Task $9.$c$.$ Group Project: Product Decisions

Going forward you will now create a marketing strategy for the SBU that your group has selected. Keep in mind the objectives that you have created for this marketing plan. Every one of those objectives should be addressed somewhere within the strategy and align with at least one of the four P$$s$.$ In this section your group will discuss all of the relevant product decisions as part of the marketing strategy within this marketing plan. You may choose to develop a new product or service for the SBU selected, or you may choose to use an existing product. Ensure you select a product or service that is substantial enough to develop a marketing plan around. All of the product$/$service decisions must be yours.$$You should not simply list the attributes of an existing product as is$.$ There should be some degree of change depending on the data that you have collected so far regarding the competition, marketing environment, and your target market. Remember to be a specific as possible. Ambiguous responses aren$$t of much value here.$$

Also remember that under product decisions you can include things such as:$$

Product dimensions and weight$$

Product color design and aesthetics$$

All relevant product attributes and features$$

Packaging and the experience in unboxing the product$$

Warranties$$

Customer service and training that might be distinct from normal offerings$$

Anything else that relates to the decisions central to the product itself

Consider any aspects of a service $($if a service is chosen$)$ that includes both tangible and intangible assets that impact the customer experience

Step $1$

Restate your target market using the variables and the basis of segmentation that you have chosen.$$Remember to incorporate any feedback from your professor during that exercise. Therefore, your target market might have changed slightly based upon this feedback. State for the record your final target market for the rest of this project. Once you have identified a new product or service, or are tailoring an existing one as a team, list each product decision, explain as necessary, and then justify using either information you have discovered in your consumer research, your situational research, or new research that you have discovered using quality sources. Then in parentheses indicate which teammate first came up with the idea.$$You should have at least one decision per teammate, you are strongly encouraged to come up with more if you think it is worthwhile. Please refer to the example below again using the fictional product of 'widgets':$$

Widget model X$-1$

Product Dimensions: The X one dimensions will measure $3$ x $4.$ This is distinct from the rest of the market which is significantly larger. Our target desires a more compact and easily stored widget $($Smith$,2000).$ By shrinking the dimensions of this product, we will satisfy this specific need. $($Joey$)$

Product Materials: our primary research indicated that $80\%$ of our target market prefers brands that minimize waste. Therefore, the model X$-1$ will be made of $100\%$ recycled aluminum. Aluminum was chosen not only for the availability of recycled material, but it is lighter than the alternative. This is also desired by our target market, where $75\%$ indicated they wanted a more portable widget. $($Maria$)$