Line extension*

“A marketing strategy that uses an existing product to introduce a new item into the same product line.”

Product modification*

“Change in one or more characteristics of a product.”

Quality modifications*

“Changes relating to a product’s dependability and durability.”

Functional modifications*

“Changes affecting a product’s versatility, effectiveness, convenience, or safety.”

Aesthetic modifications*

“Changes to the sensory appeal of a product.”

Disruptive innovation*

“Identifies old technologies that can be exploited in new ways or develops new business models to give customers more than they’ve come to expect from current products in a specific market.”

New product development process*

“A seven-phase process for introducing products.”

Idea generation*

“The methodical search for new product ideas.”

Screening*

“The process of evaluating new product ideas to identify those with the greatest potential for success.”

Concept testing*

“Testing new product ideas by asking a target group of customers to provide feedback to determine potential consumer appeal.”

Business analysis*

“Evaluating the potential contribution of a product idea to the firm’s sales, costs, and profits.”

Breakeven analysis*

“Calculating how many units a company would have to sell to begin making a profit.”

Payback analysis*

“Computing the time period required to recover the funds that would be invested in developing the new product.”

Product development*

“The phase in which the organization creates a prototype—or a working model—to determine the feasibility of developing the product as a viable market offering.”

Test marketing*

“A limited introduction of a product in geographic areas that represent the desired market.”

Commercialization*

“Fully introducing the product into the market.”

Product differentiation*

“Creating and designing products so customers perceive them as distinct from competing products.”

Quality*

“The ability of a product to satisfy a customer’s needs as anticipated.”

Level of quality*

“The amount of quality a product possesses.”

Consistency of quality*

“The degree to which a product has the same level of quality over time.”

Product design*

“How a product is conceived, planned, and produced.”

Styling*

“The physical appearance of a product.”

Product features*

“Specific design characteristics that allow a product to perform certain tasks.”

Customer services*

“Human or mechanical efforts or activities that add value to a product.”

Product positioning*

“The place that a brand occupies in the minds of the customers relative to the competition.”

Product deletion*

“Eliminating a product from the product mix.”

Intangibility*

“A service is not physical and therefore cannot be touched.”

Inseparability*

“The inability to differentiate between the production and consumption of the service.”

Perishability*

“Refers to the fact that services cannot be resold or stored for future sale.”

Heterogeneity*

“Variation in quality.”

Client-based relationships*

“Interactions that result in satisfied customers who use a service repeatedly over time.”

Customer contact*

“The level of interaction between provider and customer needed to deliver the service.”