Marketing Products, Services and Ideas

Products and services are used to fulfill human needs and desires. Products are all things that can be offered to satisfy a need and desire. Product or offer can be divided into three, namely goods, services, and ideas. For example, a restaurant can provide goods such as hamburgers, fried potatoes, and beverages, or services such as purchase, cooking, and provide a comfortable place, and the idea (save time consumer).

Level of interest to physical product depends on the service attached to the products. For example we buy a car because it provide transportation service. Thus, the actual physical product is facilities that provide services to us.

Indeed, services are also provided by other means such as people, places, activities, organization, or idea. For example, the comedians show (people), holiday at the beach (place), health club (activities), adventurers clubs (organization), or embrace a different philosophy of life (idea).

Manufacturing companies often make the mistake of paying more attention to the physical product instead of services provided by the product. They are selling a product but not the services. A carpenter does not buy a drill (physical) but buying a drill hole (the services provided). A physical object is just a way to resemble a service. The task of marketers is to sell the benefits of services that are realized in the form of physical products, not only describing the physical characteristics the physical product. The seller thoughts focusing on the product rather than on the customers needs provided by the products is called said marketing myopia.

Reference:
Kotler, P., And, S. H., Leong, S. M., & Tan, C.T. Marketing Management : An Asian Perspective. Prentice Hall. 1996.