Levels of Product:
The levels of product concept highlight the different layers or components of a product offering that provide varying degrees of value, benefits, and satisfaction to consumers. These levels help businesses understand and address the various dimensions and aspects of their product offerings to meet customer needs, preferences, and expectations effectively.
The levels of product typically include:
- Core Benefit or Core Product: The core benefit or core product represents the primary or fundamental value, solution, or benefit that customers seek or derive from a product. It addresses the essential needs, requirements, or problems that consumers intend to fulfill or solve through the product, such as transportation, communication, or entertainment.
- Actual Product: The actual product encompasses the tangible features, attributes, and specifications of the product that customers can see, touch, feel, or experience directly. It includes the design, performance, quality, functionality, features, packaging, and branding elements that differentiate the product from competitors and create value, satisfaction, and appeal for consumers.
- Augmented Product: The augmented product includes additional or supplementary elements, benefits, services, or enhancements that accompany the core and actual product offerings and provide additional value, convenience, support, or satisfaction to consumers. Augmented product elements may include warranties, guarantees, customer service, maintenance, installation, training, or other value-added services that enhance the overall product offering and customer experience.
Types of Product:
Products can be classified into different types based on various criteria, attributes, characteristics, and usage contexts. Understanding the different types of products helps businesses develop and implement effective marketing strategies, positioning, distribution, and management practices to address specific market segments, customer needs, and industry dynamics.
Some common types of products include:
- Consumer Products: Consumer products are goods or services purchased and consumed by individual consumers for personal use or household consumption. Consumer products can be further classified into different categories based on consumer purchasing behavior, frequency, and shopping habits, including:
- Convenience Products: Convenience products are frequently purchased, low-cost, and widely available goods or services that consumers buy regularly and with minimal effort, such as everyday essentials, impulse purchases, or routine items.
- Shopping Products: Shopping products are moderately priced, less frequently purchased, and require more consideration, comparison, and shopping effort from consumers, such as apparel, electronics, furniture, or appliances.
- Specialty Products: Specialty products are unique, high-priced, and specific goods or services that consumers seek out and purchase based on brand loyalty, preference, or specific needs, such as luxury brands, designer products, or niche offerings.
- Unsought Products: Unsought products are goods or services that consumers are not actively seeking or aware of and may require aggressive marketing, promotion, or education efforts to generate interest, awareness, and demand, such as new innovations, disruptive technologies, or unfamiliar products.
- Industrial Products: Industrial products are goods or services purchased by businesses, organizations, or institutions for use in production, operations, or resale to other businesses or end-users. Industrial products can be categorized based on their characteristics, applications, or usage contexts, including:
- Materials and Components: Materials and components are raw materials, parts, or ingredients used in manufacturing, production, or assembly processes to create finished goods, such as metals, plastics, chemicals, or electronic components.
- Capital Goods: Capital goods are long-term, durable, and high-value industrial products, machinery, equipment, or infrastructure investments that enable businesses to operate, produce, or deliver products and services, such as machinery, vehicles, buildings, or technology systems.
- Supplies and Services: Supplies and services are consumable goods, utilities, or support services required for business operations, maintenance, or daily activities, such as office supplies, utilities, maintenance services, or professional services.
 the levels of product and types of product concepts provide frameworks for understanding, classifying, and managing products based on their value, benefits, characteristics, applications, and usage contexts in the marketplace. Businesses need to analyze and categorize their product offerings effectively to develop tailored strategies, offerings, and experiences that resonate with target customers, meet market demands, and achieve competitive advantage and success in today’s dynamic and diverse product landscape.