Page 339 - Introduction to Business

CHAPTER 9 Developing the Product and Pricing Mixes 313

A supermarket aisle in Canton,
China contains a wide variety of
promotional packages.

contribute to the litter problem, the importance of disposable or recyclable pack-
ages has increased recently.

reality Go to a supermarket and record how many different kinds of packages
CH ECK you see. What package elements did you use in your assessment?

A warranty is an assurance or guarantee made by a seller to a buyer about the warranty An assurance made by
quality of the good or service the seller offers. It may be either spoken or written (an a seller to a buyer about the quality
of a product or service offered by
express warranty); an implicit warranty is neither spoken nor written but exists
the seller
anyway because the Universal Product Code states that all goods are implicitly war-
express warranty An explicit warranty
ranted to be at least fit for the ordinary purpose for which they are used. Warranties that is either written or spoken
can benefit producers in a number of ways. implicit warranty An unwritten or
unspoken warranty that exists because
They provide another persuasive element. the Universal Product Code says that
They can differentiate one company’s products from another’s. all goods are at least fit for the ordinary
They can generate repeat purchases. purpose for which they are used
They lend credibility to the producer because they show that it believes in its
product.
They can pull customers away from competitors.
They protect producers from unreasonable claims of customers.
They limit costs of doing business. Such aspects of a warranty as duration,
service problems, and freight reimbursement can be controlled. 3
They can be used to combat consumer concerns. In the aftermath of the
shredding problem faced by Bridgestone-Firestone, the company began
offering extended warranties of up to four years on its tires. 4
Warranties can also benefit consumers. They assure product quality and value
when they promise a certain level of performance for a long time. Warranties
increase customers’ self-confidence, reduce their feelings of risk about future own-
ership, and reduce the level of postpurchase dissonance that might exist. 5

LEARNING OBJECTIVE 3
Describe the differences between standardization and adaptation strategies.

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