Understanding Products, Services, and Effective Meetings
Understanding Products and Services
A defined product or service, anything offered to satisfy a need, can be tangible (durable or perishable goods) or intangible. Intangibles can exist by themselves or in conjunction with other products or services, such as a journey combined with another product or service.
Types of Products
Material goods can be classified as consumer products based on consumption patterns:
- Convenience Products: Purchased frequently with minimal effort.
- Shopping Products: Require more comparison and research.
- Specialty Products: Unique items with strong brand loyalty.
- Unsought Products: Items consumers don’t actively seek out.
Industrial products are acquired by businesses to produce other goods or services, or for resale. Characteristics can be added through neatness, activity, or professional services. Business/politics is a joint product of manufacturer strategies.
Branding and Packaging
A brand allows us to identify and differentiate our product from the competition. A brand is an emotional element that should be striking, simple, and easy to pronounce.
A marka blanka (private label) is when a trader buys the product from the manufacturer and applies their own trade name.
Packaging is the presentation of the product through its container and/or packaging, differentiating products and attracting customers while serving storage and distribution functions.
Types of Packaging
- Wrapper: Protects and creates primary attraction.
- Ambalaj Voltorio: Contains several units and provides side protection.
- Tertiary Packaging: Groups packaging for storage/distribution.
The product is manufactured and then shifted to the customer, including transportation. An alternative outlet is direct sales from the manufacturer via agents or vendors, or indirect sales through intermediaries like retailers and wholesalers.
Effective Meeting Management
The direction of a meeting is a technical working environment that allows people to share common goals, information, and reach collective commitments.
Formal vs. Informal Meetings
Formal meetings serve to disseminate information (e.g., annual reports), gather opinions, analyze and solve problems, and make decisions.
Informal meetings for employees serve human needs and affiliations.
Meetings vs. Working Groups
Key differences:
- A meeting is a session with people who may not have durable ties.
- Working groups have permanence, require preparation, and involve ongoing communication.
Types of Briefings
- Head Downward: The director transmits information, asks for clarification, and hears reports.
- Up the Collection of Information: Staff collects information, the director is interviewed, and attendees are involved with a script.
Elements of a Meeting
The director should reformulate, summarize objectives, remain neutral, synthesize, control time, and guide the group dynamics. Participants should be interested in the topic.
Steps of a Meeting
- Preparation: The director prepares and submits materials.
- Introduction: Create confidence, introduce rules.
- Development: Participants develop the subject, the director starts discussion, controls time, and focuses the issue.
- Completion: The director synthesizes topics, and minutes are signed and distributed.