Three Levels of a Product Explained
Why is Kotler’s Five Product Levels Model important?
Salespeople can better understand what customers need and want by using Kotler’s Five Product Levels Model, which enables them to modify products to meet those needs. This enables them to market their products more effectively and alter them to appeal to customers in various categories. To better meet demand at those levels, a company that sells glasses, for instance, might use Kotler’s model to create a generic and enhanced version of its product.
What is Kotler’s Five Product Levels model?
Philip Kotler, an economist, created the Kotlers Five Product Levels Model, also known as the Kotlers model, to assist sales professionals in identifying and evaluating how a product can appeal to customers’ various needs, wants, and demands. Businesses can accomplish this by making adjustments and introducing goods that appeal to consumers across a range of value categories and levels. This model aids companies in adjusting to a variety of customers whose preferences frequently change.
The definitions of each category of product value in Kotler’s model are as follows:
What are the five types of product levels?
Each level in this model represents various product categories and how each satisfies various customer wants, needs, and demands. The five different kinds of product levels in Kotler’s model are as follows:
1. Core benefit
This is the level of a product that meets a consumer’s fundamental desire or need. For instance, selling pet care products is a pet store’s primary benefit. The main need that customers can satisfy by purchasing a product is the core benefit.
2. Generic product
This product version only includes the features necessary for it to satisfy a customer’s basic needs. This means the product functions at its most basic level. For instance, a generic version of a company’s protein powder product might only contain the nutritional supplements, with no flavors or additives.
3. Expected product
These are the qualities that consumers anticipate a product to have. An individual who purchases a pair of headphones, for instance, probably anticipates that they will have comfortable earpieces and high-quality audio. Additionally, different customers might have various demands for the same good.
4. Augmented product
This is used to describe a product that a business enhances with additional features that go beyond its fundamental functions. Companies might take this action to increase the product’s competitiveness against similar goods. For instance, a restaurant may draw customers by hosting live music events and performances there.
5. Potential product
This covers every modification a business might make to its product in the future. By continuously improving the product, these modifications seek to raise customer satisfaction and maintain patron engagement. For instance, a car wash might provide customers with a rewards program that entitles them to a new car accessory with each visit.
How to use Kotler’s Five Product Levels Model
Some businesses may use the model differently because different products meet the requirements for different levels. For instance, a business that sells medical supplies might primarily satisfy the core requirements, whereas a business that sells sporting goods might satisfy more levels. The steps you can follow to use Kotler’s model are as follows:
1. Review product details
Think about the attributes your product possesses and the standards those attributes must meet. This aids a business in determining which features of a product it can modify to satisfy a wider range of desires, needs, and demands. For instance, if a sales representative for a laundromat determines that the facility meets core benefits and offers an anticipated service, they may offer more general and enhanced services.
2. Collect customer feedback
By requesting feedback from customers, you can evaluate a product’s features and how well it meets each level. For instance, a business could send surveys to customers asking questions that could offer suggestions for how to modify its product. These questions might include:
3. Adapt the product to meet each level
A business can modify its offering to more effectively appeal to customers at each level once it has knowledge of how its product satisfies each level’s wants, needs, and demands. This could entail making various iterations of its product with additional or fewer features. For instance, a proprietor of a donut shop might realize that by selling individual plain donuts, they could more effectively fill the generic product level.
4. Review sales results
By examining changes in sales after implementing Kotlers Five Product Levels Model, a business can determine its effectiveness. The company’s salespeople may concentrate on the levels where they made changes. This could assist them in changing their product or advertising strategy to more effectively meet objectives for various levels.
Benefits of Kotler’s Five Product Levels Model
Here are some of the benefits of Kotlers model:
FAQ
What are the 3 levels of a product?
- The primary need or desire that consumers are able to satisfy by using the product or service.
- Generic product: …
- Expected product: …
- Augmented product: …
- Potential product:
What is product level with example?
- Core Benefit. The fundamental need that the customer is satisfied with when they purchase the product is the core benefit.
- Actual Product. The actual product is the product features and its design.
- Augmented Product. The augmented product is any non-physical parts of the product.
