Lecture 06: Terminologies Associated with Product - 4

Hello friends welcome back to this wonderful  domain of Product and Brand Management.

We are getting acquainted  with so many things which are

useful for developing and understanding about  product and product management and brand

management in due course of time. Right now, our  focus is product management and we are progressing

from concept or should I say philosophy to  terms to concept, the concepts around product

management which you would be covering  in subsequent one or two sessions.

So, carrying forward from the  discussion we were having last time

wherein we were talking about product development  and we focused upon three perspectives around

product development and as you know at the end  I left you with a thought that if you have heard

someone saying what is your problem? So, that is  the perspective which we were focusing upon.

Now, you see product actually has an intense  association with problem and its solution.

But, the point is that are  we able to conceive a problem

and you see that is where the philosophical  perspective connotation is required. That is

why these kinds of terms are required, that is why  you know categorization is required and that is

why the understanding of line, family, classes  and these kinds of things are required.

Because you see when we understand our core need  then we wish to understand about how that need

would be satisfied on one side but that core need  may be associated with an identified problem. We

can look at that, that way. I would not go into  much details of defining problem in front of you

but as you are aware we can look at a  problem with different perspectives.

Problem can be looked upon with  reference to being a barrier

with a perspective of being an obstacle, something  which hinders our way to achieve our objectives,

to reach our goal whichever way you know there  are several ways you can look at problems with

reference to several functionalities also. But,

when we talk of product it actually helps us  in satisfying a particular kind of a need and

that kind of a perspective is carried  around problem identification.

On the lighter side when you say that,  what is your problem? You know, so, here

the identification of problem is emphasized  in this statement. You see, so, there can be

you know several elements to it but let us not  digress that much, let us just look at a product

wherein, we must conceive that successful product  development and problem solving can be seen

in coherence with each other actually. So, we will see, that, when we will talk about new

product development and new product development  process in later parts of our discussion.

But, here just conceive and keep in mind that  an identified problem can be resolved through

a product and as simple as that. You know  you look at some application associated with

let us say reaching out to market. For example, an application wherein,

you can reach to a portal or an organization  selling several kinds of products so

a problem of not being able to physically reach to  the retailer to purchase a product can be resolved

through that particular kind of an application and  so on. So, here we all understand you know that

particular application is a product actually. There are several portals and apps today which are

actually bringing in medicines at your doorsteps.  Now, that has made life so easy you see

at a particular hour when you require medicine  and you cannot go out its raining or it

is too cold, its night time and you are  somewhere in the emergency in the hospital,

you are attending a patient and you cannot leave  the patient and so on. So, there are several kinds

of situations which are associated with this. And on the other side Zomato, Swiggy all these

are solving several kinds of problems. So, that  is a sweeter way of solving problems basically,

I am hungry, I order something and so on. Now let  us look at another facet of the product and the

related terminology that is associated with  product commercialization, which is a stage,

which is usually the last part of a  development cycle of a new product.

And we will be talking about that at lengths  because that is the main stake. Once you

have everything in place commercialization is  the main stake. Commercialization is wherein

you know it will be accepted as a product  against which there would be a price to be

paid by the customer and so on. So, commercialization perspective

commonly is thought to be all the activities  involved in introducing the product into the

marketplace. Activities that are involved with  commercialization include manufacturing and

distribution as well as promotion although, it  is like that, but the fundamental aspect is that

has it fetched a transaction that is where you  know commercial value of a product comes in.

And then all the products are known by their  commercial value and when we will discuss branding

you would understand that how it gets  differentiated with reference to a brand

being a brand and that adds lots of value to  that kind of a discussion when we look into

the commercial value of a particular product  is higher than a similar product. And that is

where brand contribution comes in. We will be  talking about that extensively. These are just

the glimpses of what is coming in store. We have lots of narratives, lots of stories,

lots of examples for you in subsequent  discussions. Please just bear with me for

a while when we keep on building upon these  terminologies and then some classification

and then it would be a beautiful story part of  the subject which you would get entertained by.

And then you would not actually get confused  on when terms would be repeatedly used.

So that is the perspective which we are trying  to build up here then there is product launch

it involves introduction of a new product to the  market, usually accompanied by advertising and

other marketing communications it is a part of  commercialization as such. You see launches are

vast many a times. They have a sequence  of events associated with them.

For example, a car is to be unveiled you know  a new automotive is to be launched for example

a new model is to be launched and that launch  is associated with so many things. When you

plan an advertisement about it, you  plan an event about it, you plan

to put it somewhere in an auto show and you  want to bring in some celebrity on board

to be associated with that launch and so  many things are associated with that.

Another example a product which is not so price  sensitive. A particular kind of a model of a

pen is to be launched and similar kinds of  exercises but slightly on a lower scale are

to be done. Movie launches are actually as far as  their character goes and if you will go into the

stories of how dark knight came in, how spider-man  came in and how Bahubali came in you would realize

that what kind of perspective movie launches carry  along with them. And how important it is if you

will look at them as products and you would not  disagree with me when you say that Baahubali kind

of movies have done exceptionally well. So, then comes in product adaptation. It is

altering the product to meet  local conditions or preferences.

When a particular product say a burger looks  into the local taste and adapts to that wherein

customer expects that kind of a taste in her  burger. So, that is where in multinational

chains they are coming with. Chains which  have come to India and are continuously

coming in further also are on the similar path. They are continuously studying consumer behaviour

which is related to the local perspective that is  localized choices. So, their adaptation comes in

and this adaptation many a times is related to  change in production processes procurement of raw

material also. See adaptation is not simple when  you say that you are bringing a particular kind of

a change in a particular kind of a product which  is you know related to local market conditions.

For example, if I am talking of an  automotive, local driving conditions,

if I am talking of food products local taste and  those kinds of things are to be considered. So,

that simple kind of a thing may actually alter so  many things in whole of the value chain. Wherein,

you see that particular kind of a raw material  has to be procured for some from somewhere so

that is again another kind of a process. Then processes might have to develop. Some

processes have to be dealt with a different  context for example a furniture company coming

to India might find that there are rules  and regulations which are associated with

sustainability (which are very strong in India)  and then we should also be happy about it,

but then they have to adapt themselves wherein  they would not find the wood readily available for

processing and converting that into furniture. So, either they have to look into for some other

material or they have to look into some processing  wherein they can go within the permissible limits,

but the context, the essence, the style the design  does not gets hampered. But you see all these

changes are actually indicating towards so many  changes at the backend. Technological adaptation,

procurement adaptation,  processing adaptation and so on.

So, it might be a very simple thing  to say that product has adapted or

organization has you know customized the  product according to the local needs but that is

a change in its entirety actually. So, as I  was saying, some of the factors that contribute

to the need for product adaptation include  cultural factors, climate, customer preferences,

customer purchasing power, tax laws, restrictions,  quality standards, safety standards and so on.

And as I was referring to automotive model so  for example across the world car models are

modified and altered based on country they are  sold in and in countries like USA, France, Germany

etc. some vehicles are left hand drive or driven.  Whereas, right hand drive cars are available in

India and everywhere the same car brand and model  is adapted as per the laws and regulations.

So, this is a simple example but believe me  changing driving from this side to that side

requires some effort. And then food products  as I was talking about like you know burgers

so McDonald s Aloo Tikki burger is a very  prominent example on that and then McSpicy paneer

with Indian spices and so on and  several other products we are aware.

And sometimes we do wonder why and how that  organization could understand us so well that they

actually produce something which is specifically  related to our choices. Now, that is a wonderful

thing and that is what product management is. So, when we talk of MVP is a version of a

product with just enough features to be  usable by early customers early adapters

who can then provide feedback as quickly  as possible which they can use to iterate

and improve for future product development. You  know for example you have prepared a doughnut and

the early consumers they give you a perspective  around that this is how this can be developed

further it happens many a times in case of  tea and you know other beverages and so on.

And then minimum marketable product is  a product that has the simplest features

yet is made more presentable to be launched in  the market. It offers all the benefits that an MVP

offers. So, you see in the product terminology  you would find it common when they say MVP

and MMP and so on and that would be reflected at  other levels as well and this I have adopted from

Ries and the reference is given in detail.  Then there is another important element

related to recalling the product. Now,  this you have heard many a times.

And you see there is a reference to 10 biggest  product recalls of all times. The reference is

given wherein Berkley Global Product Recall, March  26, 2018 has the complete reference there for you

wherein you can go into that detail and you will  find that there have been so many instances.

And believe me it is not that we should be  actually focusing upon as a fault-finding kind

of a thing. It is actually a proactive thing from  the side of the manufacturer because manufacturer

recalls the product because they are continuously  wondering upon that if something has gone wrong

when they were producing the product. You see  they try to do their best to keep up the quality

levels and we have talked about quality earlier as  well but, many a times despite of all the strong

processes, despite of all the efforts, despite  of all the human intelligence and software and

artificial intelligence, we still have a scope of  that a fault remains within the product, and the

recall is a reflection of their consideration  that they are not only accepting that

something was overlooked but they bring it back,  correct it, and then send the product back.

So, product recall is wherein it is related  to the withdrawal and request for return of

a product by the manufacturer or distributor in  order to remedy or replace it due to the detection

of a fault or faults which render it unfit for the  purpose of which it was sold. Technically customer

feels that but that is identified many a times  by manufacturer, accepted by the manufacturer

and then the process is taken forward. You see all companies should have a clear policy

of how they will deal with product defects whether  due to design or faulty materials particularly

when the incidence of defects is high and so  on. But, despite of the fact that they do well,

they are still ready for such  kind of things which come in.

We will talk about this that it hampers the growth  of the product in due course of time and people

find product not so trustworthy in due course  of time and then there are several kinds of

campaigns and trust building exercises which  are done by organizations which they are quite

successfully doing as well have to take place,  wherein it effects the brand equity as well in

due course of time and that we will talk about  not specifically focusing upon the fault but

when we will be referring to the  elements which build up a brand.

Now, then comes in product abandonment and I  would like to call it exit actually. So this

is a different kind of an abandonment, which  is when you leave the product and let it go.

Text uses that but it is my personal thought that  though not denying the terms given by the authors

I wish to call it exit by choice. Product is owned by organizations.

Products are babies of organizations passionately  built, nurtured so much so that they live with

the products and when we will talk about how  people drive those products you would realize

that product and brand managers actually  put in so much of energy in doing that,

and then once you feel that way and at the  end of the day you say abandonment so that

does not suit me so with all due respect, I  will call it exit that, it was let go.

Many a times many authors have called it product  deletion, but, to me again that is not so much

adaptable kind of a term. So, product  elimination is also many a times very raw

but if you will take my advice call it product  exit. Now, it is the discontinuance of a marketed

product. You see product exit may occur at any  moment even shortly after launch of a new product

and again I would refrain from  calling it a product failure, wherein,

I would like to give you my view that product  failure is not to be specifically taken

as a failure, rather, it is to be seen with lesser  acceptance from the side of the customer. And you

see why? because there can be so many reasons. Because we could not assess the customer rightly,

we could not assess the core need of the customer  rightly, we could not put in you know a match

between the need and the product itself and so on.  So, ultimately, I would not say that the exit came

in because the product failed, I would say that  exit at any stage came in because either it has

lived up its life (we will see that in product  life cycle and detailed discussion subsequently

as well) or it was not so well accepted despite of  all our efforts to understand consumer behaviour

in future related to our newer product which  we are intending to launch and so on. So,

have this word of caution from my  side if you accept then please follow

this perspective on saying that it is exit and  non-acceptance rather than calling it a failure.

So, now you see for example after 37 years of  legacy Maruti Suzuki discontinued Maruti 800

from its model line in India in 2014. That was  a very thoughtful effort. It took a long-long

time for them to take it away from the customers  and to bring in a substitute to that. So,

you see it was a deliberate strategic exercise  and that is where I call it exiting the product.

So, bringing it towards the end or supporting  the product towards the end of its life cycle

and bringing a newer substitute (and we will look  at that) may be seen with the perspective of that

it was not allowed to decline but it was actually  exited from a particular position from where the

other substitute picked up and it grew  and took the whole cycle towards a growth.

We will be talking about these kinds of things  later on so just bear with me till then.

Now, you see product approach is a method used  by sales people to approach prospects in which

sales people demonstrate the product features and  benefits as they walk up to the prospects and so

on and a product manager one of the most important  persons associated with what we are talking about

because these are the people who  actually drive all these things,

and are at the hub and at the centre of the  situation and if you are a product manager

you are the person who understands everything  related to product who understands all the terms,

who understands everything in detail what  is going on around are responsible for

developing marketing plans, coordinating and  implementation of the plans by the functional

departments and monitoring performance  of their assigned products and so on.

Product managers are should I say the  parent figure to a product and should I say

the owners of the product or should I say the  drivers and you can look at them as magicians who

make things happen in terms of everything which is  going on around in terms of a product and product

management. Now, the road map is a plan to put  together by the product manager and she estimates

release dates for the products features and  driving it all through. As I said product

managers are drivers so they have a road map. Now, let us look at another beautiful term called

product concept you see we will be looking at  concepts related to product later on as well but

here product concept is in itself to be  seen. So, it proposes that consumers favour

products offering the highest/best quality  performance or innovative features. But here

I should underline that while saying that as per  consumers expectations as per consumers thoughts

product must match the consumers thought,  product must carry the reflection of what

consumer expects in the product and see  marketers might have a second thought

believing a better product will by itself lead  people to beat a path to their door and so on

and you can put it in quotes and you can look at  it with a poetic and a philosophical perspective,

but you see a new or improved product will not  necessarily be successful unless it is priced,

distributed, advertised and sold properly. It is  taken to the consumer with a perspective and that

is where product planning in association  with marketing plan comes in and we will

be talking about that in subsequent sessions. And you would realize that product management is

actually not only about developing a product,  looking at the aspects associated with the

product, but also about taking it to its  culmination wherein it becomes the part

of the life of a consumer. Now, then comes in  another important thing product knowledge.

See in marketing, knowledge refers to  consumers meanings or beliefs about products,

brands, stores, etc. that are stored in  memory. So, this is quite an explicit term

and you know you may think about this in an  elaborated manner and try and understand this.

Then comes in product innovation and here I  would spend couple of minutes wherein you see

Innovation refers to any good, service or idea  that is perceived by someone as new. However,

conventional a product is, if it is presented  in a newer form you will look at it with the

perspective of innovation, even if you  slightly change the shape of the bathing

soap for example so that also is associated with  innovation. You can put up a sense of logic there

that this kind of a change in the shape would  enable the soap not to dissolve so easily.

Because the surface does not touch the soap dish  always therefore that kind of a change also is

innovation. And you see this is the beauty of  product management that is the product manager

continuously keeps on thinking in terms of what  else and that is where innovation comes in.

The idea may have a long history but it is an  innovation to the person who sees it as new.

Innovation takes time to spread and  then there are several aspects to it

and we will keep on referring to that when we will  be talking about innovation design thinking and so

on. Then we can take an example of Procter and  Gamble which is an active product innovator and

the company employs almost 1000 science PhD s  and applies for roughly 3800 patents each year.

There is a reference given on that and that  is where they focus upon innovation to be

a main element of their product development.  Recent innovations that created entirely new

categories include Febreze an odour eliminating  fabric spray, Dryel a product that helps dry

clean clothes at home in dryer and Swiffer  a cleaning system that effectively removes

dust dirt and hair from floors and so on. So, there are several examples on innovation and

I will be talking about two more elements  which can be seen as concepts as well as

terminology associated with product in my  subsequent session. Those elements are related

to product positioning and product life cycle.  And subsequent to that I will be coming up with

other insights wherein we would be talking about  concepts/specific concepts related to product.

Till then enjoy whichever way you wish to look  at the introductory phase of our discussion.

Just ponder upon it, think about it,

keep sending questions, keep associating whatever  we are discussing with the examples around you,

and that is the biggest thing which one must do.  I will see you next time till then good bye.