Exam 8: Developing and Managing Products and Services

In a service business, the customer and front-line service employee interact to create the service.

Because service quality depends on the quality of buyer-seller interaction during the service encounter, service marketers use ________ to train employees in the art of interacting with customers to satisfy their needs.

Which of the following is at the core for product designers to consider as they develop a product?

In the ________ stage of new-product development, products undergo rigorous tests to make sure that they perform safely and effectively.

Product improvements and product modifications and new brands can all be classified as ________.

As a service provider, why might you perceive the buyer-seller relationship in the service encounter to be especially critical?

A ________ is a group of products that are closely related because they function in a similar manner, are sold to the same customer groups, are marketed through the same type of outlets, or fall within given price ranges.

Developing a product involves defining the benefits that it will offer. These benefits are communicated and delivered by ________ such as quality, features, and style and design.

Explain sustainable packaging.

Give examples of the second level of product, the actual product.

Style is a larger concept than design.

New product development starts with ________.

Through ________, the service firm trains and motivates its customer-contact employees and supporting service people to work as a team to provide customer satisfaction.

When a company decides to maintain a product in the decline stage, it will reduce costs and hope that sales hold up to increase the profits in the short run.

________ are products and services bought by final consumers for personal consumption. These include convenience products, shopping products, specialty products, and unsought products.

Give an example of an augmented product.

In which stage of the PLC will promotional expenditures be especially high in an attempt to create consumer awareness?

Herb Marks built his enterprise on the faithful patronage of four specialty shops and a large contract from Elmore Distributors. But after two years, the maker of novelty pens and pencils had to rethink his strategy when his two-year contract with Elmore ended. Herb built a company reputation on the manufacturing and distribution of a variety of wooden writing utensils with customized engravings. Specialty shops loved to display the products in their fancy, lighted showcases, but such specialty shops alone were not profitable. Herb Marks established a brand name, known merely as Marks, and decided to expand on it. Herb extended his writing utensil lines to include quills, felt-tip pens, and multiple-cartridge pens that write in different colors. He even added a line of various grades of personalized stationery and business cards. Perhaps Herb's biggest added touch, however, was the addition of two salespeople who would work to explain the diverse array of products offered by Marks, as well as nurture existing accounts. "We make an excellent product," Herb Marks stated, "and we honour a good guarantee on everything we sell. But let's face it—we face hundreds of competitors! We need Marks representatives out there to help prospects understand what they should demand in something as simple as a writing tool." The Marks brand is now fast-becoming synonymous with top-notch customer service. Part of the purchase package brought personal visits from the Marks representative, before the purchase and long after. -Does organization marketing occur in this scenario? Explain.

During which stage of new-product development will management most likely estimate minimum and maximum sales to assess the range of risk in launching a new product?

Sony offers consumers more than just camcorders; it provides consumers with a complete solution to their picture-taking problems. This offering is called an augmented product.