MAR – Exam 3 | Complete Exam Notes on
Products, Product Life Cycle & New Product
Development|Questions Provided with A+
Graded Rationales Latest Updated 2026
products
broadly defined as a good, service, idea, or a combination of these
Consumer product
purchased to satisfy personal and family needs and are classified according to how buyers
generally behave when purchasing them
business product
purchased to use for operations, to resell, or to use in manufacture of other products
Product Hierarchy
core product
physical or intangible service that the customer receives
branded products
the core products plus the characteristics that allow the customer to differentiate it from
similar products
augmented products
have characteristics that enhance value beyond that of the core and branded product
product mix
all the products a company sells
product line
consists of the closely related products marketed by an organization
product line width
number of different lines that a company markets in a particular category
ex. chips ahoy!, Oreo
product line depth
, the number of items in a product line
ex. mint oreo, double stuffed
phases of product life cycle
1. Introductory stage
2. growth stage
3. maturity stage
4. decline stage
how do companies extend the product life cycle?
- promote varied use
- sell to new segments
- encourage more use per occasion
- stimulate more frequent use
Less risky alternative to NPD
- line extensions: new similar product, meets somewhat different need
- Product modifications: change one or more product characteristics, remove og product
Why are new products so likely to fail?
- Predictions about new products are hard to make, even from captains of industry
- Psychology Mechanisms ➝ most consumers inherently would rather not change ➝ don't like
losing, getting them to change what they know is difficult
what percentage of new products fail?
80% of new products fail
Steps of the new product adoption process
1. awareness
2. interest
3. evaluation
4. trial
5. adoption
different types of product adopters
-innovators - first to adopt
-early adopters - choose carefully, WOM
-early majority - just prior to average
Products, Product Life Cycle & New Product
Development|Questions Provided with A+
Graded Rationales Latest Updated 2026
products
broadly defined as a good, service, idea, or a combination of these
Consumer product
purchased to satisfy personal and family needs and are classified according to how buyers
generally behave when purchasing them
business product
purchased to use for operations, to resell, or to use in manufacture of other products
Product Hierarchy
core product
physical or intangible service that the customer receives
branded products
the core products plus the characteristics that allow the customer to differentiate it from
similar products
augmented products
have characteristics that enhance value beyond that of the core and branded product
product mix
all the products a company sells
product line
consists of the closely related products marketed by an organization
product line width
number of different lines that a company markets in a particular category
ex. chips ahoy!, Oreo
product line depth
, the number of items in a product line
ex. mint oreo, double stuffed
phases of product life cycle
1. Introductory stage
2. growth stage
3. maturity stage
4. decline stage
how do companies extend the product life cycle?
- promote varied use
- sell to new segments
- encourage more use per occasion
- stimulate more frequent use
Less risky alternative to NPD
- line extensions: new similar product, meets somewhat different need
- Product modifications: change one or more product characteristics, remove og product
Why are new products so likely to fail?
- Predictions about new products are hard to make, even from captains of industry
- Psychology Mechanisms ➝ most consumers inherently would rather not change ➝ don't like
losing, getting them to change what they know is difficult
what percentage of new products fail?
80% of new products fail
Steps of the new product adoption process
1. awareness
2. interest
3. evaluation
4. trial
5. adoption
different types of product adopters
-innovators - first to adopt
-early adopters - choose carefully, WOM
-early majority - just prior to average
