New Product Development in a Competitive Environment
Chapter One
Objectives of the study
- To asses whether the company conducts the new product development process or
- To identify the relationship between quantity and customer preference.
- To investigate whether any effort is made to develop the taste of the
- To determine the challenge of developing new
CHAPTER TWO
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Meaning and Definition of Product
A product is anything that can be offered to a market for attention, acquisition, use, or consumption that might satisfy a want or need. Products include more than just tangible goods. Broadly defined, products include physical objects, services, events, persons, places, organizations, ideas, or mixes of these entities (Kotler, 2006:233).
According to Kumar, (2002:2) a product is something which is offered to customers to satisfy their needs or wants – physical and/or psychological. Thus, a product must be able to delivery physical as well as psychological satisfaction and its features, quality, style, brand (name and image), size, packaging, warranties etc. should be accordingly designed.
The product is almost always a combination of tangibles and intangible benefits.
The product is a bundle of satisfaction that customer buys. It provide a solution to a customers problems (Saxena 2006:234).
A new product is any product which is perceived by the customer as being new. This could involve repositioning of existing products or offering the existing products at low prices or making improvements. In the existing product, or adding new product items to the existing product line or for that matter, taking up a product line which is totally new to the organization or new to the world (Saxena (2006:272).
According to Grover (2003:162) strategic marketers must carry product development to cater to the changing needs of the customers. New product development is vital to the continual survival and growth of the organization. The competence required is continuous tracking of customer needs and product development for those needs.
Product Classification
Products and services fall into two broad classes based on the types of consumers that use them – consumer products and industrial products.
Broadly defined, products also include other marketable entities such as experience, organizations, persons, places, and ideas(Kotler2006:234).
Consumer Products
Consumer products are products and services bought by final consumer for personal consumption. Marketers usually classify these products as services for there based on how consumers go about buying them. Consumer products include convenience products, shopping products, specialty products and unsought products (Kotler 2006:234).
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Research Method
This section states the research method to be used for the study. To achieve the research objectives the student researcher used a descriptive research method.
Population and sampling Frame.
Population: the student researcher included customers and marketing manager of the company as a population.
Sampling Frame: The student researcher took 200 respondents from the total customers, and 1 respondent from marketing department of the case company.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA PRESENTATION ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
General characteristics of the respondents
Table 1 shows the general characteristics of respondents which include sex, age, educational background and occupational distribution.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Concerning the general characteristics of respondents’ sex, age, educational background and occupation were considered from this finding. Females 120(64.17%) taken the majority, whereas most of the respondents were the age between 29-39 the educational background of respondents 84(44.92%) holds diploma and the occupation of respondents, 97(51.87%) were house wives.
In relation to customers response towards the company’s product most of the respondents 91(48.66%) consume Seven Up Bottling company Plc for 2 years. Majority of the respondents have used other products and 111(60.99%) rate Seven Up Bottling company Plc compared to other soft drinks as medium,58(31.87%)rate as low and 7(3.85%) and 6(3.29%) rated Seven Up Bottling company Plc as high and very low respectively.
Regarding accessibility of the product 103(55.08%) of the respondents do not think Seven Up Bottling company Plc is easily accessible and the rest 84(44.92%) thought Seven Up Bottling company Plc is easily accessible.
In relation to Seven Up Bottling company Plc’s product quality compared to other soft drinkss 111(59.36%) of them replied medium, 63(33.69%) replied low, 7(3.74%) of the respondents replied high and 6(3.21%) of the respondents replied very low. Regarding their response on what do they think of when they think or see Seven Up Bottling company Plc product 89(47.59%) replied that they remember products quantity, 46(24.5%) replied as its quality, 27(14.44%) replied its price and the rest 25(3.37%) replied its taste.
Regarding the unique characteristics of the product, respondents give their response, as 89(47.59%) agreed that its natural quantity makes the product unique, 58(31.02%) agreed that the products fat content is the uniqueness, 25(13.37%) its price, 9(4.8%) agreed that products good taste and 6(3.21%) replied nothing makes it unique.
In relation to customer evaluation on the product capacity with their need 104(55.6%) respondents rated as low, 72(38.5%) medium, and 11(5.88%) rated as high.
Concerning the package quality, 113(60.43%) agreed that the package quality is medium, 70(37.43%) agreed it has a high quality and the rest agreed that products package is of low quality.
Regarding the product quality, 104(55.61%) replied the product has of low quality, 70(37.43%) replied the product has medium quality and only 13(6.95%) replied the product has a high quality.
Concerning with the relative attributes of the product it incorporates taste, natural quantity, and fat content. Majority of respondents agreed that the taste of the product is poor, 60(32.09%) said its taste is medium, only 5 (2.67%) likes the taste and rated high. In addition to its taste, about 74(39.57%) of respondents do not like the quantity of the Soda, 50(26.74%) gives medium, 43(22.99%) liked the natural quantity of the Soda, 13(6.95%) liked the quantity very much and gives it very high and 7(3.74%) do not like the quantity and rated as very low. Lastly, the fat content of the Soda, 85(45.45%) gives it very high, 66(35.29%) medium and 22(11.76%) gives it the fat content very high.
In relation to complaint or feed back handling of Seven Up Bottling company Plc, 94(50.27%) respondents had complaint on company’s product and 93(49.73%) didn’t and 61(64.89%) of respondents were able to communicate to Seven Up Bottling company Plc, of those 61 respondents, 11(18.03%) of respondents were able to communicate with the manager, and 50(81.97%) of respondents communicated with the sales people, 27(44.26%) of the respondents complaint was freshness of the Soda, 15(24.59%) quantity was their complaint, 9(14.75%) taste of the Soda was their complaint, whereas 5(8.2%) of them complained about its fat content and 5(8.2%) package of the Soda was the compliant.
Conclusions
- Seven Up Bottling company Plc is producing Soda below the customer need and
- As revealed from the study the Soda is of low quality which dose not incorporates the expectation of customers
- Even though Seven Up Bottling company Plc insists on selling natural quantity Soda majority of the customer did not like the taste and quantity of the product.
- According to the study, customers’ need a Varity in the size of packaging, which helps them to buy the amount they specifically want and no wastage will be
- Customers look for healthy or diet food which does not contain fat and need full cream Soda for their
- Seven Up Bottling company Plc does not have compliant handling department and the absence of this department may keep customers far from communicating to the company and one of the major importance of customer is their
Recommendations
Depend on the findings the following recommendations are forwarded by student researcher.
- The company should give due consideration on improving taste and quantity of the Soda by acquiring its own farm, the company can maintain consistency and uniformity of the
- The company should consider adopting latest technologies in order to maintain product quality and to be competitive in the
- Company should establish a research and development department to exhaustively follow the needs, wants, tastes and preferences of customers. R&D should bring out modified or new products in terms of packaging, Fat content, and quantity free
- The company should make market research periodically. Not only when there is a problem occurred but also to know the potential customer of the product and when new product is released to the
- In relation to company’s compliant handling, the company should prepare appropriate compliant handling mechanisms for its customers like suggestion box, toll free line to customers to call for their suggestion or compliant. This would increases customers bond with the company and whenever they see improvements to their complaints they develop belongingness to the
- Customers do not need always the same amount of Soda. In order to give variety on its package, the company should start packing in different size and different
- The consumption pattern of customers has always been changing. And the company has only a package which can hold 0.5 liter of Soda a piece. Accordingly, customer need more than 0.5liter Soda, they are compelled to buy other package of Soda. The customer want package that can hold variety of Soda contents level like 0.25 liter, 1 liter, 2 liters, etc. Consequently, the company should fulfill the demand of customer by conferring alternative
- In relation to formal stages of new product development, the company should establish research and development department to be a leader in the industry and focuses on what customers are really looking for, even if the market is a bit challenging for new products customers will be attracted when they find what they really
- A company who engaged in producing or processing needs a research and development department which could work hand in hand with marketing department to observe what is going on competitions side, technological advancement, product innovations to cope with the marketing
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