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Section 10.1 Product
such as athletic, dress, and casual shoes. A product item is the specific
model, color, or size of products in a line. For example, the shoe store’s
product items include the different styles, colors, and sizes of shoes.
Perhaps the store has five identical, size-nine brown shoes. They are
not considered different items, but the quantity (five) of one item (size-
nine brown shoes).
The product width is the number of product lines a company offers.
Product depth is the number of product items in a product line.
Product Strategies
There are many decisions to be made about a business’ products.
The first decisions are related to selecting the appropriate products.
Decisions must be made about all of the processes needed for
products to reach the end users. Product strategies help with product
positioning, which is distinguishing your products from competing
products. The right strategies will help you meet customer needs and
beat the competition.
There are a number of product-positioning strategies. These
include branding, packaging and labeling, and developing new
products when necessary. In addition, it is a good idea to frequently
review current products and determine where they are in the product
life cycle. This helps ensure that the needs and wants of customers are
being met.
These three product items
are in one product line of
men’s shirts.
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