The last category of products mentioned as the industrial goods classification involves the materials ( raw materials such as wood, cooper, aluminum) and parts (tiers, computer chips) , capital items such as installations and equipment (cranes, bulldozers), accessory equipment (hand tools, computers, calculators), process materials (food preservatives), operating supplies (
papers, pencils, oil).
Other ways of Product Classifications
1. Consumer product: Product bought by final consumer for personal consumption. There are four types of consumer goods.
2. Convenience Product: Consumer product that the customer usually buys frequently, immediately, & with a minimum of comparisons and buying effort. Convenience Products Is a relatively inexpensive and frequently purchased. The buyer spends little
time in planning the purchase of a convenience item or in comparing available brands or sellers.
3. Shopping Product: Consumer good that the customer purchase after the process of selection. It requires characteristically compares on such bases as suitability, quality, price, and style. e.g. clothing, Appliances, Furniture, Men‘s Suites, Bicycles,
Cellular Phones etc
4. Specialty Product: Consumer product with unique characteristics or brand identification for which a significant group of buyers is willing to make a special purchase effort. Examples of specialty products are: Unique Sports Cars, Rare imported wine, Specific
type of antique china Special handcrafted furniture etc.
5. Unsought product: Consumer products that the consumer either does not know about or do not want to think normally before buying. It has some emotional feelings. e.g. donations.
6. Industrial Product: Product bought by individuals and organization for further processing or for use in conducting a business.
7. Materials and parts: Raw materials are the basic materials that actually become part of the product. They are provided form mines, forests, oceans, farms and recycled solid wastes.
8. Capital Items: Capital items consist of office accessories and operating materials.
9. Supplies: Supplies facilitate productions, but they do not become part of he finished product. Paper, pencils, oils, cleaning agents and paints are examples.
10.Industrial Services: Industrial services include maintenance and repair services such as machinery repair and business advisory services such as legal, management, consulting, advertising, marketing research services. These services can be acquire internally as well as externally.
Classifying products into meaningful categories helps marketers decide which strategies and methods will help promote a business‘s product or service. Many types of classification exist. For example, marketers might categorize products by how often they are used. One-time-use products, such as vacation packages, require completely different marketing strategies than products customers use repeatedly, such as bicycles. Product classification helps a business design and execute an effective marketing plan.
The key is to categorize your products in ways that make sense for your business. This allows you to, for example, design separate marketing campaigns for each category of product you offer. The alternative of using a one-size-fits-all marketing plan is often less effective than implementing several highly targeted plans. No simple recipe exists for categorizing products and services, but there are some common product classifications in marketing: convenience, shopping, specialty and unsought products.
