Page 295 - Foundations of Marketing

262 Part 4 | Product and Price Decisions

Courtesy of Campbell Soup Company Courtesy of Nordstrom

Convenience products such as Campbell’s soups do not require much shopping effort.
However, women might expend considerable shopping effort in locating and purchasing Nordstrom handbags.

spend considerable effort in planning and making the purchase. Although Campbell’s soup
is a convenience product, the company releases advertising featuring its many varieties of its
Slow Kettle style soups to generate awareness. Nordstrom displays the aesthetics of its hand-
®
bags in its advertisements to demonstrate their value.
To market a shopping product effectively, a marketer considers several key issues. Although
large sums of money may be required to advertise shopping products, an even larger percent-
age of resources are likely to be used for personal selling. The producer and the marketing
channel members usually expect some cooperation from one another with respect to providing
parts and repair services and performing promotional activities. Marketers should consider
these issues carefully so that they can choose the best course for promoting these products.

Specialty Products
Specialty products possess one or more unique characteristics, and generally buyers are
willing to expend considerable effort to obtain them. Buyers actually plan the purchase
of a specialty product; they know exactly what they want and will not accept a substitute.
Examples of specialty products include a Mont Blanc pen and a one-of-a-kind piece of
baseball memorabilia, such as a ball signed by Babe Ruth. When searching for specialty
products, buyers do not compare alternatives. They are concerned primarily with finding an
outlet that has the preselected product available. Racing fans interested in a high-status way
to commemorate attending the Indy 500 might find the specially designed Tag Heuer Indy
specialty products Items with
unique characteristics that 500 wristwatch very attractive. Pet insurance is a specialty product with limited distribu-
buyers are willing to expend tion. VPI Pet Insurance attempts to spread awareness about the need for pet insurance by
considerable effort to obtain developing ads illustrating pets involved in precarious situations. This element of danger

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