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Product (business)

In marketing, a product is anything that can be offered to a market that might satisfy a want or need. However it is much more than just a physical object. It is the complete bundle of benefits or satisfactions that buyers perceive they will obtain if they purchase the product. It is the sum of all physical, psychological, symbolic, and service attributes.

A product is similar to a good. In accounting, goods are physical objects that are available in the marketplace. This differentiates them from a service, which is a non-material product.

A "product" can also be an "experience", which like a service is intangible. However an experience is unique to the receiving individual, based upon their history. Example: amusement parks offer rides (product), acceptance of credit cards (service), and audience participation at the dolphin show (experience). My value of the dolphin show is different from yours, and to the extent I value it more, will trade more for it (money).

There are three aspects to any product or service:
1 - Core Benefit

1. in-use benefits
2. psychological benefits (e.g., self-image enhancement, hope, status, self worth)
3. problem reduction benefits(e.g., safety, convenience)

1. product attributes and features
2. quality
3. styling
4. packaging protection and label information
5. brand name

1. warranty
2. installation
3. delivery
4. credit availability
5. after-sale service and maintenance

1. consumer products - used by end users
2. industrial products - used in the production of other goods
3. convenience goods - purchased frequently and with minimal effort
4. impulse goods - purchase stimulated by immediate sensory cues
5. emergency goods - goods required immediately
6. shopping goods - some comparison with other goods
7. specialty goods - extensive comparisons with other goods and a lengthy information search
8. unsought goods - e.g., cemetery plots, insurance
9. perishable goods - goods that will deteriorate quickly even without use
10. durable goods - goods that survive multiple use occasions
11. non-durable/consumption/consumable goods - goods that are used up in one use occasion
12. capital goods - installations, equipment, and buildings
13. parts and materials - goods that go into a finished product
14. supplies and services - goods that facilitate production
15. commodities - undifferentiated goods (e.g., wheat, gold, sugar)
16. by-products - a product that results from the manufacture of another product

See Also

• brand
• brand management
• marketing
• product management
• product (project management)
• service
• whole product

Finding related topics

• list of marketing topics
• list of management topics
• list of economics topics
• list of finance topics
• list of human resource management topics
• list of accounting topics
• list of information technology management topics
• list of business law topics
• list of production topics
• list of business ethics, political economy, and philosophy of business topics
• list of business theorists
• list of economists
• list of corporate leaders
• list of companies

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Product (business)".