6 Product characteristics
From EvolutionaryProductDevelopment
6.1 Introduction
In paragraph 3, the six product phases are described using ten aspects. These aspects are the product, the market, the production and the promotion of the product, the service around the product and the ethics of the organisation. The aspects of the product can be further divided in newness, functionality, product development and styling, the aspects of the market relate to the number of competitors and the pricing of the product (per unity). These aspects are called the product characteristics. In this paragraph statements are formulated that are suitable for testing. In the next paragraph, a test will be described that is performed to see whether the product characteristics and the product phases adequately describe what happens in reality.
6.2 Overview
An overview of the 49 statements that describe the product characteristics and to what product phase they belong is given in figure 6.1.
| Product characteristics | Performance | Optimisation | Itemisation | Segmentation | Individualisation | Awareness |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The product is new to the market. | • | • | ||||
| The product is known (but not well known) within the target group. | • | • | ||||
| The product is well known within the target group. | • | • | • | |||
| The market penetration of the product is high. | • | • | • | |||
| The performance of the product is poor. | • | • | ||||
| The product originates from a 'technology push'. | • | • | ||||
| Comparatively the product has many parts. | • | • | ||||
| The performance of the product is acceptable. | • | |||||
| The performance and reliability of the product are good. | • | • | • | • | ||
| The product is easy to handle and meets ergonomic demands. | • | • | • | • | ||
| The product is safe. | • | • | • | • | ||
| The product offers much choice - there is a large assortment. | • | • | • | |||
| The user is interested in adaptations of the product to extend the product life cycle (instead of discarding the product to buy a newer one). | • | |||||
| The competitor can distinguish himself with 'positive aging': the product becomes more attractive to use. |
• | |||||
| The product development is mainly aimed at improving the performance of the product. | • | • | ||||
| Product development is aimed at products that have better performance, are easier to handle, and have improved reliability, ergonomics and safety. | • | • | ||||
| Product development is aimed at extra features and accessories. | • | • | • | |||
| Product development is aimed at different products for different market channels or target groups. . | • | • | • | • | ||
| Product development is aimed at the possibility for the user to influence the result by choosing from extra features or to have the product assembled to meet his demands. | • | • | ||||
| Styling is not very important. | • | • | ||||
| There is not much unity in the styling of the parts of the product. | • | • | ||||
| The styling of the parts of the product (integration of form) is good. | • | • | • | • | ||
| The styling of the product is expressive. | • | • | ||||
| The competitor can distinguish himself with a well cared for design that is also simple and sober. | • | |||||
| There is only one or there are very few competitors. | • | • | ||||
| There are several competitors (but not many). | • | • | ||||
| There are a lot of competitors, and the market is highly competitive. | • | • | • | |||
| The price of the product (per unity) is relative high, and people find the product expensive. | • | • | ||||
| The pricing of products is competitive. | • | • | ||||
| There is a lot of competition, prices are under pressure and are going down. | • | • | ||||
| Prices have reached their lowest possible level. | • | • | • | |||
| Prices vary because the products are customised. | • | • | ||||
| The product is designed for production with standard machines, such as lathes, and milling-, trimming-, bending- and welding machines. | • | • | ||||
| Assembly of the product is mainly done by hand. | • | • | ||||
| The number of parts of the product decreases, and automation becomes more important. | • | • | ||||
| Assembly of the product is highly automated. | • | • | • | |||
| Production is highly automated. | • | • | • | |||
| Promotion is mainly based on free publicity and trade fairs. | • | • | ||||
| Promotion is done on a small scale: trade fairs, the internet, brochures with retailers, etc. | • | • | ||||
| Promotion is done through advertising in magazines and papers, and/or on radio and TV. | • | • | ||||
| Promotion is done through direct marketing. | • | • | ||||
| Promotion activities are intensive: a lot of advertising in many different media. | • | • | • | |||
| Interactive media are used to attune the product to the wishes of the individual user. | • | • | ||||
| The user communicates directly with the competitor to make his individual wishes known. | • | • | ||||
| The competitor communicates about the ethics of his company. | • | |||||
| There is no well organised service organisation. (This does not mean that the service is poor.) | • | • | ||||
| There is a well organised service organisation supporting the product. | • | • | • | • | ||
| The ethics of the competitor (manufacturer) is not very important for the decision of the user. | • | • | • | • | ||
| The competitor (manufacturer) can distinguish himself from the competition by its social behaviour, for example with regard to the environment or child labour. | • | • |
Figure 6.1 The 49 statements to be tested. The dots • mark the product phase to which the statement refers.
