In developing and managing products, marketers must be used to the total product strategy for successful marketing operation total product strategy and sales using the five levels of a product in meeting the needs and wants of our target market. Marketers are expected to be total or wholistic in their approach to satisfying the consumers. They must constitute what is called total product or package offering in satisfying their customers.
The total product strategy implies that in satisfying our customer, we should not use only the core benefits. The core benefits must be there, but in addition we must have to include the other levels of product. Firs, two department stores may be marketing exactly the same physical product, what the difference maybe in terms of the total product offering.
One may offer credit sales and guarantees while the other does not. In this case, the department store that has more attractive package offering or total product will win more customers and retain their patronage.
The total product is the broadened concept of the product. When marketers talked about products, they are not only referring to a physical good or service. What they have in mind is the physical product if there is one, the service, and the total complex of what satisfying attributes or desired benefits including branding, packaging, labelling, warranties and guarantees. Each consumer segment is seeking a bundle or package of products benefits. And each company is attempting, through its own problem research to discover the benefit consumers desire to market this benefit to them.
What creates satisfaction? Satisfaction is created in large part to the total product strategy. The core benefits is the nucleus around which satisfaction is created, but satisfaction is also created by such marketing devices as branding and trademarks, packaging, warranties and information labelling, and these things because they are closely related to the entire product planning and development activity, need to be considered as a whole in devising the total product strategy.
Constituting the total product actually needs innovative or creative thinking. The marketer must creatively determine what would be used to make up the product or package offering.
