Unit 3 product concepts

Business objectives

By the end of the unit, you will be able to:

• explain what a ‘product’ means

• identify different types of products

• describe the stages a product goes through from introduction to obsolescence

• decide on an appropriate policy for developing and introducing new products to the market

• explain how companies demonstrate their relevance to customers needs

Vocabulary Development

1. Use the following terms to complete the definitions below:

speciality goods	unsought good	product	product elimination
convenience goods	product mix	shopping goods	product line

1. … are durable goods with unique characteristics that informed consumers have to go to a particular store to buy.

2. … is a set of products of a particular type that are made or sold by a company.

3. … is the process of withdrawing products from the market when they are no longer available.

4. … are items that people do not buy very frequently, such as furniture and clothes, and like to compare in quality and price before they buy.

5. … is a thing that is manufactured, developed, produced or grown, usually for sale.

6. … is all the products and items that a particular company offers for sale.

7. … are low-priced items or services that consumers buy frequently with minimum shopping effort.

8. … is one that a consumer does not know about—or knows about but does not normally think of buying.

2. Match up the words on the left with the definitions on the right.

product base	a group of interrelated products made by one manufacturer that are very similar in some way
product category	the action of making a product available to consumers for the first time
product deletion	the process of planning and directing the products that a company produces and the way that they are sold
product development	the process of improving an existing product or creating a new and better product
product family	the theory that sales of a product pass through four stages
product innovation	the range of goods produced or services provided by a company
product launch	a general type of product
product life cycle	the process of designing, producing, and marketing a new product
product management	a set of products of a particular type that are made or sold by a company
product range	the removal of old products from the market as new ones are added to the company’s range

3. Translate the sentences paying attention to the meanings of the highlighted words.

1. The company has a product base of over sixty thousand software items.

2. Product categories such as gifts, food and electronics have been performing well.

3. Product deletion was caused by poor sales.

4. Investment in product development is essential for the company’s future growth.

5. The next stage is a meeting with the leader of the product development team.

6. This printer is the latest addition to our product family.

7. Competition between firms results in an increased emphasis on product innovation.

8. Product innovations are introduced to respond to changes in market demand.

9. Successful product launches depend on creative promotional campaigns.

10. Hundreds of celebrities and journalists were invited to the product launch.

11. With personal computers and software, the trend is toward shorter and shorter product life cycles.

12. The new car is seen as filling a gap in the company’s product range.

13. Teaser advertisements are often used for new movies or TV shows and for major product launches.