There is a pressing need for commercial companies to make changes to the physical attributes of their existing products on a regular basis, in order to retain the customer base and outperform the competition in the marketplace. Several factors can prompt the manufacturer to modify his product.
- To make the best use of technological advancement for the benefit of the company.
- Modification in lieu of competition
- To regenerate a product that suffers from a drop in sales
What could be modified can be anything, color, size, material, functional features, styling and engineering, etc., or a combination of these could be considered for modification. Ultimately, these modifications should result in emerging products with better quality, features, and style. Consumer goods are offered with a wide range and variety to appease the different tastes of consumers as well as to be unique in the market. Bath soaps, talcum powder and cosmetics to name a few. Even the producers, who are involved in core industries like textiles and clothing, come up with a range of products to meet the specific requirements of the customers.
Product modification is different from product specialization that is applied to end customers whose specifications are based on the end use of the product and the target market. For example, melange yarn is a specialized product used to produce better color tones for knitted fabrics (hosiery sector). Product modification concentrates more on increasing the appeal of the product by presenting it with attractive and enhanced attributes such as better packaging and features.
The quality improvement strategy aims to increase the functional performance of the product: its durability, reliability, speed, taste, etc. Added benefits would be versatility, safety and comfort. The benefits of feature enhancement include,
- Build the image of the company.
- It can help to conquer the target market
- It offers free advertising for the company.
- It instills enthusiasm in the internal environment of a company, among the sales force and distributors.
Styling enhancement aims to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the product. Why do you think car manufacturers are in the process of periodically introducing new car models? It’s a strategy that equates to style competition rather than quality or feature competition. This type of style modification should be done after extensive market research to gauge the preference of people in the target market and avoid a colossal monetary loss in case there is a negative market response. Manufacturers of household products can always take the risk of making small modifications in terms of texture and style, as new features can be quickly adapted, quickly removed, and often made optional at the least cost.
A company has to mix and match its product modification strategies to maintain its competitive position and keep abreast of the latest developments in the market scenario.
