketing strategies and programs to be used too. Additionally, the process of product classification is done while taking into consideration the following two factors. First is the end use of the product or market. Second is the degree of processing or physical transformation. The second key issue in product classification is product quality. In this, the organization ought to be committed to ensuring that they manufacture and offer its customers products that meet the stipulated quality standards. The third issue is product value, which refers to what the customer get in exchange for what the customer gives. The next issue in this is the product mix and product line, which refers to the wide range of products and services offered by the organization. Lastly, this is that branding and packaging lay a vital role in product development. Branding refers to the legal trademark used by an organization to identify themselves in the market. On the other hand, the packaging is used to differentiate homogenous products in the market.

Product life cycle

The product life cycle is composed of four main phases (McKee & Konell, 2018). First is the introduction that refers to the stage where the organization introduces the product in the market. The second phase growth and involves the product being know and becoming the customers’ choice in the market. The third stage is maturation, and in this, the product performs well, and the organization makes most ales and realizes the highest profits from the product. The last step involves the decline phase, and in this stage, the product does not perform well. Many organizations in this phase add new features to the product, identify its new uses, or introduces it in new markets to ensure that customers still like their product.

Product audit-In this, the organization takes time to review and evaluate its products (Peter & Donnelly, 2018). The organization gets an opportunity to identify any quality issues in their products and see how they can improve to make their customers satisfied in the long run. Additionally, benchmarking is also done by some organizations to see how their products are doing in comparison to the toughest competitors in the market.

Organizing for product management-In this, the organization needs to have marketing or brand manager system managers (Peter & Donnelly, 2018). These people are usually given the tasks of overseeing the various product lines and the marketing strategies used. Additionally, to perform this task successfully, different teams which include; venture, cross-functional, and global virtual teams.

References

Peter, P., & Donnelly, J. (2018). A preface to marketing management (14th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.

McKee, D., & Konell, S. (2018). Product Adaptability: Assessment and Strategy. Journal of Product & Brand Management, 2(2), 33-47. doi: 10.1108/10610429310039759