Product, Services and Branding Strategy

Chapter # 8
Part 2

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Product and Service Decisions

Product Line Decisions

Product Line 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 types
of outlets, or fall within given price ranges
• Nokia produces several line of cell phones

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Line Decisions

Product Line Length is the number of items in

the product line. Product line length is
influenced by company objective and
resources
• Line Stretching
• Line Filling

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Line Decisions

Product Line Stretching is when a company

lengthens its product line beyond its current
range
• Downward
• Upward
• Combination of Both

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Line Decisions
Downward Product Line Stretching – is used by
companies located at the upper end of the market but to
fulfill a market gap or to respond to a competitor’s attack
they introduce some low profile products.

Example: introduced

Upward Product Line Stretching is used by

companies located at the lower end of the market but to
add prestige to their current products and services they
introduce some high profile products.

Example: launched Easy Gold 5

Product and Service Decisions
Product Line Decisions

Combination line stretching is used by

companies in the middle range of the
market to achieve both goals of upward
and downward line stretching.
Example: Banglalink launched Ladies First

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Line Decisions
Product Line Filling occurs when companies add more
items within the present range of the line
• More profits
• Satisfying dealers
• Using excess capacity
• Plugging holes to fend off competitors
Example: Grameenphone recently introduced
Shohoj, Bondhu & Apon

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Mix Decisions

Product Mix consists of all the products and

items that a particular seller offers for sale.
Example: At SQUARE Group, the product mix
consists of many strong product lines:
Pharmaceuticals, Textiles, Informatics, Toiletries,
Media and Consumer Products.
• Width
• Length
• Depth
• Consistency
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Product and Service Decisions
Product Mix Decisions

Product Mix Width is the number of different

product lines the company carries.
- E.g. Unilever Bangladesh Limited; they have different
lines of varieties products.

Product Mix Length is the total number of

items the company carries within its product
lines.
- E.g. Under Personal Care Line; Unilever has lots of
products.
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Product and Service Decisions
Product Line Decisions

Product Line Depth is the number of versions

offered of each product in the line.
- E.g. Different colors, sizes and flavors of Lux and
Sunsilk brands of Unilever.

Consistency refers to how closely the various

product lines are related in end use,
production requirements, distribution
channels or some other way.
- E.g. Unilever’s product lines are more consistent than
Square Group.
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Product and Service Decisions
Product Mix, Product Line, Products and Brands of Unilever Bangladesh
160 million times a day, someone somewhere chooses a
Unilever product. From feeding a family to keeping the
home clean and fresh, their brands are part of everyday life.

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Mix, Product Line, Products and Brands of
Unilever Bangladesh
Brands Products Product Line Product Mix

Tea Blend
Combination of
the 20 brands is
the mix of
Unilever,
Food Bangladesh
Water
Purifier

Soup

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Mix, Product Line, Products and Brands of
Unilever Bangladesh
Brands Products Product Line Product Mix

Dish
Washing
Combination of
the 20 brands is
the mix of
Unilever,
Detergent & Home Care Bangladesh
Laundry

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Product and Service Decisions
Product Mix, Product Line, Products and Brands of
Unilever Bangladesh
Brands Products Product Line Product Mix

Soap Combination of
the 20 brands is
the mix of
Unilever,
Personal Bangladesh
Care
Toothpaste

Shampoo
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Product and Service Decisions
Product Mix, Product Line, Products and Brands of
Unilever Bangladesh
Brands Products Product Line Product Mix

Cream Combination of
the 20 brands is
the mix of
Unilever,
Personal Bangladesh
Care
Deodorant

Make Up

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands

Brand represents the consumer’s perceptions

and feelings about a product and its
performance. It is the company’s promise
to deliver a specific set of features,
benefits, services, and experiences
consistently to the buyers.
Brand Equity is the positive differential effect
that knowing the brand name has on
customer response to the product or
service
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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
The Major Brand Strategy Decisions involve:

Brand Positioning Brand Name Selection

Attributes Selection
Benefits Protection
Beliefs and Values

Brand Development Brand Sponsorship

Line Extensions Manufacturer’s Brand

Brand Extensions Private Brand
Multi-brands Licensing
New Brands Co-branding
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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands

Brand Positioning

A brand can be positioned in the minds of the

consumers’ by;

• Maintaining proper attributes

• Offering desired benefits
• Using strong beliefs and values (image)
• Continuous communication

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 Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Name Selection
A good name can add greatly to a product’s success.

- Desirable qualities for a brand name selection:

• The brand name should be distinctive (Unique). Eg. Lexus
• It should suggest about the product’s benefits and qualities.
E.g. Fair & Lovely, Fair & Handsome from Unilever, Pure from ACI.
• It should be easy to pronounce, recognize and remember.
E.g.- Coca Cola, Toyota, iPod, Tide
• It should be extendable. E.g. Radhuni from Square, Amazon.com
• The name should translate into Foreign Languages.
• It should be capable of registration and legal protection.

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Sponsorship
A manufacturer has four options to sponsor the
brand name of any product or services.

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Sponsorship
Manufacturer’s Brand
Branding done by the manufacturer, under its own
brand name.

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Sponsorship
Private Brand (Store Brand or Distributor’s Brand)
The retailer can manufacture goods under its own label,
re-brand private label goods, or outsource
manufacture of store-brand items to multiple third
parties - often the same manufacturers that produce
brand-labeled goods. 

RANGS TELEVISION

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Sponsorship
Licensed Brand
Some companies license names or symbols
previously created by other manufactures.

Transcom Group

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Sponsorship
Co-Brand
Co-branding occurs when two established
brand names of different companies are
used on the same product.

Using

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Development Strategy
Product Category
Existing New

Existing Line Brand

Extensions Extensions
Brand Name

New Multi-brands New Brands

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Development
Line Extensions occur when a company
extends existing brand names to new forms,
colors, sizes, ingredients, or flavors of an
existing product category.

Lux Aqua Sparkle Lux Strawberry & Cream Lux Peach & Cream

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 Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands Brand Development
Line Extensions

Lifebuoy Total Lifebuoy Care Lifebuoy Nature Lifebuoy Deofresh

Black Shine Anti-Dandruff Soft &Smooth Damage Repair Hairfall Hairfall Hairfall Solution Damage
Solution Solution Treatment Repair
Conditioner Leave-On27
Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Development
Brand Extensions extend a existing brand name to a
new or modified product in a new category.

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands Brand Development
Brand Extensions

Pepsodent Toothpaste Pepsodent Toothpowder Pepsodent Toothbrush

Lifebuoy Soap Lifebuoy Handwash

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Development

Multi-brands are additional brands in the same

category. Company is offering same products or
services to the existing market but in a new name.
Multi-branding offers a way to establish different
features and appeal to different buying motives.
It allows a company to lock up more reseller shelf
space.

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands Brand Development
Multi-brands

Procter & Gamble

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Branding Strategy: Building Strong
Brands
Brand Development

New Brands are used when existing brands

are inappropriate for new products in new
product categories or markets. The products
are new to the market.

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Services Marketing

Types of Service Industries

• Government
• Private not-for-profit organizations
• Business services

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Services Marketing

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Services Marketing

Nature and Characteristics of a Service

Intangibility refers to the fact that services

cannot be seen, tasted, felt, heard, or
smelled before they are purchased.

Inseparability refers to the fact that services

cannot be separated from their providers.

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Services Marketing
Nature and Characteristics of a Service

Variability refers to the fact that service quality

depends on who provides it as well as
when, where, and how it is provided.

Perishability refers to the fact that services

cannot be stored for later sale or use.

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Services Marketing
Marketing Strategies for Service Firms

Managing service quality provides a

competitive advantage by delivering
consistently higher quality than its
competitors

Service quality always varies depending on

interactions between employees and
customers

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Services Marketing
Marketing Strategies for Service Firms

Service recovery can turn disappointed

customers into loyal customers
• Empower employees
• Responsibility
• Authority
• Incentive

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END OF CHAPTER 8– Part
2

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