Category Archives: Issue 2011 December

Best before

Definition 1: Best before indicates the period during which food may be consumed.

Example: Low-risk food items have ‘best before’ printed on the package.

Definition 2: Best before, followed by a date, is intended to indicate the date before which the supplier intended the food should be consumed. The term best before is similarly used to indicate the date by which the item will have outlived its shelf life, and is intended to ensure that customers will not unwittingly purchase or eat stale food. Foods that have a best before date are usually safe to eat after the date has passed, although they are likely to have deteriorated either in flavor, texture, appearance or nutrition.

Example: In supermarkets, we can find a tag sealing a bag of hot dog buns displays a best before date of February 29.

Use / consume by

Definition 1: Use / consume by date is the last date recommended for the use of the product while at peak quality.

Example: Infant formulas in supermarkets have use by labels stuck to it. If product is kept until after the use by date is expired, this indicates the product cannot be consume anymore.

Definition 2: Use by indicates that the product is no longer safe to consume after the specified date. Generally, foods that have a use by date written on the packaging must not be eaten after it has expired. This is because such foods usually go bad quickly and may be injurious to health if spoiled.
 

Example: Bathroom products and toiletries usually state a time in months by which, once the product is opened, they should be used. The product will be seen to have "12M", meaning to use the product within 12 months of opening.

Trade secret

Definition 1: Trade secret is information that provides a business with a competitive advantage.

Example: Example of a trade secret formula is the Coca-Cola formula. This formula gives the Coca-Cola Company a significant business advantage in the soda market, as there is no other soda that tastes the same. The Coca-Cola Company has put numerous security measures in place to keep its formula a secret. In fact, the Coca Cola Company ensures that no one knows every step of the formula.

Definition 2: Type of intellectual property such as formulary, know how, process, system, or confidential information that gives its owner a competitive advantage and unauthorized disclosure of which will harm the owner. Courts generally grant injunctions to prevent a threatened disclosure of a trade secret by the current or former employees because otherwise the relationship of trust between the employer and employee will be destroyed. The employer must, however, demonstrate that he or she actively safeguarded the trade secret and had informed the employees that it was to remain confidential.

Example: Common formulas are found to be trade secrets in the food, drug, and cosmetics industry include formulas for butter flavoring, cheese, breakfast cereal, seasoning for fried chicken, and special diet rations for dogs, mixed alcoholic beverages, lipstick, and hair conditioner.

Marketing

Definition 1: Marketing is the act or process of buying and selling in a market. The commercial functions involved in transferring goods from producer to consumer

Example: People who are working in marketing departments of companies try to get the attention of target audiences by using slogans, packaging design, celebrity endorsements and general media exposure.

Definition 2: Marketing is a   Management process through which goods and services move from concept to the customer. As a philosophy, it is based on thinking about the business in terms of customer needs and their satisfaction. As a practice, it consists in coordination of four elements called 4P's: (1) identification, selection, and development of a product, (2) determination of its price, (3) selection of a distribution channel to reach the customer's place, and (4) development and implementation of a promotional strategy. Marketing differs from selling because (in the words of Harvard Business School's emeritus professor of marketing Theodore C. Levitt) "Selling concerns itself with the tricks and techniques of getting people to exchange their cash for your product. It is not concerned with the values that the exchange is all about. And it does not, as marketing invariably does, view the entire business process as consisting of a tightly integrated effort to discover, create, arouse, and satisfy customer needs.”

Example: Some products used celebrity endorsement to have a better marketing strategy. When people see famous people using/marketing the product, there will be an inclination to want to purchase the product. Companies like Tag Huer who used Brad Pitt to market their watch.

Sales

Definition 1: Sales is an activity that involves selling goods or services.

Example: When a product or goods or services is being purchased by consumers, the transaction is called sales. Perfect example would be of family going to a supermarket to stock up on their groceries.

Definition 2: Sales are the activities involved in providing products or services in return for money or other compensation. It is an act of completion of a commercial activity. Sales are considered by many to be a sort of persuading "art". Contrary to popular belief, the methodological approach of selling refers to a systematic process of repetitive and measurable milestones, by which a salesperson relates his offering of a product of service in return enabling the buyer to achieve his goal in an economic way.

Example: A real estate agent who has been showing clients a particular house for a long time. Finally both the buyer and seller have agreed on the price and the transaction is closed. That is what people would term as sales.

Advertising

Definition 1: Advertising is the activity of attracting public attention to a product or business, as by paid announcements in the print, broadcast, or electronic media. This also includes the business of designing and writing advertisements.

Example: Regular television commercial promoting a soft drink. The primary purpose of the advertisement is to promote the specific soft drink, not the entire soft-drink line of a company.

Definition 2: Advertising is a paid message communicated through the various media by industry, business firms, nonprofit organizations, or individuals.Advertising is persuasive and informational and is designed to influence the purchasing behavior and/or thought patterns of the audience. Advertising is a marketing tool and may be used in combination with sales promotions, personal selling tactics, or publicity.

Example: Detergent producers spend a considerable amount of money each year promoting their products to remind customers that their products are still available and for sale.

Promotion

Definition 1: Advancement of a product, idea, or point of view through publicity and/or advertising.

Example: Companies frequently create and give away everyday items with their names and logos printed on the items such as bottle/can openers, caps, coffee mugs, key rings, and pencils. Companies prefer to use inexpensive handouts that will yield constant free advertising when used by the recipient.

Definition 2: A promotion might be a short-term price reduction, contest or sweepstakes, package giveaway, or free sample offer. A promotion might also be a single mailing within a direct mail campaign or series of advertisements that make up part of an ongoing print advertising campaign.

Example: The Milk Advisory Board has employed celebrities with milk mustaches in a series of magazine ads. These "Got Milk?" print ads are a promotion within an overall campaign to increase milk consumption.

Experience the product

Definition 1: Experience the product is when a product is used long enough that one can explain and describe it well.

Example: The consequence of wearing a suit that’s not only comfortable but fashionable as well. When one uses it for a long time and is guaranteed satisfactory, they would highly recommend it to others.

Definition 2:   Experience the product refers to an experience that is affective. This is generally used to refer to all types of subjective experiences that are valence, that is, experiences that involve a perceived goodness or badness, pleasantness or unpleasantness.

Example: Apple computer has many long time consumers who have a great product experience. This has caused them to continually remain using the product, and also talk about the product to others. Apple consumers are found very faithful and constantly promoting Apple’s products, whether it’s a MAC book or IPods.

Product category

Definition 1: Product category is the specific generic to which a good or service belongs

Example: While Fanta is a brand name, the product category to which it belongs is soft drinks.

Definition 2: Product category is an idea, a physical entity (a good), or a service, or any combination of the three, by which objects, events, and persons are grouped together and responded to in terms of their class membership rather than their uniqueness.

Example: Toothpaste that one daily uses consist of brands such as Colgate, Sensodyn, Fresh, and many more. However all these brands are considered under the category of toothpaste. Likewise for brands like Maggi, Kit Kat, Smarties, Milo, and many more, all come under one category of Nestle.

Product class

Definition 1: Product class is a group or range of products that may serve as substitutes for one another, depending on how narrow or broad is the definition of the product.

Example: A narrow product class for a 'transport vehicle' would include cars, pickups, vans, etc., whereas a broad product class would include aircraft, ships, trailer-trucks, etc.

Definition 2: A group of products that is homogeneous or generally considered as substitutes for each other. The class is considered as narrow or broad depending on how substitutable the various products are.

Example: A narrow product class of breakfast meats might be bacon, ham, and sausage. A broad class would include all other meat and meat substitutes even occasionally sold for breakfast use.