subject: Fundamental Marketing Concepts, Trends, and Tasks [print this page] OFFERINGS AND BRANDS OFFERINGS AND BRANDS
Companies address needs by putting forth a value proposition, a set of benefits they offer to customers to satisfy their needs. The intangible value proposition is made physical by an offering, which can be a combination of products, services in formation, and experiences.
A brand is an offering from a known source. A brand name such as McDonald's carries many associations in the minds of people: hamburgers, fun, children, fast food, convenience, and golden arches. These associations make up the brand image. All companies strive to build brand strength-that is, a strong, favorable, and unique brand image.
VALUE AND SATISFACTION
The offering will be successful if it delivers value and satisfaction to the target buyer. The buyer chooses between different offerings on the basis of which is perceived to deliver the most value. Value reflects the perceived tangible and intangible benefits and costs to customers. Value can be seen as primarily a combination of quality, service and price (qsp), called the "customer value triad" value increases with quality and service and decreases with price, although other factors can also play an important role.
Value is a central marketing concept. Marketing can be seen as the identification, creation, communication, delivery, and monitoring of customer value. Satisfaction reflects a person's comparative judgments resulting from a product's perceived performance (or out- come) in relation to his or her expectations. If the performance falls short of expectations, the customer is dissatisfied and disappointed. If the performance matches the expectations, the customer is satisfied. If the performance exceeds expectations, the customer is highly satisfied or delighted.
