Page 296 - Foundations of Marketing

Product, Branding, and Packaging Concepts | Chapter 10 263

provides an incentive for pet owners to address these risks
through the purchase of insurance.
The fact that an item is a specialty product can affect a
fi rm’s marketing efforts in several ways. Specialty products
are often distributed through a limited number of retail out-
lets. Like shopping products, they are purchased infrequently,
causing lower inventory turnover and thus requiring rela-
tively high gross margins. However, just because specialty
products are purchased less frequently does not necessarily
make them less profi table. For example, the Swatch Group,
the maker of a European line of wristwatches, sells signifi -
cantly more limited edition “swatches” than traditional ones.

Unsought Products

Unsought products are products purchased when a sudden
problem must be solved, products of which customers are
unaware, and products that people do not necessarily think
of purchasing. Emergency medical services and automobile
repairs are examples of products needed quickly to solve a prob-
lem. A consumer who is sick or injured has little time to plan to
go to an emergency medical center or hospital. Likewise, in the
event of a broken fan belt on the highway, a consumer likely Courtesy of VPI Pet Insurance
will seek the nearest auto repair facility or call AAA to get
back on the road as quickly as possible. In such cases, speed
and problem resolution are far more important than price and
other features buyers might normally consider if they had more Pet Insurance as a Specialty Product
time for making decisions. Companies such as ServiceMaster, Pet insurance is a specialty product. Consumers are willing to expend
which markets emergency services such as disaster recovery, considerable effort to look for it but it has limited distribution.
carpet cleaning, and plumbing repair, are making the purchases
of these unsought products more bearable by building trust with consumers through recognizable unsought products Products
brands (ServiceMaster Clean and Rescue Rooter) and superior functional performance. purchased to solve a sudden
problem, products of which
customers are unaware, and
products that people do not
necessarily think about buying

Emergency Products
A flat tire situation is an
© iStockphoto.com /ZavgSG product is required. A
example in which an unsought
consumer might not intend to
purchase a new tire, but a flat
tire emergency necessitates the
need for a spare.

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