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 market. Various factors may prompt the manufacturer to modify their product.
- To make the best use of technological advancement for the benefit of the company.
- Modification instead of competition
- To regenerate a product suffering from falling 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 such as textiles and garments, come up with a range of products to meet specific customer requirements.
Product modification is different from product specialization which 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 specialty product used to produce better color tones for knitwear (hosiery sector). Product modification focuses more on increasing the attractiveness of the product by presenting it with attractive and improved 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 convenience. Benefits of feature enhancement include,
- Build the image of the company.
- It can help conquer the target market
- It offers free advertising for the company.
- Instill enthusiasm in the internal environment of a company, among the sales force and distributors.
Style enhancement is intended to enhance the aesthetic appeal of the product. Why do you think automakers are in the process of regularly introducing new car models? It is 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 colossal monetary loss in case there is a negative response from the market. Manufacturers of home 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 stay abreast of the latest developments in the market scenario.