Product development and planning

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The number of new products coming into the market of western countries every year is overwhelming. The major part of these products is not new, but adaptations. It means that these products are not new, they are existing items to which a modification has been made. Only few products are really original or innovations. For instance a clock-television is an adaptation, but TV-set itself, the refrigerator - each was an innovation. A great number of innovations and adaptations are designed, produced and marketed by small businesses. Very often a new product is formed on the basis of the new business. Sometimes there is a patent to make the business more successful. But it happens very often that market research hasn't been done carefully.

Even in case larger scale producers do more research and testing there is no sure success. A promising new product may be also robbed of success by unreasonable prices, inadequate promotion and poor selling methods. Generally less than one fifth of all new products turn out to be profitable.

Vocabulary

product development – развитие производства adaptation – что-либо переделанное, приспособленное modification – модификация, видоизменение innovation – нововведение, новшество patent – патент large scale producer – крупный производитель promising product – перспективный продукт unreasonable price – неразумная цена inadequate – недостаточный, не соответствующий требованиям

MARKETING

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Marketing includes all the business activities connected with the movement of goods and services from producers to consumers. Sometimes it is called distribution. On the one hand, marketing is made up of such activities as transporting, storing and selling goods and, on the other hand, a series of decisions you make during the process of moving goods from producer to user. Marketing operations include product planning, buying, storage, pricing, promotion, selling, credit, traffic and marketing research.

The ability to recognize early trends is very important. Producers must know why, where, for what purpose the consumers buy. Market research helps the producer to predict what the people will want. And through advertising he attempts to influence the customer to buy. Marketing operations are very expensive. They take up more than half of the consumer's dollar. The trend in the USA has been to high mass consumption. The construction of good shopping centres has made goods available to consumers. It provided a wide range of merchandise and plenty of parking facilities.

Vocabulary

producer – производитель consumer – потребитель user – потребитель distribution – сбыт, распределение marketing – продажа, сбыт, маркетинг transporting – транспортировка storing – складирование, хранение storage – хранение product planning – разработка новых продуктов pricing – калькуляция цен promotion – содействие в продаже (какого-либо товара), например с помощью рекламы marketing research – изучение рынка сбыта trend – тенденция, общее направление to predict – предсказывать to influence – влиять

WHOLESALING

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Wholesaling is a part of the marketing system. It provides channels of distribution which help to bring goods to the market. Generally indirect channels are used to market manufactured consumer goods. It could be from the manufacturer to the wholesaler, from the retailer to the consumer or through more complicated channels. A direct channel moves goods from the manufacturer or producer to the consumer.

Wholesaling is often a field of small business, but there is a growing chain movement in the western countries. About a quarter of wholesaling units account for one-third of total sales.

Two-third of the wholesaling middleman are merchant wholesalers who take title to the goods they deal in. There are also agent middlemen who negotiate purchases or sales or both. They don't take title to the goods they deal in. Sometimes they take possession though. These agents don't earn salaries. They receive commissions. This is a percentage of the value of the goods they sell.

Wholesalers simplify the process of distribution. For example, the average supermarket stocks 5.000 items in groceries alone, a retail druggist can have more than 6.000 items. As a wholesaler handles a large assortment of items from numerous manufacturers he reduces the problem of both manufacturer and retailer. The store-keeper does not have to deal directly with thousands of different people. He usually has a well-stocked store and deals with only a few wholesalers.

 

RETAILING

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Retailing is selling goods and services to the ultimate consumer. Thus, the retailer is the most expensive link in the chain of distribution. Being middlemen, they make their profit by charging the customer 25 to 100 per cent more than the price they paid for the item.

The retailers operate through stores, mail-order houses, vending machine operators. There are different types of retail stores: department stores, discount houses, cooperatives, single line retailers. The major part (over 95 per cent) of retail establishments concentrate on a single line of merchandise for example, food, hardware, etc. But nowadays there is a trend for many single line stores to take on a greater variety of supplies.

The retailer performs many necessary functions. First, he may provide a convenient location. Second, he often guarantees and services the merchandise he sells. Third, the retailer helps to promote the product through displays, advertising or sales people. Fourth, the retailer can finance the customer by extending credit. Also the retailer stores the goods in his outlet by having goods available.

PRICING

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All products and all services have price's. The price depends on different things such as credit terms, delivery, trade-in allowance, guarantees, quality and other forms of service, which price can produce the biggest profit during a long period of time. It's hardly possible to determine such a price. The price may be too high to produce a large volume or too low to cover costs. No other area of marketing operations has been a subject to bad practice. Many businesses persue unsound price policies for long periods of time and are not aware about it.

Prices can be determined in different ways. For example, the prices of meat, cotton and other agricultural prices can be decided in large central market where farces of supply and demand exist. This is pure price competition. The prices on industrial products (iron, steel, etc.) are usually decided by large companies. As a rule the amount and price of goods sold to large number of buyers is controlled by a few competing sellers. Prices also can be set by the government, usually for different public services - railroads, electricity, manufactured gas, bus services, etc.

If demand increases, prices rise, profits expand and new investment is attracted: But other factors may be involved as well. Prices are related to each other in different ways. Ultimately, everything is related in price- since the consumer can buy and must pay for everything out of a particular, limited amount of money.

CORPORATIONS

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A business corporation is an institution established for the purpose of making profit. It is operated by individuals. Their shares of ownership are represented by stock certificates. A person who owns a stock certificate is called a stock-holder.

There are several advantages of the corporate form of ownership. The first is the ability to attract financial resources. The next advantage is the corporation attracts a large amount of capital it can invest it in plants, equipment and research. And the third advantage is that a corporation can offer higher salaries and thus attract talented managers and specialists.

The privately owned business corporation is one type of corporation. There are some other types too. Educational, religious, charitable institutions can also incorporate. Usually such corporation does not issue stock and is nonprofit. If there is a profit it is reinvested in the institution rather than distributed to private stockholders.

In some western countries, cities, states, federal government and special agencies can establish governmental corporations. A few examples of these governmental corporations are state universities, state hospitals and city owned utilities. Governmental corporations are non-profit as a rule and usually they do not issue stock certificates.

 

Vocabulary

corporation – корпорация to establish – учреждать stock certificate – акция stockholder (shareholder) – акционер, держатель акций to attract financial resources – привлекать финансовые ресурсы to offer high salaries – предлагать высокие зарплаты to attract a large amount of capital – привлекать большой капитал educational, religious, charitable institutions – образовательные, религиозные, благотворительные учреждения to issue stock – выпускать акции nonprofit – неприбыльный to reinvest – вкладывать еще раз