Product planning and development:

In the modern competitive situation, producers try to bring out suitable products, which are closer to and more attractive than the substitutes. To make one's product the producer must take almost care in the planning his product. The pressure of the competition leads to drag out the existence products, and the management looks ahead for the development of new products, in the place of the existence product, or through extension of product line. A product may be a physical product or a service as far as marketing is concerned. The product planning means an attempt to establish the product in the line with market needs. It is

"Defined the act of making out and supervising the search, screening, development of new products, the modification of the existing lines and the discontinuous of marginal or unprofitable items". In this definition, there are three important considerations:

1.       Evolution and introduction of the new products.

2.       Bringing alternations in the existing lines to suit the requirements of the market.

3.       To eliminate the marginal or unprofitable products.

A product planning is the initial stage for the entire marketing programmes of a concern. Product marketing planning embraces all activities which enable producers and middleman to determine what should constitute a company's line of products. Product development, a more limited than embraces the technical activities of the product research, engineering and design. The effort of developing products or and increasing the scope of satisfy the needs of the customers, who like a change, is called merchandising. Merchandising is often termed as product development. It is the functions of the management through thee coordinate efforts to design the products to satisfy the consumer's needs. The product planning and the product development include the decision making of the following:

1.       Which products should the firm make should it buy?

2.       Should company expand or simply its life?

3.       What new uses are there for each item?

4.       What brand, package and label should be used for the each product?

5.       How should the product be styled and designed; and in what sizes, colours and materials should they be produced?

6.       In what quantities should each item be produced/

7.       How should the product be priced?

A company cannot always be successful in selling poor production in the market over the long run. The survival and growth of the product depends upon the many activities that make the product more acceptable to the intended customers. The product concept consists of the three levels: the core product, related product features and related product service.

1.       Core product: the product (service) has certain immediately identifiable characteristics and functions that distinguish it also from other products or services. The most fundamental level is the core product, which answers the question, "What is the really buying?" Every product is really the packing of a want satisfying service.

2.       Related product features: these include the brand name, the type of packaging, safety components etc.

3.       Related product services: these include such as delivery, installation, maintenance, repairs guarantee etc of the product. The customer may or may not be aware of how the various aspects of the total product relate to one another. What is important to the customer is the total benefits received from the product.