Automobiles and the Service

What is a service but an intangible product. One of the most advertised services today is car maintenance. Many brands offer a warranty for so many miles or time whichever comes first. These companies such as Audi or Chevrolet offer a free maintenance of check up on the car for the first year for example. Really you aren't buying an object but you are really buying a sense of security that your car is of good quality. Other automobile makers such as Rolls Royce offer a warranty such as a drive train warranty or a basic warranty that the car will have no defects. This service is just a motivation or added value so that consumers are more willing to buy their car!

Product Lines and Chevy

What is a product line and how can it help a business? A product line is the group of products that a company or division of a company sales. The purpose of a product line is to have many similar products that appeal to a wide variety of customers. A great example of a product line is the Chevy division of General Motors. They have small cars that appeal to the "green" people such as the Aveo or the Cobalt. They have sporty cars for the "thrill seekers" such as the Corvette or the Camero. They have the Malibu or the Impala for the "family." Chevy also has other categories such as trucks, SUVs, crossovers, and vans which hit other groups of people.
A product line can help you business by bringing in a wide variety of customers. I personally would never buy a small car such as an Aveo but I would buy an Impala. In this example of Chevy you can see that someone who is looking for a car with more space can still buy a car from the same place as a person looking for a small car. With a large product line a business can basically make anyone a customer. A company can use an "Upward Line Stretch," "Downward Line Stretch," "Contract," or "Fill Out." An upward line stretch is where a company adds a more expensive product, a downward line stretch is where a company adds a less expensive product, a contraction is where a company drops a product from the product line, and a filling out is where a company adds a similar product to the already existing product line. Looking back at Chevy a smaller car might be considered a downward stretch where as a Corvette might be considered an upward stretch. The Malibu and the Impala might be similar enough that they would be considered a filling out. On the other hand cars such as the Monte Carlo or the Nova have been dropped and so this would be a contraction. Many products are dropped because they either don't sell enough of them or a new and improved product has been added to take its place.
That is what a product line is and how it can help a business.

Innovation and Apple

When I first think of innovation I think Steve Jobs. Who is Steve Jobs and how does he have to do with marketing product innovation. Steve Jobs is the Co-founder and CEO of Apple since 1976. Steve is the mastermind behind Apple who has innovated great products for the company such as the iPod and the iPhone. The iPod was a great product innovation because it is small, holds large volumes of music, and some of them can even shoot video. The only way innovative products are created are by innovative people.
The real question in my mind about the innovation of Apple is, "Is Apple dead in the water?" After Steve Jobs took an absence of leave for medical reasons Apple came out with no new innovative products or product updates. Since Steve Jobs came back new products such as the iPad and the video camera feature on the iPod have been developed. If Apple can't find another person with the power to lead Apple, Apple will have no future against technology giant Microsoft. With Steve Jobs Apple has hit an all time high market share of 10% while Microsoft holds 88.7%. My main point is that innovation is the key to a successful business especially in the technology industry. In my opinion Apple has little hope for a successful future.