Strategies on How Companies Add Value to Products in General, Essay Example

Product value is one of the many aspects that customers look for. In fact, many scholars have perceived value to be an issue of perception. Value is often a complex factor that has many criteria in which people assess. Therefore, it is paramount for companies to develop strategies that will make people perceive their product values as the best in the market. Some people view the value in terms of convenience, price versus benefit, visuals and auditory appeal, peer recognition and risk management among other factors. According to Sato & Kaufman (2005, p.75)The current market demands a lot from these companies; therefore, the companies must try to adjust to the new marketing trends. Adding value to products makes companies competent and market – friendly. It is noteworthy that certain strategies are effective, and capable of giving maximum outcome. The following are some strategies and how they can be applied to obtain the best in the markets.

One of the most powerful strategies for increasing product value is displaying its benefits to customers. This implies that the company lists down all the benefits accrued to using their product. For instance, a company dealing with vegetables can list down the benefits accrued to using such vegetables and its products. Many people perceive high value in products that are multi purposed. Therefore, companies must be exceptionally creative when coming up with market products to enable them find a large market for their products.

Secondly, the use of testimonials is also influential in increasing value to products. In light of this, a company may need to find better proof that their products are working to deliver the best. Proof is one of the ways of creating trust with customers. A number of customers will always want to get proof beyond reasonable doubts that the products selected are the best. In this case, company is obliged to select credible sources and then vary customer testimonials to touch on the different benefits accrued to using the product. For instance, a company that is dealing with soya beans product can write articles or press release about the product and post on the various local media. The information here should revolve around how customers review the results of using this substance. In essence, the review ought to be positive.

Chitale & Gupta (2007, p.256) argues that brand is a crucial aspect that warrants consideration when trying to increase the value of products. Brand used in marketing a product can tell customers how serious the company is about their products. This implies that a company with a good marketing brand appears more influential and trustworthy. Customers also perceive branded products to be of high quality hence prompting them to use more of such. For instance, a company that deals with coffee processing can create a brand consisting of the coffee seeds. After creating this, company can engage in serious creation of awareness of the brand to make it popular. Most of these brands upon gaining popularity attract lots of customer attention hence increasing product value and demand.

Promotions add value and demand to the products of every organization. This is because promotion creates awareness of the product’s existence and effectiveness to the consumers. This aspect not only increases the profit margins of the company but also increases the customer loyalty as well.

Sebastian et al (2007, p.586) says that packaging also has significant impacts on product value. The type of package, for instance, based on color, and the nature of material used has significant effects on the way people perceive the products. For instance, a mango juice if wrapped inside a well labeled decent bottle will appear more valuable than if just sold in a glass container. Many companies take advantage of this fact and get good markets for their product goods. The packaging should also contain much information about the product.

According to Hennig-Thurau (2009, p.47), other companies use price to add value to their products. Many customers often associate high prices with better quality. Therefore, increasing the price of a product can immensely benefit a company. For instance, different companies selling sugar may have varying prices for their product. Many customers will always be tempted to get the most expensive since they regard it as the best. However, this should be practiced carefully depending on the business environment. Certain environments do not permit application of certain strategies. For example, applying this strategy in places where poor people live will only make things worse. However, applying it where people of high class live will bring perfect results.

Use of guarantees is another marketing concept that companies use. They come in the form of get 100% guaranteed quality increase. Such messages create strong assurance to customers that the products they intend to purchase will satisfy their needs fully and are of robust quality as described by Kurtz & Boone (2011, p.130). One good thing about providing such guarantee is that it helps to eliminate any risk of potential psychological stress that occur because of dissatisfaction, or post purchase. It makes customer gain confidence in whatever they buy and do not need to prove its level of authenticity. One good example is of a firm that sells honey products. Just by simply indicating the “100% quality guaranteed” on the packet can get many customers preferring to use the product.

Use of bonus is another way through which companies increase the values of their products. In such instances, companies add bonus products to their items. These bonuses normally come with their recommended prices, which enables the customers calculate the amount of quality increased. Such bonuses need to be sincere and attractive, thus, make the products eye catching as well as of more value as compared to similar ones without the bonuses.

Formation of alliance with professional organizations or some well-known personality can improve the quality value. For instance, a company can select a well performing company to form an alliance. Therefore, people will perceive the services offered by the reputable company as being same to those offered by the junior ones. Consequently, people will buy these products in large quantities having in mind that they have similar quality with the professional ones as described by Harrington & Tjan (2008, p.65).

Other companies, use after sale service, to ascertain the quest to maintain quality of their products to the clients. This implies that they provide a website in which people post their reviews about their products. Companies that are confident enough to allow users comment about their products are also deemed to produce high quality products. This factor also helps create confidence in the minds of customers when purchasing a check.

The above strategies are some of the few that many companies use to attract and retain customers. Despite the fact that many of these are perfect and offer instant results, certain factors need to be placed under consideration. Such include the environment in which the business operates and the financial class of people therein. Such limitations may make application of these tactics be a bit challenging hence business failing.

References

Chitale, A, & Gupta, R, C 2007, Product design and manufacturing, Prentice-Hall of India, New Delhi.

Harrington, R. J, & Tjan, A, 2008, Transforming Strategy One Customer at a Time, Harvard Business Review, 86 (3): 62-72. 11p.

Hennig-Thurau, T 2009, Relationship marketing: gaining competitive advantage through customer satisfaction and customer retention : with 24 tables. Springer, Berlin.

Kurtz, D. L., & Boone, L. E., 2011, Contemporary business, Wiley, Hoboken, NJ.

Sato, Y., & Kaufman, J. J., 2005., Value analysis tear-down: a new process for product development and innovation, Industrial Press, New York.

Sebastian, B., Aybüke, A., &; Claes, A 2007, Product management challenge: Creating software product value through requirements selection: In Selection of best papers from the 32nd EUROMICRO Conference on ‘Software Engineering and Advanced Applications’, Journal of Systems Architecture. 54(6):576-593