Three Levels of a Product
Here’s a recap before the answer (below): The CORE product is NOT the tangible, physical product. You can’t touch it. That’s because the core product is the BENEFIT of the product that makes it valuable to you. So with the car example, the benefit is convenience i.e. the ease at which you can go where you like, when you want to. Another core benefit is speed since you can travel around relatively quickly.
Here are the answers. How did you do?
|
Core Product |
Actual Product |
Augmented Product |
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ford Focus |
Freedom to travel |
A motor car |
Ford finance |
|
Spanish Holiday |
Relaxation |
Two weeks in a resort |
Holiday insurance |
|
Budget/No Frills Airline e.g. EasyJet or Ryanair – |
Gets you from A to B cheaply |
An airline journey |
Food bought during your flight |
|
Chelsea Football Club |
Excitement and leisure |
Sporting event |
Personalised shirts and other merchandise |
|
Nike |
Association with the best in sports |
Shoes and other clothing |
Nike online allows you to personalise your trainers |
|
Hilliers’ Garden Centres |
Leisure and relaxation |
Goods for gardens |
Hilliers’ gardening club |
The ACTUAL product is the tangible, physical product. You can get some use out of it. Again with the car example, it is the vehicle that you test drive, buy and then collect.
The AUGMENTED product is the non-physical part of the product. It usually consists of lots of added value, for which you may or may not pay a premium. So when you buy a car, part of the augmented product would be the warranty, the customer service support offered by the car’s manufacture, and any after-sales service.
